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New Britain's Blake, 20th, Takes State's Top Honors

For Eric Blake, Monday’s 31st annual 20-kilometer (12.4 miles) Stratton Faxon New Haven Road Race was just preparation.

Blake, 29, from New Britain, finished as the top runner from Connecticut, placing 20th with a time of 1 hour, 4 minutes and 23 seconds.

“It’s nice to run against the top runners in the 20K,” Blake said. “It’s nice to test yourself against the top runners in the country. You really get to see how you stack up against the best runners in the U.S.”

Blake noted he was sastisfied with his performance. But he is looking forward to a pair of little more challenging events.

The Mount Washington Road Race winner, Blake is eyeing the 24th World Mountain Running Trophy in Sierre Crans-Montana, Switzerland, which is less than two weeks away. Then he will be on his way to St. Paul, Minn., for the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon in October. There, he hopes to beat his personal best mark of 2:21:24.

Brendan Callahan, this year’s Branford Road Race winner, finished 20 seconds off Blake’s pace.

Shannon McHale finished as the top female in the state. With a time of 1:16:28, McHale placed 19th in the women’s field. McHale was pleased with her performance as she has been battling a hamstring injury.

“I was really, really conservative,” said McHale, 37, from Simsbury. “I got stronger and stronger as the race went on. With about 7.5 miles left, I felt really good.”

Cheshire High standout runner Irene Kalbian (18:54) won the 13-19 age female division.

Trading places

Amity girls’ cross country coach Chris Dickerson is usually the one doing the cheering and encouraging. Monday, however, close to a mix of 50 female and male Amity runners volunteered at the New Haven Road Race — and cheered on Dickerson as he crossed the finish line.

“It’s always a motivator when your team’s at the finish line,” Dickerson said. “You’re usually cheering them on. It’s nice to have them cheer you on.”

Dickerson, 42, finished with a time of 1:26:00. Amity boys’ cross country coach Bob Orgovan has competed in all 31 New Haven Road Races. He finished with a 1:48:42 mark Monday.

“I’m happy with it,” Orgovan said. “I ran the whole way and didn’t have to walk and kept an even pace. For my age, I’m 62, that’s a pretty good performance.”

5K Race

Matt Molski, 25, of New Haven won the 5K championship. He finished with a time of 15:46. Rob Dextradeur, 17, of Branford finished second (15:56). Sarah Donahue (17:53) of Boston beat Madeleine Marecki for the woman’s title. Eyeyemisis Damisah (18:25) of New Haven was the top area finisher on the female side.

Shay to return in 2009

Alicia Shay, last year’s female winner, did not compete and has not since the death of her husband Ryan Shay, who collapsed and died while competing at the U.S. Olympic marathon trials in November. She will compete in New Haven next year.

Record Breaker

A record total of 5,400 runners competed, beating last year’s mark of 5,100.