26th Annual Great Pumpkin Challenge

 A big thank you to everyone who came out to the 26^th Annual Great Pumpkin Challenge 5K, 10K, and Kids Fun Run. We had a fantastic turnout, with over 1,000 people in attendance. While we had a few spats of rain, the joy and energy of the crowd was unmatched, and we could not have had a better day!

Congratulations to the overall winners of the 5K, Kelsey Wingate of Niskayuna with a time of 21:07, and Drew Schroeder of Ghent with a time of 15:45, and the overall winners of the 10K, Cate Chamberlain of Albany with a time of 40:09, and Jacob Walker of San Diego with a time of 35:09. First, second, and third prizes were given out by age group. Winners who missed the awards ceremony may go to 16 Saratoga Bridges Boulevard, Ballston Spa, for glass pickup Monday – Friday between 8:30am and 4:30pm.

The event featured NET Chip Timing from the Albany Running Exchange, homemade baked goods from Saratoga Bridges residential homes and Day Program rooms, water and food products from Coca-Cola Beverages Northeast, Bimbo Bakeries USA, Hannaford, Bowman Orchards, Lakeside Cider, Riverview Orchard, and Saratoga Apple, and firewood and starters from Exit 15N Firewood.

The winners of the pumpkin decorating contest were the Beetlejuice Bob pumpkin, which received first place, the Scuba Diver pumpkin, which came in second place, and the Fairy Land pumpkin, which came in third place. Thank you to everyone who voted in the pumpkin decorating contest, and thank you to all the incredible people who dressed up in costumes for the costume contest!

This year, a large group of people from our programs and services joined in on the fun through our Bridges Buddies program, a four-week walking and wheeling training program which prepares them for the 5K.

A huge thank you to all our staff members, volunteers, and sponsors who made this event a great success year after year!

For the 5K Results, click HERE.

For the 10K results, click HERE.

Be sure to check out the photo album at the bottom of the page for pictures from the event! (We’ll be adding more soon – keep an eye out)