Fast times are often dependent on ideal course conditions and this most recent Bucks County Roadrunners Club’s Winter Series might be considered Exhibit A for that.
A minimum of snow, ice and wind kept the trails at Tyler State Park in Newtown/Richboro close to ideal. Only one race, the “Pick Your Way,” fell victim to the elements. In one other race, the course was slightly modified in deference to slippery conditions.
But the majority of the races saw optimum conditions.
As a result, it seemed like nearly everyone in the 10 races was turning in some admirable times.
The Winter Series, which has been around since 1978, drew some big fields and smiles all around. Officially, a total of 462 runners did at least one race.
Perhaps the most cheerful of all was race director John O’Brien, who just completed his ninth year at the helm.
Since the end of COVID, the Winter Series turnouts have steadily climbed and the excitement the past couple years has been palpable.
The Winter Series overall and age group awards were presented in a ceremony this past Sunday.
Robert Stianchi won the male overall title and Justyna Wilson captured the female overall crown.
“It was a great year,” O’Brien said. “We didn’t have any flooding this year (which can affect the crossing of Neshaminy Creek near the starting line).”
O’Brien said the one cancelled race was due to icy conditions which can present a safety risk, especially on Tyler’s hilly paved paths.
It was an exceptionally cold winter but that didn’t seem to affect the turnouts.
“Our numbers were generally up across the board,” O’Brien said. “Running seems to be having a new boom lately. We had more younger people. We did stuff to try to encourage kids to come out – didn’t charge kids under 14 to compete.”
Gert Freas, competing in the women’s 60-64 age group, broke several course records.
Among those previous standards to fall included the Covered Bridge 5K; the half-marathon mark and the 4.6-mile record. Her half-marathon time was 1:42.46. That comes out to an age-graded score of approximately 88 percent.
“That was impressive,” O’Brien said. “Especially in Tyler with all those hills. Tough to do.”
Also, Tom Jennings won the men’s 80-and-over division and recorded some impressive times of his own.
“He (Jennings) is running tough,” O’Brien said. “He’s out there every week. He did the 10K, the 8-miler and the 15K.”
Stianchi won four races and finished second in four others. Alex Izewski, brother of 2025 Broad Street Run winner Josh Izewski, took home three first-place medals, including the Terrible Tyler 15K.
On the women’s side, Wilson ran away with the overall crown, picking up eight victories. Morgan Leh had a first, two seconds and five thirds.
For more information on the Winter Series, visit bcrrclub.com.
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>2024-25 BCRR Winter Series award winners
MALE
Overall: Robert Stianchi
>13 and under: 1. Graham Wagner; 2. David Bulat; 3. Ryan Sock.
>14-19: 1. Braylen Clayton; 2. Mark Griffin; 3. Andreas Quattrocchi.
>25-29: 1. Nick Accardo; 2. Griffin Rosenthal; 3. Kyle Oksten.
>30-34: 1. Logan Brady; 2. Ryan Braemer; 3. Gregory Hood.
>35-39: 1. Douglas Johnson; 2. Samuel Cler; 3. Justin Nawn.
>40-44: 1. Aaron Skolnik; 2. Vincent Garonski; 3. Brian McGinley.
>45-49: 1. Giuseppe Cavallo; 2. Michael Karl; 3. Ryan Goldblum.
>50-54: 1. Vitaly Belotserkovsky; 2. Kevin McKale; 3. Brian Fey.
>55-59: 1. Christian Carabello; 2. Patrick Donadio; 3. Paul Lancaster.
>60-64: 1. Colm Quinn; 2. Joe Boyce; 3. Dave Lubbe.
>65-69: 1. Peter Carideo; 2. Ray Willhoft; 3. Howard Cohen.
>70-74: 1. Phil Davies; 2. Gary Corbi; 3. William Schaffling.
>75-79: 1. Robert Esterly; 2. George Ashmore; 3. Mark Frazza.
>80+: 1. Tom Jennings; 2. Edward Haines.
FEMALE
>Overall: 1. Justyna Wilson.
>13 and under: 1. Nora Coulson; 2. Isha Awasthi; 3. Kaitlin Sock.
>14-19: 1. Sian Kall; 2. Olive Rankin; 3. Julianne Bieak.
>20-24: 1. Holly Pantalone.
>25-29: 1. Kara VanDooijeweert; 2. Jane Hooper Rosenthal; 3. Christina Chang.
>30-34: 1. Morgan Leh; 2. Christina Burner; 3. Mel Ely.
>35-39: 1. Bronwyn Bird; 2. Tracy Topolin; 3. Inga Wright.
>40-44: 1. Kristi Wiley; 2. Aleta Budd; 3. Kara Seymour.
>45-49: 1. Gwen Kranzle Stia; 2. Corinne Jones; 3. (tie) Julie Whittemore, Robyn Randa.
>50-54: 1. Natacha Smith; 2. Siobhan McHugh; 3. (tie) Lisa Kall, Lucy Hu.
>55-59: 1. Rennie Narine; 2. Karen Wheeler; 3. (tie) Maureen Harnishfeger, Rachel Albright.
>60-64: 1. Gert Freas; 2. Karen Robinson-Cleote; 3. Susan Solecki.
>65-69: 1. Julianne Domm; 2. Valerie Maugle; 3. Kathy Hahn.
>70-74: 1. Emily Grace; 2. Sharon Schanbacker; 3. Aly Appel.
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>Race calendar
>Wednesday, June 11
Let’s Be Frank 5K, 7 p.m., Doylestown. Contact www.bucks5kseries.com
