Ansonia’s Tim Milenkevich and Weston’s Anna Pluta captured the men’s and women’s titles at Thursday’s Commodore Hull Thanksgiving Race 5K.
Title Winners
Tim Milenkevich, now a three-time winner, regained his title by blitzing the field of 650 runners on a perfect Thanksgiving morning.
He jumped to a very short lead over Mike Padilla, who won the very first race back in 2002.
They matched each other virtually stride for stride through downtown Shelton and across the Derby/Shelton Bridge into Derby.
As they turned onto Elizabeth from Main Street and headed up the incline to the Derby Green, Tim started to open space between the two that would increase as the race went on.
At the finish line, Tim’s lead was thirteen seconds with a winning time of 16:24 (5:17 per mile pace).
In his two previous championships (2012 & 2013) he ran times of 15:56 and 16:00 respectively.
Mike, now a resident of Phoenixville, PA, ran a time of 16:08 back in 2002 on a course that was different than the one currently used.
James Mas of Shelton finished third with a time of 16:48. The trio were the only runners to finish under 18 minutes.
Anna Pluta of Weston took the Women’s title with a time of 19:53 (6:24 pace).
2013 winner Emily McNeil was second with a time of 20:13 while two time defending champion Lauren Flament finished third at 20:22.
There were no new course records set this year.
Richard Stoliker established the men’s record in 2015 at 15:39 while the women’s record of 18:50 was set by Kristin Wenstrom way back in 2003.
Fifteen “Plankholders” Remain
Somehow it seems fitting that after 15 years there are 15 runners who have completed every Commodore Hull Thanksgiving Day 5K. We dropped by two this year.
Check out the full listing here.
This was the fifteenth year for the event which was started to honor the achievements of Commodore Isaac Hull who was born in Derby and also lived in Shelton. He was the commander of the U.S.S. Constitution, Old Ironsides, in the War of 1812.
There were runners from 13 states and Canada in this year’s race with the youngest runner being 6 years old and the oldest was 82.
The race has raised approximately $175,000 for the Boys & Girls club of the Lower Naugatuck Valley.
Full Results
For those of you who missed the complete results on Thanksgiving, full results are embedded below.
Hull 5K Results by The Valley Indy on Scribd
Or you can download them here.
This year’s results included each runner’s official time as well time on the course and pace. FastTrack Timing also offered an app which provided virtually instantaneous results for those using smart phones.
Media Crew Was Very Active
You can see some of the handiwork of a very active audio/video crew by clicking here to go to the race website, including six videos from various spots on the course to nine separate photo albums — more than 3,300 pictures in all.
Thanks to our intrepid media production crew, we captured an extensive collection of pictures and video to share with everyone. Thanks go to crew members Ross Allen, Glenn Gaetano, Art Gerckens, Mark Anthony Izzo, John Pawlowski, Randy Ritter, JohnSaccu, Lisa Savoid and Laurel Vicidomono for their great work.
We also want to thank our live stream video crew of color commentator Charlie Wilson, cameramen Sean and Jeff Wilson and driver Mike Healey.
Changes Coming For 2017
Did you ever wonder who puts on the Commodore Hull Thanksgiving Day 5K Road Race? Obviously on race day there are dozens upon dozens of dedicated volunteers who give up their holiday; but during the rest of the year, it’s a very small group.Fifteen years ago they set out to create a special event to celebrate Commodore Isaac Hull and to spotlight the changes going on in the downtown areas of Derby & Shelton. From all accounts, they have succeeded!
Since the race began in 2002 we’ve seen rain, snow, fog, and even pre-race lightning one year.The event grew quickly from about 300 in 2002 to the current 750 and has sold out early for many years. When the final tally from the 2016 race is tabulated, the race will have raised approximately $175,000 for the benefit of the Boys & Girls Club of the Lower Naugatuck Valley – not bad for a group that made the enjoyment and safety of the runners the priority over fund raising.
That will change in 2017 as the “Crew” is retiring and passing the work over to the Boys & Girls Club. Don’t worry, the Club shadowed the Crew this year, and they are more than willing and able to take over.
Now it’s time to thank the members of the Crew pictured above – Tom Wilson, Glenn and Vera Gaetano, Pam Petro, Diane and Nick Serdenitsky and Markanthony Izzo. Missing from the picture are Crew members Jack Walsh, John Saccu and Carl Sylvester. They are all natives of Derby and Shelton whose community spirit has carried over to the race.
