Conditions were the driest in years – mud is always there but it was harder to find this year than in the past 7 or so years. Running on his 41st birthday, Tommy Nohilly of Katonah won top male finisher, his 4th Leatherman’s Loop win, with a time of 39:01. Top female finisher was first time loop runner Kristin Simonsen of Norwalk, CT with a time of 48:02. Overall male and female winners received a gift basket. Top 3 finishers in the age categories received the coveted pies. Detailed results are available here.
Click here to visit a photo gallery from the 2008 race.
Click here to view other runners & loop enthusiasts photos.
Mike Paletta directed the 2008 race, taking over from Tony Godino who ran the event for 21 years and now has the title of race director emeritus. Tony was on hand not only to help out but also to run the loop for the first time in 12 years.
Mike gave some pre-race instructions and recognized long-time loop runners. Danny Martin of Cross River gave the traditional Leatherman’s Loop Irish/Navajo blessing. Then Stephen Paletta, winner of Oprah’s recent reality show “The Big Give” and brother of race director Mike Paletta, sounded the starting horn.
840 runners finished the Loop, we’re not sure how many started but we were assured by the sweeps teams that no one was left behind! We had 96 runners registered from NYC, 78 from Ridgefield, CT, 50 from Bedford, 44 from Brooklyn, 37 from Lewisboro, 29 from Stamford, CT, 28 from Katonah, and 22 from Pound Ridge. The youngest runners were 10 year old Keely Connors from Bedford Hills and Sara Silverstein from Mamaroneck. There were 3 runners over 70: John Young, Ian Beck, and Mel Cowgill.
Some other notables:
– ValuClean of Pound Ridge offered free sneaker cleaning after the Loop (let us know if anyone took advantage and how they did!)
– Jim Funk ran dressed as a clown and finished in 1:01:09.
– Kids enjoyed the Meadow Oak as it was reborn into a playground/sculpture and served as the finish chute for the loop.
– 10 year-old Griffin Cummings put his Nintendo DS skills to work as official timing computer operator. He entered runner’s numbers feverishly for 90 minutes as muddy but happy runners crossed the finish line.
– Jim Gerweck of Running Times provided the official scoring for the Loop.
– A team of over 40 volunteers provided parking assistance, registration, t-shirts, food, coffee, water, and support before, during and after the loop
– The Lewisboro Volunteer Ambulance Corps tended to many minor injuries and scrapes and were much appreciated. Thankfully, I don’t think any major injuries came up during the Loop.
– The Lewisboro Police Department and the Pound Ridge Police Department were on hand to ensure safety.
– The park management was fantastic, helping the event run smoothly.
– The mud flat section near route 124 was dedicated as the Doug Gorman Memorial Mud Flats after Katonah resident Doug Gorman who loved the park and the loop and died in early 2007 of brain cancer.