Aaron Robertson and Jodie Schoppmann will soon be calling the Capital District their home.
On Sunday, the engaged couple owned the Delmar Dash.
Robertson who recently settled in Guilderland and started teaching at Bethlehem Central Middle School won the men’s division title with a time of 25:07, while Schoppmann claimed the women’s division championship.
`It’s pretty cool,` said Schoppmann, a Long Island native who will be joining Robertson in the area once they are married this summer. `We’re a nice, fast couple.`
`I’ve always wanted to do this race, and now that I’m here I’m glad I got to do this,` said Robertson.
Robertson took the lead after the 2-mile mark and pulled away from the rest of the pack to claim the men’s title.
`There was a pretty big pack of seven or eight runners at the 1-mile mark, but by the 2-mile mark there were only three of us,` said Robertson. `I just picked it up at that point.`
Albany’s Chuck Terry was one of the runners that Roberston was with, but Roberston soon left Terry behind ` this after Terry showed Roberston the course two weeks ago in a training run.
`He was just in another league today,` said Terry, who placed second for the fifth time in the last six years. `There was nothing we could have done.`
After Robertson crossed the finish line, he watched as his fiancE ended Emily Bryans’ run of consecutive Delmar Dash women’s titles at two by completing the 5-mile course with a time of 28:06.
`I was just using it as a workout ` just tried to run fast,` said Schoppmann.
Schoppmann fed off the pace of some of the top male runners to cruise to victory in her first Delmar Dash.
`I ran the Stockade-athon [in Schenectady] last year, and there were a few guys I recognized from running there. So, I just keyed in on them,` said Schoppmann.
Bryans tried to keep up with Schoppmann, but the 2009 and 2010 champion pulled the hamstring on her right leg and stopped at mile 4.
`I didn’t want to run the risk of making it bad,` said Bryans, who is still training for next week’s Boston Marathon.
Schoppmann and Robertson had to go their separate ways after the race, but they will likely be back next year ` this time as a married couple looking to defend their 2011 Delmar Dash titles.
In addition to the overall titles given to Robertson and Schoppmann, age division trophies were given to the following runners:
14 and under
Men: 1. Noah Bell (Delmar) 32:02; 2. Christopher O’Brien (Delmar), 35:28; 3. Joseph Somerville (Wynantskill) 35:41
Women: 1. Payton Czupil (Watervliet) 35:05; 2. Sydney Shaw (Delmar) 35:36; 3. Sarah Coffey (Delmar) 46:13
15-19
Men: 1. Eric Young (Latham) 28:14; 2. Bryan Kelly (Albany) 29:27; 3. Jason Applegate (Schenectady) 32:13
Women: 1. Irene Somerville (Wynantskill) 38:16; 2. Lydia Kouletsis (Oakland, Maine) 38:21; 3. Kelly Bartlett (Glenmont) 39:04
20-24
Men: 1. Bradley Lewis (Troy) 26:59; 2. Ian Mullikin (Albany) 27:05; 3. Alex Paley (Albany) 27:13
Women: 1. Jessy Montrose (Albany) 34:15; 2. Nicole Izzo (Albany) 34:21; 3. Rebecca Moore (Rensselaer) 36:23
25-29
Men: 1. Chuck Terry (Albany) 25:54; 2. Thomas O’Grady (Latham) 26:25; 3. Keith Weiss (Malta) 26:42
Women: 1. Kristina Gracey (Albany) 29:51; 2. Karen Bertasso (Slingerlands) 31:45; 3. Crystal Perno (Clifton Park) 31:57
30-34
Men: 1. Justin Bishop (Colonie) 26:20; 2. Anthony Giuliano (Albany) 26:30; 3. Eamon Dempsey (Delmar) 27:03
Women: 1. Shelly Binsfeld (Clifton Park) 30:42; 2. Melanie Staley (Saratoga) 33:30; 3. Aubrey Schulz (Farmington, Conn.) 35:30
35-39
Men: 1. Michael Roda (Albany) 26:53; 2. Bill Davis (Delmar) 27:53; 3. Kenneth Plowman (Albany) 28:22
Women: 1. Gretchen Oliver (Guilderland) 31:08; 2. Katie Hodge (Delmar) 34:01; 3. Sally Drake (Albany) 34:20
40-44
Men: 1. Craig Tynan (Schenectady) 30:08; 2. Jon Rocco (Colonie) 30:21; 3. Edward Hampton (Voorheesville) 30:26
Women: 1. Kimberly Miseno-Bowles (Amsterdam) 35:02; 2. Alison Heaphy (Nassau) 35:04; 3. Hilary Eutzy (Valatie) 36:26
45-49
Men: 1. Ahmed Elasser (Latham) 28:24; 2. Christen Lietzau (Delmar) 29:13; 3. Thomas Kracker (Delmar) 29:29
Women: 1. Anne Benson (Clifton Park) 31:30; 2. Nancy Nicholson (Queensbury) 32:38; 3. Mary Buck (Mechanicville) 33:03
50-54
Men: 1. Derrick Staley (Ballston Spa) 27:41; 2. Russell Hoyer (Voorheesville) 30:44; 3. Ken Evans (Delmar) 31:17
Women: 1. Donna Thailkill (Clifton Park) 36:20; 2. Peggy McKeown (Schuylerville) 37:34; 3. Wendy Rescott (West Sand Lake) 38:52
55-59
Men: 1. David Roy (Schoharie) 31:18; 2. Tony Maddaloni (Slingerlands) 32:40; 3. Steve Vunk (Delmar) 32:42
Women: 1. Erika Oesterle (Stamford) 39:58; 2. Jill Mehan (Troy) 41:15; 3. Lisa Ippolito (Saratoga Springs) 41:42
60-64
Men: 1. Bob Giambalvo (Delhi) 29:39; 2. Paul Forbes (Colonie) 31:58; 3. Patrick Glover (Clifton Park) 34:03
Women: 1. Judy Phelps (Malta) 36:11; 2. Martha DeGrazia (Slingerlands) 37:06; 3. Susan Wong (Glenmont) 38:31
65-69
Men: 1. Douglas Fox (Loudonville) 38:23; 2. David Hayes (Niskayuna) 39:33; 3. Thomas Kollar (Schenectady) 41:33
Women: 1. Ginny Pezzula (Colonie) 42:46; 2. Sibyl Jacobson (Canaan) 49:39; 3. Carol Butt (Delmar) 1:02:35
70 and older
Men: 1. John Pelton (West Rupert, Ver.) 38:50; 2. Wade Stockman (Rensselaer) 41:26; 3. Robert Thien (Glenmont) 49:10
Women: 1. Anny Stockman (Rensselaer) 55:01; 2. Joan Corrigan (Clifton Park) 1:03:35.
More than 800 runners competed in this year’s Delmar Dash.“