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Announcing the 2024 GMAA Club Awards

The 2024 season has been an outstanding year for GMAA. We are thrilled to celebrate the incredible achievements of our members, volunteers, and racers who made this year unforgettable. With over 600 club members, more than 1000 racers competing in 8 exciting races, and 120 volunteers supporting the events, we’ve witnessed an impressive display of community spirit, dedication, and athleticism.

As we close out the season, we are proud to announce the 2024 GMAA Club Awards. These awards highlight the exceptional efforts and accomplishments of our runners and volunteers across several categories, from consistent participation to outstanding performance. Let’s take a look at the prestigious awards to be recognized this year:

The Grand Prix Awards

The Grand Prix Awards are presented to the highest-scoring racers across all GMAA races in each age category. This coveted award recognizes those who have shown consistent excellence and dedication across GMAA events throughout the year. The winners of the Grand Prix Awards will be determined by total points accumulated during the GMAA races, with points awarded for top-3 race finishes according to age and gender.

2024 Grand Prix Final Standings

The Participation Awards

The Participation Awards honor individuals who went above and beyond with their involvement in the club. To earn this recognition, participants must have participated in at least five club races and volunteered at a minimum of one event. These individuals exemplify the true spirit of community by not only racing but also giving their time to help organize and support our events. GMAA thrives because of volunteers like these who make our races possible!

2024 Participation Awardees: Ruth Blauwiekel, Liz Champagne, Mike Bessette, Anne Treadwell, Gordon MacFarland, Alissa Wilson, Pascal Cheng, Harry Curth, Janis Campbell, Alex McHenry, Jennifer Adkisson, Norm Larson, Peter Mitchell, Steve Andrews

The Performance Series Awards

The Performance Series Awards celebrate the top-performing Team Racing athletes in the GMAA Performance Series races across various age categories. These awards recognize athletes who have achieved outstanding results within the specific Performance Series events held throughout the year. Competitors are ranked based on their performance in these designated races, with the highest scorers in each age group receiving recognition for their exceptional athletic achievements.

2024 Performance Series Final Standings


We couldn’t be more proud of the GMAA community and everything we’ve accomplished together in 2024. From the competitive spirit on the race course to the teamwork and support shown through volunteerism, every member has contributed to another amazing year. Thank you to everyone who participated, volunteered, and cheered us on!

We look forward to celebrating your achievements at the GMAA Annual Banquet on Feb. 15th (buy tickets here). Here’s to another great year in 2025!

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GMAA Turkey Trot 2024

The holidays have officially kicked off and with it, GMAA’s 48th annual Turkey Trot,
which took place on the chilly Thanksgiving of November 28th , 2024, with the esteemed goal of
raising a large amount of donations for Feeding Champlain Valley. The hope is always to raise
more money and food donations than the previous year as the race is a donation-based event and
the number of participants in this prestigious race is generally well over 300 participants.
Standing outside in the chilly rain and sleet, it was clear that anticipation was high
amongst runners, trotters, volunteers, spectators, and race directors alike. Many inquiries were
circling around amongst the masses. Questions such as, is it going to snow? Where is the starting
line? Who is Turkey Steve? If I pass out from exertion on the course, will I be carried back or
will my lifeless body be rolled into the woods by the course monitors until the end of the race or
until the end of time? Luckily, no casualties occurred during or after the race, but that
information might be at the discretion of the course monitors.

The air was thick with anticipation as the volunteers eagerly set up registration tables,
GMAA apparel, food bins for Feeding Champlain Valley, and the timing and sound equipment
for the annual event. Upon glancing at the RunSignUp list the night before, 610 participants were
seen to have preregistered, which was almost 100 more registrants than the previous year!! But it
didn’t end there. Around 9:00 am, the doors to Gutterson arena opened and in flooded hordes of
trotters quickly making their way to the registration tables as Jan, Nik Ponzio, Scott Perrapato,
and Brad Sleeper quickly set off to mark the course. Only Brad made it back to the starting line,
leaving the other three gentlemen to monitor the course and keep the runners on track.
Fortunately, our volunteers were ready with pens, registration forms, and raffle tickets for the
world’s greatest raffle. The table was well controlled by the able bodies of Tim Richmond, Okan
Canaran, Hannah Karki, and two other college freshmen from UVM. Papers, pens, and raffle
tickets began to fly as money, checks, and registration papers went back and forth rapidly up
until 9:58 am, 2 minutes before the race began. It was estimated that around 55 participants
registered race day.

As the time came closer to race start, Alex Frank took his rightful place as course monitor
at the top of the bike path and Steve Andrews quickly set the cones around a quarter mile loop
for the kid’s race. Now, for those of you reading this who have asked yourselves, ‘who is Turkey
Steve?’ read no further. At 9:38 am, (7 minutes before the start of the kid’s race), who should
arrive, but Steve Merrill dressed head-to-toe in Ron Cleveland’s turkey costume for everyone to
enjoy, especially the children. At 9:45 am, Steve Merrill became none other than Turkey Steve,
as dubbed by the race director, and Turkey Steve became the lead turkey for the kid’s race,
running with them around the 400m course and home to victory.

As time passed, more and more runners/trotters arrived and were greeted by the soothing
sounds of 80s hair metal reverberating through the air from Gordon MacFarland’s world
renowned sound system and signaling the location of the starting line. With Liz monitoring the
sound system and Alex McHenry controlling the clock, the pre-race line up was starting off
smooth. However, no one can expect a perfect race and shortly after the start of the race, poor
Gordon and Liz’s sound system malfunctioned from the rain, leaving the sounds of silence to be
palpable to everyone waiting for the trotters at the finish line. Thankfully, Alex came to the
rescue and ran his own jean-clad turkey trot from the finish line to Gutterson and back with
GMAA’s working sound system.

At approximately 9:50 am, the runners/trotters were directed to make their way to the
starting line however, panic arose as race participants stretched back as far as the side doors to
the arena, making a large ‘C’ shape down the bike path less than 5 minutes before the race
started. Would they make it?! At the start of the race, we recounted how grateful we were to have
everyone out there, runners, trotters, spectators, and volunteers alike to participate in the Turkey
Trot this year, especially with UVM’s Gutterson arena, bike path, and amenities at our disposal.
At 10 am, the racers were off with the real trotters trailing behind.

To no surprise, fast times were run with the 1 st place male finisher taking the victory with
a time of 15:52 (unofficially) for the men, which was 5 seconds faster than last year’s winner
(unofficially) and following not too far behind was the 2 nd place male finisher who was none
other than GMAA’s Jurdan Mossburg with a time of 17:10. The third place male finisher arrived
shortly after him with a time of 17:12. The 1 st place female finished with a time of 19:29
followed by the 2 nd and 3 rd place females with times of 19:53 and 20:02, respectively. Due to the
unofficial, casual, and fun nature of the race, runners are unable to be unidentified as race bibs
are not provided. To make up for not having gender prize winners, the raffle was twice as big as
last year with donations provided by local vendors such as GMAA’s sponsor, SkiRack, Green
Mountain Massage, Take Good Care Fitness, Mill River Brewing, Ben & Jerry’s, Sangha
Studios, and more. However, this race director is always looking to improve upon how to best
celebrate the Turkey Trotters and their commitment to racing hard.

Following the conclusion of the race, the world’s greatest raffle was held with t-shirts,
pint glasses, running socks, fleece blankets, gift certificates, and more were lying in wait to be
won back in Gutterson arena. Due to the learning experience that was a very lengthy raffle two
years ago, prizes were set out by Tim, Okan, Alex, myself, and Paul Wagner with the winning
raffle ticket numbers written on a sheet of paper so that runners could check to see if they were
lucky enough to claim a prize. This significantly shortened the post-race prize-winning event as
compared to last year.

At the end of the event, when all of the participants had taken their leave in lieu of turkey
dinners and family time, the monetary donations were counted up and the food was prepared to
be shipped off to be weighed. With the careful eyes and mathematical prowess of Tim Richmond
and the use of a calculator, we had an estimated total of $6,000 that was raised between pre-
registration and race-day registrants and 435 lbs of food were obtained for Feeding Champlain
Valley. We hope that next year is equally as or more successful with our donations and
participants next year. I also want to commemorate our volunteers as the race would not have run
as smoothly without them!

Jess Marini
Turkey Trot 2024 Race Director

Turkey Trot 2024 Photos

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Happy Halloween from the Hills Are Alive 5k

What a beautiful morning for a Halloween themed race, The Hills Are Alive with runners in Milton!

A great turnout of almost 60 runners wound their way through the Laura’s Tears course which was in the best shape it’s ever been in all the years racing at Arrowhead. Although the morning was crisp, it was mostly dry and leaf blown as well as decorated for Halloween throughout the course which the fast runners all appreciated on their extra running cool down lap 😉

Overall winners received Ski Rack gift cards, while the mad scientist won the costume contest. The raffle table had a little bit of everything for literally everyone including the best volunteers ever and everyone left smiling and eating a cider donut. Looking forward to next year already!

Laura Gould
Hills Are Alive Race Director

Hills Are Alive 2024 Results

Hills Are Alive 2024 Photos

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The 53rd Champlain Islands Marathon & Half Marathon: Race Day Recap

Date: October 20, 2024
Location: Folsom Elementary School, South Hero, VT

What an incredible day we had for the Champlain Islands Marathon and Half Marathon! With 129 marathon participants and 302 runners in the half marathon, the energy was palpable. A great turnout, despite a windy day that started in the 40s!

Race Results

Race Photos

Pre-Race Excitement

We were thrilled to see the race sell out by mid-September, and we even opened up 100 additional spots on race weekend—40 of which were filled! It’s fantastic to witness such enthusiasm for our event.

Course Overview

The half marathon featured a scenic out-and-back route on South Street and West Shore Drive, while the marathon runners tackled a double out-and-back course, all starting and finishing in front of Folsom Elementary. The views along the course were stunning, and we loved seeing everyone enjoy the beautiful fall colors!

Support Along the Course

With three aid stations plus a finish line setup, our runners had plenty of support. We offered Untapped gels and Lime Mapleaid to keep energy levels high. A huge shout-out to South Hero Rescue for providing medical support; we’re happy to report there were no incidents!

Congratulations to Our Winners!

What a stellar performance from all our runners! Special congratulations to Adric Heney, who completed his very first marathon, and to GMAA’s own Kimberly Lord for securing 2nd place overall in the marathon! Full results can be seen here.

Marathon – Men Top Finishers

  1. Adric Heney – 2:56:27
  2. Ryan Cloutier – 3:14:42
  3. Colin Shea – 3:15:25

Marathon – Women Top Finishers

  1. Kimberly Lord – 3:09:54
  2. Jessica Jackson – 3:18:27
  3. Kristina Kincelova – 3:27:55

Marathon – Non-Binary Top Finishers

  1. Beatrice Scott – 3:30:42

Half Marathon – Men Top Finishers

  1. John Stanton-Geddes – 1:15:53
  2. Kenny Regan – 1:17:11
  3. Ian McCallum-Cook – 1:18:44

Half Marathon – Women Top Finishers

  1. Kathryn Buchan – 1:30:03
  2. Sarah Shiman – 1:31:56
  3. Megan Papineau – 1:32:12

Half Marathon – Non-Binary Top Finishers

  1. LB Gunderson – 2:15:02
  2. Xavier Hayden – 2:18:32
  3. Bailey Grey Rinaldi – 2:21:03

Community Impact

This year, we’re proud to announce that thanks to a strong turnout, we will be contributing $3,000 each to the Folsom Elementary Track and Field Program and South Hero Rescue. It’s wonderful to see our race giving back to the community!

Post-Race Celebrations

The finish line was bustling with activity and delicious snacks! Runners enjoyed fresh apples from Allenholm, bagels and cream cheese from Wally’s Place, apple cider from Hackett’s Orchard, and homemade chili from Mama Li Ling’s Kitchen. We apologize to those who missed out on the chili—we’ll be sure to have more next year!

Looking Ahead

Mark your calendars for next year’s race on October 19, 2025! We can’t wait to see you back for another incredible event. A huge thank you to all our volunteers, sponsors, participants, and the local community for making this year’s race a success. Your support means everything to us!

Happy running until we meet again!

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Apple Harvest Celebrates 50 Years

On a beautiful September morning, 139 runners toed the start line for the Apple Harvest 10K. We were back to our traditional start/finish location at Shelburne Beach, where we had the use of the Town’s elegant new beach house. We had a fast field, with Blake Ressler, John Stanton-Geddes and Jurdan Mossburg leading the men at 34:02, 34:18 and 34:24, respectively. The first three women finishers were Rachel Rudder, Kristin Kindred, and Heather Feldman with times of 39:34, 40:48 and 42:48 respectively. Matthew Powers was the 1st non-binary finisher with a time of 39:16. It was especially fun to have a strong contingent of runners from UVM participating. The racers were treated to apple crisp with ice cream and fresh Vermont apple cider.

The team of Apple Harvest volunteers included Jenn and Jim Adkisson, Steve Andrews, Liz Champagne, Harry Curth, Toshiharu Furukawa, Patrick Henry, Martha Keenan, Lee Krohn, Gordon MacFarland, Alex McHenry, Nik Ponzio, Curt Taylor, and Shelley Seidl. Many thanks to all the volunteers and runners who came together to make this a successful race! 

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The Red Rocks 5k 2024 Recap

The Red Rocks 5k was a steaming success this year, with 94 runners completing the course of wooded trails in warm humidity.  The benefactor of this run is the GMAA scholarship, which was awarded to three much-deserving students as they enter college this fall.  The shaded woods kept runners cool on the trails, and after finishing near the beach there was watermelon, ice pops and cookies for refreshments.  Top male, female and non-binary runners were Sebastian McCabe, Heather Feldman, and Adrian Davis.  Age group winners won psychedelic t-shirts and we have extras on sale at our website (coming soon).

Thank you to all the volunteers who made this year’s event happen!

Red Rocks 2024 Results

Red Rocks 2024 Photos

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2024 Clarence Demar Roundup

On July 4th, 2024 we had a record breaking number of runners (354) sign up for, and finish the Clarence DeMar 5k in South Hero, VT. Wondu Summa topped the field of 316 runners with a time of 16:09.2. Christine Hagan was the first female finisher with a time of 19:23 and Matt Powers was the top non-binary athlete with a time of 18:43.9. All runners were awarded with Island Homemade Ice Cream, watermelon and ice pops upon finishing. Most runners who stayed after the race received a prize from the raffle table, where all prizes were generously donated from local Vermont businesses. We had a great race and can’t wait for next year!

Results can be viewed here

Photos can be viewed here

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GMAA 2024 Scholarship Winners

The Green Mountain Athletic Association announces 2024 Scholarship winners!

The GMAA will award three scholarships of $1,500 each to graduating seniors to help fund their college careers. The winners were chosen from many applicants, and were determined based on their academic achievements, community and school involvement, and their contribution to the sport of running. You can learn more about the scholarship here.

Congratulations to our 2024 winners:

Austin Simone of South Burlington High School

Austin joined the cross-country team his freshman year and the camaraderie quickly fostered his love of running. Austin has participated in cross-country, track and field, or Nordic skiing in all 12 seasons of his high school career, and was named co-captain for each sport his senior year. Austin will attend Penn State University this fall and major in mechanical engineering. Austin will run on the club team this fall and might try out for Penn State’s division 1 varsity program.

Porter Hurteau of BFA Saint Albans

Porter participated in the cross-country, Nordic skiing, and track and field teams in all 12 seasons of his high school career. Porter was also named to the National Honor Society and has volunteered for the Special Olympics, as well as participated in many other philanthropic and volunteer activities. Porter will attend the University of New Hampshire and join the varsity cross-country and track and filed teams. Porter will major in mechanical engineering and aims to pursue a career in the automotive industry.

Gillian Fairfax of Burlington High School

Gillian participated in soccer, cross-country, Nordic skiing, and track and field in all 12 seasons of her high school career. Gillian’s first race was at age 4 at the Yam Scram and has continued to run legs of the VT City Marathon. Gillian will attend Bowdoin College this fall and is interested in environmental science or biology. Running will continue to be a big part of her life and will incorporate it into her ski training. Running will be a life-long sport for Gillian, and she hopes to eventually run a marathon or ultra-marathon.

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GMAA 43rd Kaynor’s Sap Run – 2024 Race Report

On Sunday 7 April 2024 the Green Mountain Athletic Association (GMAA) hosted the 43rd running of the Kaynor’s Sap
Run 10k. The race directors were a bit nervous that the road conditions would be extra challenging due to a late-season snowstorm the week prior but the snow mostly melted and the dirt roads were drier than expected and only left a “normal amount” of mud. The weather was sunny and in the upper 40s for the race – absolutely delightful.

The Sap Run racers are a hearty bunch and were rewarded with local cider donuts and cider as their post-race
replenishment. Prizes for the top 2 finishers in the female, non-binary, and male categories were awarded. There were
also random raffle prizes of SkiRack gift cards, hyper-local maple syrup, and baskets of soap from Twincraft Skincare.

Female top finishers:
1) Grace Gray
2) Anna Milkowski

Non-binary top finishers:
1)Matthew Powers

Male top finishers:
1) John Benner
2) Daniel Peters

Full Results HERE

Race Photos HERE

GMAA is an all-volunteer running club and it would not be possible to put on races without the amazing support of our
race day volunteers. This group is incredible and the race directors are incredibly grateful for their time, energy and
smiles! Many thanks to: Ruth Blauwiekel, Janis Campbell, Jazmyn Sylvester-Cross, Bob Sayers, Liz Champagne, Martha Keenan, Hillary Holmes, Michele Morris, Randi Brevik, Maddy Pfeiffer, and Deb Vogl.

GMAA appreciates our devoted sponsors: SkiRack and UnTapped Natural Athletic Fuel. Thank you!

Happy running!
Diane Fuchs and Tim Richmond
Kaynor’s Sap Run race directors

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GMAA Performance Series Kickoff – Race Recap

Ahead of the Boston Marathon, the Frank Nealon Boston Tune-Up 15K race took place for the 43rd year, and 11 GMAA members traveled to Upton, MA to compete both against themselves and a field of impressive talent. This was a USA Track and Field-New England (USATF-NE) grand prix race, serving as the 15K Championship. 

Later this month is the team’s next performance series race, James Joyce Ramble in Dedham, MA, which also is the USATF-NE Masters 10K Championship race.

Here are the team results:

Men’s 50+

4th place

Men’s 40+

Female Open

Here are the individual GMAA results (finish time, age group finish)

Alex McHenry – 58:44, 10/64 50-59

Binney Mitchell – 1:00:41, 15/64 50-59

Allen Mead – 1:01:30, 18/64 50-59

Tim Richmond – 1:02:52, 54/78 40-49

Nik Ponzio – 1:03:00, 22/64 50-59

Mark Hoeft – 1:03:11, 55/78 40-49

Norm Larson – 1:05:24, 10/46 60-69

Jazmyn Sylvester-Cross – 1:05:49, 23/54 20-29

Jess Marini – 1:06:18, 16/51 30-39

Anne Treadwell – 1:11:27, 10/59 50-59

Liz Champagne – 1:16:12, 9/26 60-69

Hibby Whitten – 1:21:12, 33/51 30-39