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. Thanks for the memories!
Click here
to visit the website that will be maintained by the Club for all
future race information.
Milenkevich Takes Back Title
Anna Pluta Wins Women's Division
Ansonia resident Tim Milenkevich
regained his Commodore Hull Thanksgiving Race5K Title by blitzing the field
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.
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 Svoid 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.
The live stream of the race is still available
here.
Click here for
a video of runners on the Shelton Riverwalk. Click here for video from Howe
Avenue Click here for video from Main &
Bridge Street in Derby Click here for video from the
turn around at the Derby Public Library Click here for Finish Line video
We love our sponsors for making the race possible and you can
click here to see the complete
2016
list. Did you
know that many of them also run in the race? Check out the list
here.
Click here to see our
sponsor photo album
2016 T-shirt unveiled
Raffle Growing
The Commodore Hull race is famous for the quantity, quality and
speed of our runners raffle, and 2016 will be no different.
Click here to see what is already
on the list.
Sylvester Named 2016 Honorary Starter
Click here
to learn more about our 2016 Honorary Starter