In the middle of the hottest week of the year, nearly 170 runners and walkers left Majestic Park for the 20th Annual Gardiner 5K Classic Run/Walk.

Jack Wilson of New Paltz was trying not to think about the weather, where even in the evening temperatures sat around 90 degrees.
“It was interesting because the road we went out on was nice and breezy, but once we hit the rail trail, which is around halfway through the race, it got really hot,” Wilson said. “I think it was because the trees overlap everything, and they just keep the heat inside of there.”

Then he hit the last hill on the final 800 meters and saw he was all alone. He finished strong, in 16:07, 33 seconds before second-place finisher Riley Brutvan, the top finisher in the 13-19 division.

“I think my goal was to try to beat my PR from my senior year of high school, and I’m out of college, so I was like, ‘OK, I still have it in me to run that fast,’” Wilson said.

Heather Weigand was the top female finisher with a time of 21:22. She finished 14th overall.

Siblings Riley Brutvan and Lydia Brutvan each won their respective 13-19 divisions. Riley was the second overall finisher in 16:40 and Lydia was the second overall female finisher with a time of 22:12. She finished 20th overall.

The race serves as a fundraiser for the Gardiner Volunteer Fire Dept. In that spirit, Modena firefighter Will Capuano walked the 3.1-mile course in full turnout gear. He walked across the finish line waving the U.S. flag to applause from the spectators and previous finishers.

He crossed the finish line 151st with a time of 50:55. Of the 167 runners who started the race, two did not cross the finish line.
After the race, participants and their families took part in a barbecue picnic under the Majestic Park Pavilion, and even though some children participated in the adult race, there were children’s races on the softball field after the 5K was completed.

Wilson, a transplant from Long Island, who went to college at SUNY New Paltz and now teaches in the area, enjoyed the sense of community from the event.

“It’s cool to come out and really experience this community event, and to get to know some of the other runners that live in the area,” Wilson said.

While this 5K has become a tradition in Gardiner over the past two decades, it is no longer the only race in town.

The Gardiner Parks and Recreation Committee and the Gardiner Trail Alliance will host the Gardiner Dump Run on Sept. 25 at Gardiner Park on the Riverbend Trails. The event will feature both a 5K single lap race, and a 10K double-lap race.