Cody Englander
Staff Writer
The hilly course for last Saturday morning’s Old First Night Run/Walk had its highs and lows. The course was ostensibly a 2.75-mile tour of the Chautauqua Institution, capturing the beauty of the grounds.
The course saw six competitors finish in under 16 minutes: Jack Bertram, Adam Cook, Will Chubb, Squintz Rappole, Gabriel Minor and Luke Bissinger.
Bertram, Cook, Chubb and Rappole finished first through fourth respectively, the exact places they finished in the 2024 Old First Night Run as well.
Bertram finished in 13:52, over 30 seconds quicker than second place.
The first female finisher was 26-year-old Katherine Clark, with a time of 18:17, while Lindsay Sanger, 26, was close behind with a time of 19:20.
Sports Club Director Deb Lyons deemed it as yet another successful year.
“We had perfect weather for the Old First Night Race on Saturday,” Lyons said. “We had over 750 individuals signed up for the OFN race, the Around the World virtual race and the youth runs.”
She reflected on a community of 30 volunteers coming together to help out in every aspect, from singing the national anthem to assisting with the diaper crawl.
“We loved having Michaela Larsen, a Chautauqua Opera Apprentice, sing the national anthem, and centenarian Bud Horne on hand for the start of the race,” said Lyons.
