by C.W. Austin

Hagaman, N.Y., January 13—A new course record and record turnout highlighted the Fulmont Roadrunners Club’s 21st annual Winter Wimp Foot Race held here today under overcast skies with temperatures in the 40s.

The course record fell to first and second place finishers Brendan Devine, 16, of Bethel, N.Y., and Robert Irwin, 34, of Guilderland. Devine’s time for the two loop, 4.4-mile-long race was 23 minutes and 24 second, and Irwin finished 10 seconds back in 23:34. The old record was 23:36, set in 1989 by Rich Cummings.

Third place for the men went to Greg Ernst, 22, of Gloversville, who had a time of 25:11.

It was Winter Wimp win number two for Devine. A veteran of the race, he also won last year, with a 24:07 clocking, and has competed in the event almost every year since 2000, when he lived in the area and was just nine years old. Brendan is a junior at Monticello High School in Monticello, N.Y., where he excels in both cross country and track.

For the women, the overall winner was Evelyn Marerro, 16, of Amsterdam, who finished in 28:36. Second place went to Meghan Davey, 21, also of Amsterdam, with Rachelle Jenkins, 30, of Ballston Spa rounding out the womens top three. Davey’s time was 29:24 and Jenkins finished in 29:33.

Marrero is a junior at Amsterdam High School, where she is first runner on the five-time undefeated Big 10 championship cross-country team. She was winner of the Fulmont Roadrunners’ 2006 Cross Country Runner of the Year Award honoring the top high school runners, male and female, in Fulton and Montgomery Counties. Jeremy McAllister, a senior at Fonda-Fultonville High School, won for the boys.

Fast times also were recorded in the 2.2-mile “Wimp-Out” race (one loop of the Hagaman course). Justin Corelli, 22, of Latham was first for the men in 13:16 and Regina Flint, 33, of Amsterdam topped the women’s field in 16:02. She was third overall.

Second and third places for the men were captured by Cole Hickland, 51, of Ballston Spa and Colin Newell, 17, of Amsterdam, while Kellie Lawton, 12, of Gloversville and Kimberly Negrich, 17, of Mayfield were second and third for the women.

For the first time this year there was a special memorial award for the first woman finisher in the 4.4-mile race over the age of 60. It was in honor of long-time Fulmont Roadrunner Kay Guere, who died just after the Winter Wimp last year following a long struggle with cancer.

The trophy, designed and presented by Kay’s husband Lenny, went to Margaret Nells, 61, of Albany. It features a teardrop-shaped carving representing, in Lenny’s emotional words, “the many tears I’ve shed remembering Kay.”

For the sixth year, Fulmont Roadrunner Rick Vertucci served as Winter Wimp race director. He was supported by some two dozen spirited club members and by the Hagaman Volunteer Fire Department, which provided traffic control.

The Village of Hagaman Civic Center was home base for the event as it has been since the inception of the race in 1987. This year’s racers and supporters—there were a record 228 competitors (39 more than ever before)—filled the facility almost to capacity. The runners ranged in age from seven—Jeremy Parsons of Latham—to 80—Amsterdam’s Regina Tumidajewicz.

Major sponsors of the race were Douglas E. Landon, Attorney at Law; Sharon Nare Massage Therapy; ROBO North Car Wash; Stewart’s Shops; Ferguson Trucking & Excavating; NBT Bank; Longview Fibre Company; Sherri L. Vertucci, Attorney at Law; and Gabriel Contractors Inc.

The event also was supported by Judith Ann Realty Inc., Egelston Energy Services, Pagles Produce, Subway Shops, and the Sport Island Pub.