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FALMOUTH, MA (September 29, 2015)—Dozens of top age-group runners, from 13 to 80 years old, were celebrated Tuesday night at the third-annual New Balance Falmouth Road Race Awards and Recognition Reception, held at the Coonamessett Inn.
Capping off the evening, Thomas Giardino and Liz Lawton were announced as winners of the Margaret Bradley Award as the fastest male and female finishers from Falmouth.
Giardino, 41, was the fastest Falmouth finisher in the men’s age 40-49 division, with a time of 42:06. Remarkably, the 2015 New Balance Falmouth Road Race was Giardino’s first race since recovering from a broken neck sustained in a car accident in March. Working as a registered nurse in the emergency room at Children’s Hospital in Boston, Giardino was unable to attend the reception, but will receive his award from Margaret Bradley’s family at a later date.
Lawton, 27, was the fastest Falmouth finisher in the women’s age 19-39 division, with a time of 47:40. After running her first New Balance Falmouth Road Race when she was 9 years old, Lawton went on to become the 2010 NCAA Division III national champion at both 5000 meters and 10,000 meters.
The Margaret Bradley Award is named for a Falmouth High School graduate who lost her life in 2004 while on a run in the Grand Canyon at the age of 24. Bradley’s father, Keith, presented the award to Lawton, who coincidentally ran for the same University of Chicago team on which Bradley had competed.
“Since I was a freshman, I’ve been hearing stories about Margaret,” said Lawton in an interview before the presentation, calling the award “a truly meaningful connection, as it not only shows how many people and communities she’s touched, but also how strong her spirit is that it continues to touch the same communities and new runners … year after year.”
Also honored at the reception were the male and female winners of the race’s nine age groups as well as the first male and female finishers in each age group who reside in Falmouth year-round.
Among the honorees were Tor Clark of Falmouth, who donned a tiara for the event to celebrate his 63rd birthday as well as his victory in the men’s 60-69 age group with a time of 48:09, and Don DeLinks, 77, of North Falmouth, who was the fastest Falmouth finisher in the men’s 75-79 age group with a time of 1:52:38 and is one of the “Falmouth Five”—a group of five men who have run all 43 editions of the Falmouth Road Race, dating back to 1973.
“I just keep putting one foot in front of the other,” said DeLinks. “I’ve just been lucky that my health has been OK and I have all these other guys, the originals. We’re all very good friends, and we just try to out-do each other and try to keep going.” Asked if he would have dreamed back in 1973 that he would own a 43-year streak of running the race, DeLinks replied: “Never.”
The complete list of age-group winners in the 2015 New Balance Falmouth Road Race:
Ages 10-14
Male: Josh Mangini, 13, New Hartford, CT (43:13)
Female: Olivia Fanshawe, 14, Schenectady, NY (49:13)
Falmouth Male: Alex Fratantoni, 13, Falmouth, MA (46:58)
Falmouth Female: Annabelle Abbott, 13, East Falmouth, MA (1:01:36)
Ages 15-18
Male: Connor Gralton, 17, Gales Ferry, CT (40:37)
Female: Karina Tavares, 17, Bristol, RI (46:30)
Falmouth Male: Chris Parkinson, 15, Falmouth, MA (49:51)
Falmouth Female: Marianna Moore, 18, East Falmouth, MA (58:35)
Ages 19-39
Male: Stephen Sambu, 27, Kenya/Tucson, AZ (32:17)
Female: Diane Nukuri, 30, Burundi/Flagstaff, AZ (36:47)
Falmouth Male: Alex Parulis, 28, Falmouth, MA (42:18)
Falmouth Female: Liz Lawton, 27, Falmouth, MA (47:40)
Ages 40-49
Male: Meb Keflezighi, 40, San Diego, CA (34:01)
Female: Kara Haas, 44, Chelmsford, MA (44:13)
Falmouth Male: Thomas Giardino, 41, Falmouth, MA (42:06)
Falmouth Female: Anne Preisig, 48, Falmouth, MA (48:43)
Ages 50-59
Male: Spyros Barres, 52, Mystic, CT (40:27)
Female: Joan Samuelson, 58, Freeport, ME (44:31)
Falmouth Male: Ken Gartner, 55, Falmouth, MA (43:55)
Falmouth Female: Janice Burton, 52, Falmouth, MA (57:21)
Ages 60-69
Male: Tor Clark, 62, Falmouth, MA (48:09)
Female: Sharon Vos, 60, Old Greenwich, CT (49:13)
Falmouth Male: Tor Clark, 62, Falmouth, MA (48:09)
Falmouth Female: Janet Vacon, 63, East Falmouth, MA (1:04:14)
Ages 70-74
Male: Richard Molloy, 74, Chelmsford, MA (1:06:48)
Female: Nancy Spiro, 73, Falmouth, MA (1:16:08)
Falmouth Male: Brian Shacter, 70, East Falmouth, MA (1:11:11)
Falmouth Female: Nancy Spiro, 73, Falmouth, MA (1:16:08)
Ages 75-79
Male: Gerry Burstein, 76, Tenafly, NJ (1:09:55)
Female: Margaret Patch, 78, Falmouth, MA (1:40:51)
Falmouth Male: Don Delinks, 77, North Falmouth, MA (1:52:38)
Falmouth Female: Margaret Patch, 78, Falmouth, MA (1:40:51)
Ages 80+
Male: Clay Armstrong, 80, Philadelphia, PA (1:26:35)
Falmouth Male: None
Female: Nancy Wilson, 80, Nahant, MA (1:58:30)
Falmouth Female: Doris Beatty, 80, Falmouth, MA (1:59:34)
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About Falmouth Road Race
The New Balance Falmouth Road Race was established in 1973 and has become one of the premier running events of the summer season. Each year the race draws an international field of Olympians, elite and recreational runners out to enjoy the iconic 7-mile seaside course. The non-profit Falmouth Road Race organization is committed to promoting health and fitness through community programs and philanthropic giving.
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