Kyle Brayton was in town to visit his girlfriend Sunday, Sept. 27, without any preconceived notion of running a five-kilometer race.
Within a couple of hours, Brayton was celebrating a victory in the Crossings 5K Challenge.
The New York City resident completed the course in a time of 17:52 to claim the overall title. Noah White of Slingerlands was second with a time of 18:18, and Todd Weiss of Watervliet placed third with a time of 18:23.
“My girlfriend lives in Latham, so I came up for a visit, and I decided to run today,” said Brayton. “It was a perfect day for running.”
Brayton has been training for the New York City Marathon, so the Crossings 5K Challenge offered the 24-year-old a chance to see how far he’s come.
“It’s good to know that I’m in good shape,” said Brayton.
Guilderland’s Meg Versteegen was the top female runner. Versteegen finished with a time of 19:54, more than 30 seconds ahead of the second female runner, Averill Park’s Mollie Turner.
“I had a goal to break 20 minutes,” said Versteegen. “I was just keeping an eye on my mile splits and trying to keep a steady pace.”
Colonie Central High School freshman Hunter Kosich was the top teen runner in the 5K race. The 14-year-old cross country runner placed fourth overall with a time of 19:03. Loudonville’s Courtney Iftiger led all teen female runners with a time of 21:54.
“I didn’t know I was going to finish so high (in the standings),” said Kosich. “I was aiming for under 19 (minutes).”
In the children’s 1-mile race, Delmar’s Rylee Davis was the top overall runner. The 9-year-old finished with a time of 5:53. Watervliet’s Austin Baird finished first among male runners with a time of 6:08.
More than 600 runners participated in the 5K and children’s 1-mile races at this year’s Crossings Challenge.
