BETHEL –– When the skies opened up on the half a million rock and roll revelers on Max Yasgur’s farm during the 1969 Woodstock revelry, spirits weren’t dampened by the driving wind and rain. And so, the historic event went on despite the weather. When people think of Woodstock, they think of the rain and mud as much as they think of the cavalcade of great performers that graced the stage.  

Mother Nature has a long memory, and so the hallowed grounds, now belonging to the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, once again beset by a monsoon. This time in honor of the First Annual Woodstock Run hosted by Monticello and diligently organized by Scott Cooper and run by Monti Coach Rick Sternkopf. 

The course was perfect and the field was set with harriers from Monticello, Beacon,  Port Jervis, Fallsburg, Eldred and Sullivan West ready to give their all in the newly minted fall classic race. But Mother Nature had other ideas, namely, to drench the racers with the remnants of Hurricane Ian turning the course into a muddy quagmire. 

The runners looked like they’d just emerged from a lake. First off during the torrential downpour was the modified race featuring 48 runners followed by an enclave of 42 varsity boys and lastly 25 varsity girls. The weather radar showed the strong band of rain but as Sternkopf noted, “The show must go on.” 

The race was more than two years in the planning. The idea for it was born during the Covid miasma when schools were not running events on campus. That spring when the fall sports were resurrected, Monticello was actually going to have the race at Bethel Woods, but it never came to pass. Sternkopf was “busier than a one-armed paperhanger,” trying to see that everything was coming off as planned. Keith Babbit handled the timing and Kurt Buddenhagen assisted handing out medals to the top finishers. “A lot of the runners really toughed it out and braved the conditions,” Sternkopf added. 

Planning is already in the works for next year’s race. Hopefully now that Mother Nature has made her “Woodstock statement,” next year will be minus the rain.

Boys team results: 1. Beacon 32; 2. Monticello 39; 3. Fallsburg 75; 4. Sullivan West; 5. Port Jervis129. The boys individual winner was Henry Reinke of Beacon (18:01).

Top ten Sullivan County finishers: 3. Landon Volpe (SW) 18:05; 4. Frank Giorgianni (M) 18:58; 5. Liam Burns (M) 19:07; 7. Ryan Zempoaltecati (F) 19:31; 8. Bobby Ppe-Laucella (M) 19:49; 9. Irvin Oestrich (M) 19:59; 10. Isaiah Hershewsky (F) 20:02; 13. Daniel Seminario (M) 21:20; 14. Dominic Giorgianni (M) 21:21; 15. Tobias Brown (M) 21:36

Girls team results: 1, Monticello 18; 2. Fallsburg 41; Beacon, Port Jervis and Sullivan West had no team scores as they lacked sufficient numbers. The girls individual winner was Monticello senior Taina DeJesus (21:49).

Top ten Sullivan County finishers: 1. Taina DeJesus (M) 21:49; 2. Diya Patel (M) 22:52; 3. Gisella King (F) 23:05; 5. Abby Morse (M) 23:45; 6. Kaitlyn Morse (M) 24:03; 7. Adisyn Somers (M) 24:38; 9. Ariana Gonzalez (F) 25:20; 10. Layla Wilkin (SW) 25:51; 12. Hannah Titus (M) 26:39; 13. Meredith Anderman (F) 28:26; 14. Joslyn Odell (F) 28:29.