Race Results:
•• 6 & Under • 7-12 Year Old • 5 Miler ••
The day’s weather was perfect for Run the Farm and KIDS Run the Farm. The rain ended overnight and left plenty of evidence on the farm roads and on the trails. Moist is an understatement!
628 runners crossed the finish line between the three races. The combined kids races had just over 250 finishers for the day.
5 Miler Results
Eamonn Sullivan repeated as the men’s overall winner with a time of 32:56.
Peter Nicola was second overall in the men’s race at 34:47. Alexsei Chernov was third with a time of 34:52.
Lindsey Felling won the women’s overall race with a time of 37:50.
Julie Scheffler was second in the women’s race with a time of 38:57. Laura Coogan was third overall with a time of 39:17.
Kids Run the Farm – Race #1 (Age 7-12, 2k distance)
Owen Farrell of Chester, NY won the overall boys 2k race with a time of 6:32.
Summer McDermott of Mahopac, NY won the girls 2k race with a time of 7:17.
Kids Run the Farm – Race #2 (Age 6 & under, 1k distance)
Course Records
This year TWO course records fell — and they both were taken by Mt Kisco girls! Grace Kessler set a new 2 year old record for the division, completing the 1k race in 8:46. Three year old Emerson McKee finished the race at 7:11. We expect big things from these kids in future years!
The overall 5 mile race records stood this past Sunday. Gerry Sullivan’s 2010 dominant inaugural race performance remains the gold standard for Run The Farm 5 milers to strive towards at 30:48.
Kerri Lyons‘ 2014 performance stands the test of time at 34:53. The 2019 winner Betsy Eickelberg has come closest of anyone (36:06).
Muscoot Farm
We want to thank our gracious hosts at Muscoot Farm, especially Jonathon, Justin, Joan, Molly, Sara, Gabrielle, Mindy and everyone who helped out at the farm to get it ready for our Twelfth annual event.
There is no other place like Muscoot Farm. It is one of the beauties of the Westchester County Parks system. Muscoot is unique in its purpose and mission in New York State and possibly the country. The authentic 1890s-era historical working farm has enriched the lives and education of generations of kids. Many local parents (myself included) fondly remember going to Muscoot Farm when growing up in the area — and it is fantastic to be able to take our kids to the farm as well.
Volunteers
Thank you to all of the race volunteers who come out and help with the pre-run (aka Cobweb Crew), registration, setup, timing, handing out farm bucks and medals, distributing bagels, patching up injuries, making sure runners turn onto the correct trail, setting the course, sweeping the course, and cleaning up so other park visitors enjoy the same experience we all had.
Special thanks to Tony & Judy Godino who came out to help and ensure the race event went off without a hitch. Tony started this event in 2010 and has stepped back from organizing but he and Judy still play a critical role in ensuring runners are on the right course. Tony made sure the course markings and “resets” were made correctly between each race so that no runner would find themselves off course.
Danny Martin gave the race a blessing before getting started on the 5 mile race. “We Run The Farm” is a key reason why we put on the race and encourage runners to shop at local farmer’s markets and buy local!
We also had a team of volunteer photographers (Carol, Geoff, Michelle, Rob, Michael) out there who took photos of you all (and your kids) on Sunday morning! Check all of their photos here.
If you have photos you’d like to share – and many of you already have (thank you!!), you can upload them using this link. Check out our runner-uploaded photos here.
The Farm, The Music, The People
Our Musical Guests
For post-race entertainment we welcomed back The Long Meadow bluegrass band. John and the group have been long time guests of both the Leatherman’s Loop and Run The Farm. They always draw an appreciative crowd.
The FINAL race in the 2023 Trail Mix Series is the Raven Rocks Run on November 12th, 2023 at 9am at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation. The course starts and ends in the same spot as the Leatherman’s Loop, but heads into the high hills of the Rez. Sign up now for this challenging capstone for the 2023 Trail Mix Series.
All Trail Mix runners who complete the Trail Mix Series will be selected automatically if they enter the Leatherman’s Loop Lottery in January.
Farmer’s Market
The Muscoot Farmer’s Market got into full swing an hour earlier than normal to accommodate our runners who were flush with running and farm bucks.
When we redeemed the farm bucks for real $ at the end of the day, the Run The Farm “Farm Bucks Top 5 Vendor” Champs of 2023 were 1.) Bear Mountain Coffee Roasters, 2.) Meredith’s Bread, 3.) Bella’s Bake Shop, 4.) Pickle Licious, and 5.) Zen Succulents.
The Farmer’s Market vendors always love having the runners there — and loved the energy on Sunday!
The Muscoot Farmer’s Market continues through end of November 2023. After then, most of the vendors move to indoor farmer’s markets. The farmer’s market will return to Muscoot in early May 2023.
Final Thoughts
We have many many volunteers who make this race a reality. Without them the race simply doesn’t happen. We invite you to check the volunteers page (we update each year as new photos come in for this race). If you know any of them say thanks ;)
Special thanks to the Westchester County Police for keeping runners and families safe when crossing the busy Route 100. Thanks to Lisa Capobianco was the “head of the herd” making sure everyone got farm bucks at the end of the race and the kids runners all got their finisher medals. Lisa was assisted by the herd of chute volunteers including Orion, Griffin, Annalise, and Kathryn.
An extra special thank you goes out to Brendan Porteus, Somers VFD Lieutenant and the Somers VFD EMS crew for coming out and supporting the race and runners. The Somers EMS crew has been coming out for all 12 years of Run The Farm. They are always helping and assisting all comers. We had some bee stings on Sunday as well as a few twisted ankles. We hope everyone is feeling better today!
Lastly we want to thank the runners and families who came out to participate in this tradition. We are blessed to be able to celebrate such a great event with all of you.
Peace.
PS: Please let us know your stories from your day. We appreciate your feedback and consider it a gift from the runners and families to help us improve the experience for everyone.
Next trail race coming up: The eighth annual Raven Rocks Run on Sunday November 12, 2023 – it’s the 6th and final race in the Trail Mix Trail Series 2023! Sign up now – custom bib order going in THIS Wednesday Oct 25th! (You can definitely still sign up afterwards but your bib won’t have your name or nickname on it.) We are also putting in the final shirt quantity on Thursday 10/26.