SHELBURNE FALLS — Will Sanders ran the Bridge of Flowers Classic for the first time in 2019 and finished in third.
The Marlborough, Conn. resident returned on Saturday for the 43rd running of the race and wasn’t going to be denied a win.
Sanders, 36, took an early lead on the 8K course, lost the lead on the hill but charged hard down the stretch to cross the finish line first with a time of 25 minutes, 46 seconds.
“It feels good to win this,” Sanders said. “I’ve won a few races here and there. In a big race like this with 400 plus people it feels great to come away with the win.”
It was Shelburne Falls’ Mac Sloan Anderson and Southampton’s Christopher Vayda who Sanders had to catch on the grueling hill that gives so many runners problems during the race.
Sloan Anderson and Vayda were able to pass Sanders up the hill, but Sanders moved into second on the final stretch on the hill and closed out the race with a 4:30 paced mile to come in first.
Sloan Anderson settled for second with a time of 26:20 — a PR that broke his previous record for Franklin County runners which he set in 2022 — while Vayda earned third with a run of 26:36.
“When we hit the hill, I knew I wasn’t going to be great up there,” Sanders said. “I struggled the first third of it and got caught halfway up. I didn’t lose that much ground because I had a big gap going into it. I lost some up it. When we started getting close to the crest I closed the gap and got back in second. Once we crossed it I went gangbuster down the hill and regained the lead and dropped a 4:30 mile there.”
If it weren’t for a tough go on the hill, Sanders might have been able to break the course record.
Louis Serafini broke the record in 2019 with a time of 24:26, a time that still holds as the fastest on the course. Sanders got out to a blistering start on Saturday, and if it were a faster time on the hill, he might have been able to rewrite the record book.
“I had a great pace going,” Sanders said. “I made the decision a quarter of a mile in that the group was a little too slow. The pace was a little slow. I dug down a little bit and got the pace going through the first two miles. If I’m not running seven [minutes] up the hill and run a six that puts me at the record pace. That’s the only difference. It’s being strong up the hill and I’ve been struggling with that all year.”
Sanders said he enjoys getting to run the 8K race, a distance not often offered. He has experience running them in the past, not just at the Bridge of Flowers, so he knew what type of pace he needed to earn the victory.
“It’s a fun race,” Sanders said. “There’s not a lot of 8K races. It’s a fun distance. It’s a college cross country distance for a lot of people. I’ve done an 8K in Connecticut a couple times so I’m used to the distance. I just think of it as a five mile race.”
Amherst’s Quinn Hampson earned fourth (27:14) while Northampton’s Alex Strenta came in fifth (27:31).
Rounding out the top 10 was Montague’s Michael Keebler (27:32), Pelham’s Wouter Hoogkamer (28:01), Brooklyn, NY’s Harry Gould (28:41), Brooklyn, NY’s Clayton Blose (28:57) and Greenfield’s Mark Rabasco (29:16).
Like Sanders, Amherst’s Jenna Gigliotti had last run the Bridge of Flowers Classic in 2019.
The 30-year-old returned on Saturday and blazed through the course in 29 minutes, 41 seconds which was the top female time.
“It was great to win it,” Gigliotti said. “I’ve been running since I was in middle school but you never get tired of the post-race feeling of having a good race. It wasn’t a PR but it still feels great to win.”
Gigliotti earned second back in 2019 and went into Saturday’s race hoping to score a top three finish.
After recently opening up The Humble Peach Cafe in Amherst, she’s been splitting her focus between her business and running, though was able to get enough training in to come out victorious.
“I opened the cafe last year,” Gigliotti said. “After being open for more than a year I can get back in the swing of things and was able to run it. I enjoyed it. It’s a challenge owning a business and managing running at the same time. You also never know who’s going to show up at these races. I wanted to push myself, run hard and stay engaged with the people around me.”
It was a close race down the stretch between Gigliotti and Shelburne’s Kayla Lampe, who was trailing right behind her for the majority of the race.
Gigliotti was able to turn it on down the line to hold off Lampe, who came across a mere six seconds after Gigliotti to take second with a time of 29:47.
“I could hear one of the girls coming behind me up the hill,” Gigliotti said. “I knew she was there and she helped push me. There were a couple guys I was going back and forth with. I never ran completely alone so it was nice to have people to gauge off of.”
Like many racers who go run the Bridge of Flowers Classic, Gigliotti noted how tough the hills were after.
Having run it before, she knew what she was in for and trained to be ready for them. It helped that she grew up in Pittsburgh, which has no shortage of hills to train on.
“This race is so tough,” Gigliotti said. “I’ve ran it before but not since 2019. It’s a tough course but it’s a great town. I love all the people out cheering. It’s a lot of fun and I look forward to it. The hills here are crazy. Growing up in Pittsburgh, it’s pretty hilly there so I’m used to it. I like training on the hills in Amherst so I was definitely prepared for the hills.”
Plainfield’s Meghan Davis earned third (31:09), Colleen Chase of Amherst came in fourth (31:35) while Lunenburg’s Brook Hansel finished in fifth (33:24).
Rounding out the top 10 female finishers were Maggie Mahoney of Florence (33:53), Melissa Hine of Springfield (34:23), Marcy Cabanas of Greenfield (34:38), Laura Christoph of Hadley (35:39 and Laure Van Den Broeck Raffensperger of Leyden (36:02).
The 3K race, which got going before the 8K race, was won by Dudley’s Wes Lawless with a time of 12:25. Northampton’s Jordan Wagner was the top female finisher with a run of 13:32.