The 25th Delmar Dash provided a first for the 5-mile race.
Saratoga Springs resident Megan Hogan set the record for the fastest women’s division time when she crossed the finish line in 27:38. `That’s pretty awesome,` said Hogan. `I just wanted to give it a hard effort, and I did.`
Hogan’s time also placed her fifth out of the 559 overall runners who crossed the finish line. She was within 20 seconds of the third-place runner, Aaron Lozier of Guilderland. All of this happened despite running into a strong headwind over the last mile of the race.
`It was really windy out there which I thought affected the race, even though it was a flat course,` said Hogan. It was an impressive performance for Hogan, who hadn’t run competitively since she suffered an injury in March 2012. `I’ve been working as an interior designer in Saratoga since last July,` said Hogan, who turned in a fifth-place performance at the 2011 Freihofer’s Run for Women in Albany. `I just wanted to have fun running again, which I think is the point.` On the men’s side, Albany native Alex Paley continued his winning ways by claiming the overall title with a time of 25:22. Paley, who placed second to Eric MacKnight last year, said a good off-season helped him prepare for the spring road races. `I had a better winter training, and that’s why I ran faster this year,` said Paley, who also won last month’s Runnin’ of the Green 4-mile race in Green Island. `Plus, last year’s winner had to go to his girlfriend’s sister’s birthday in Connecticut. If we had run, I’m sure it would have been a close race.` Paley didn’t have anyone near him when he crossed the finish line at Bethlehem Central Middle School. The next fastest runner was Latham’s Nick Webster, who finished with a time of 26:52. `After the start, I was kind of running by myself,` said Paley.
This year’s Delmar Dash featured a bit of the old mixed with the new. Race co-creators Alan Via and Hank Steadman were on hand to start the race — the first one organized by the husband-and-wife team of Aaron and Diana Knoblach. `It’s amazing that something we started 25 years ago with 303 runners has become a community event,` said Steadman. Aaron Knoblach, who has participated in five Delmar Dashes in his racing career, said it’s an honor to continue the tradition. `It’s great to be able to give something back to the community, and the Delmar race is very important to a lot of people here,` said Knoblach.