Growing up in the Franklin County, Shelburne Falls’ Mac Sloan Anderson and Plainfield’s Meghan Davis have been attending and competing in the Bridge of Flowers Classic for a long time.
Now, the couple can each call themselves champions of the race.
Sloan Anderson has been knocking on the door of a title, taking second each of the last three years. He came into Saturday’s 45th running of the race determined to break through and he did just that, completing the 8K course in a time of 26 minutes, 34 seconds to take first in the 463 runner field.
“It’s been three in a row getting second,” Sloan Anderson said. “It feels good. I wasn’t expecting it. I’m just finishing up school, graduating and getting a new job. I haven’t been training as much so this is great to win.”
After he won, Sloan Anderson stayed at the finish line waiting for his girlfriend, Davis, to cross as well.
He didn’t have to wait long, as Davis powered through in a time of 31:34 as the first woman to finish.
“It’s incredible,” Davis said of winning alongside Sloan Anderson. “It wasn’t the plan but it’s always been the wish. It’s so cool to see it come to fruition.”
Sloan Anderson and Davis live in Somerville now and aren’t training as often on the steep hills that the Bridge of Flowers course provides.
Sloan Anderson said he knew it was going to be a challenge going in but that he just had to push through, especially on Crittenden Hill which is considered the toughest part of the race.
“It hurt a lot,” Sloan Anderson said. “It really came through on the hill which I wasn’t ready for but I was able to hold on. This is the rust-buster for the fall races. It’s nice to get out here and do this race.”
Davis said hills were her speciality, knowing that if she could keep it close going into the toughest part of the course, she liked her odds.
“It was tough,” “I think I took it out pretty tough and knew the hills were going to be my forte. I hammered the hills then just tried to hang on during the downhills.”
After three years in a row of taking second, Sloan Anderson was thrilled to take first in his hometown race, saying he’ll continue running in the Bridge of Flowers Classic as long as he can.
“I’ve been wanting to win this for a while,” Sloan Anderson said. “I’m really happy. I expect to be back here to defend it next year. As long as they keep letting me, I’ll be here running in this.”
Davis was also pleased to come out victorious, as she has had multiple top five finishes in the past.
“It’s incredible,” Davis said. “I feel so grateful. It felt so good crossing the finish line.”
Southampton’s Chris Vayda was the second runner to cross (27:01) while Whately’s Jacob Barnett placed third (27:28).
Montague’s Michael Keebler took fourth (27:36), Amherst’s Dan Smith came in fifth (27:52) while Chelmsford’s David Perlofff (28:42), Shelburne’s Liam Walker (29:13), Greenfield’s Mark Rabasco (29:23), South Deerfield’s Matt Shamey (29:59) and Westfield’s Andrew Woodbury (30:11) rounded out the top 10 finishers.
Longmeadow’s Marlee Berg-Haryasz was the next woman to cross the finish line after Davis, taking second with a time of 35:11. Northampton’s Jessica Holley placed third (36:02), Easthampton’s Audrey Malloy came in fourth (36:28) and Bernardston’s Molly MacLeay took fifth (39:08).
Cambridge’s Kaela Leary (39:19), Colrain’s Virginia Krezmien (40:10), Leverett’s Anna Plummer (40:36), North Adams’ Christine Tower (40:47) and Chester’s Victoria Bergeron (40:48) rounded the top 10 women finishers.
The 3K race kicked off the event and it was Feeding Hills’ Glen Meisenhelder who placed first with a time of 11:23.
Shelburne’s Carson Richardson took second (11:48), gill’s August Bingham took third (12:14), Buckland’s Blake Budrewicz came in fourth (13:06) while Ware’s Brian Farmer (13:08), Shelburne’s Aidan Gauthier (13:10), Northampton’s Zach Ballard (14:04), Shelburne’s Colton Murdock (14:03), Leyden’s Julian Hake (14:21) and Greenfield’s Ryan Pedigree (14:35) rounded out the top 10.
On the women’s side in the 3K, Shelburne’s Flannery Geier was the winner (14:41) followed by Shelburne’s Kaoru Toyoda (16:26), Shelburne’s Ava Weeks (16:48), Shelburne’s Morgan Raffa (17:08), White River Junction’s Juliette Brooks (17:16), Greenfield’s Morgan Sallee (17:19), Shelburne’s Nicole Lawless (17:19), South Deerfield’s Jennifer Abramson (17:49), Winchester’s Monica Muhonen (17:54) and Shelburne’s Georgia Gauthier (18:21).