Ripton Ridge Run!

What a great day for a race! And what a great event it was, thanks to dozens of local volunteers, including the fire department and rescue squad, and the sponsorship of dozens of local businesses. And of course, there wouldn’t be a race without racers – and Ripton’s runners and walkers turned out in full force.

Over 180 runners and walkers from around the country participated in the 21st annual Ripton Ridge Run. The event featured a 10.4 K run, a 5K run and a 5K fun walk on Ripton’s scenic roads and raised money for the Ripton School. The top finisher in the 10.4 K race was Nick Balfour of Shoreham with a time of 43:39.8, nearly two minutes ahead of second place Steve Kayhart of Vergennes with 45:33.0. Georgina Milligan of Middlebury was 5th overall and led the women with a time of 47:12.6, followed by Lisa Grzyb from Ripton at 48:12.0. Other Ripton finishers were Sean Gryzb, Susan Ogilvie and Peter Cummings. In the 5K run, 16 year-old Schuyler Klein of Ripton won the men’s race in 20:03.6; Mike Bessette of St. Albans was second with a time of 20:49.2. Ripton’s Yared Lacey, age 12, came in 4th overall with a time of 21:52.3; 11 year-old Calder Birdsey finished a minute behind him in 8th place, beating out former Ripton Elementary students Levi Doria and Brian Phinney who finished 9th and 10th. Current Ripton school kids, Rowan Warren, Sebastian Durante and Alec Jones finished in 14th, 15th and 17th place respectively. Jay Harrington ran the 5K with son Baxter in a baby jogger and managed to finish in 19th place with a time of 25:19.8. Taryn Petrelli of Harrison NY set the pace for the women with a 23:18.5 finish time with Ripton’s Carlisle Doria only 0.4 seconds behind her. 14 year-old Britta Clark came in 20th, followed closely by Emily Mathews. Other Ripton finishers in the 5K race included Najat Croll, Mitchell Wulfman, Carrie Wulfman, Jeff Wulfman, Joe Durante, Roland McGlashon, Sarah Wesson, Burke Doria, Michele Fay, 7 year-old Tristan Durante, 11-year olds Oliver Clark and Jessica Cyr, 12-year old Anneke Jewett, Dina Wolkoff, Tal Birdsey, 8 year-old Abigail Jewett. 7 year-old Aiden Warren, Eric Warren, 8 year-old Andre Trudeau, 6 year-old Tim Goettlemann, 11-year olds Meghan Mulholland and Jesse Wulfman,10 year-old Jesse Trudeau and 12-year old Peter Manning.

There were many, many Ripton residents who participated in the 5K Fun Walk, including Kit Wilson, his son Ben, daughter-in-law Trina and grandson Nolan, at age 1, the youngest person registered in the race. Other Ripton walkers included Jennifer Cyr, Carol Kulczyk, Claire Groleau, and Nathan Wulfman.

In addition to these races, there was also a Kids’ Race at the school. Ripton students got pledges from sponsors so they could run in this event. The students raised over $400 and received t-shirts and a ribbon for participating.