Mens winner Rodney Villella transitions to his bike The Fourth Annual Hudson Highlands Greenway Triathlon was held in Philipstown Sunday, October 11, 2009. The weather was clear and sunny, and the temperature crisp, a perfect fall day for the event. The course consisted of kayaking, 6 miles, to Bannerman's Island and back; biking, 24 miles, down Route 9D to the Bear Mountain Bridge and back up to Breakneck Tunnel; and running, a grueling 8 miles through Scenic Hudson's Foundry Preserve and up Bull Hill, then down past Little Stony Point and back to Dockside. The Hudson River was calm and flat as Race Director Paul Amico started the kayak race at 9am.

Rodney Villella, 40, of Newburgh was the individual winner, with a time of 3hr 22 min (57:02 kayak/ 1:10:18 bike / 1:15:21 run, Champion Chip Timing by Super Race Systems). Thirty-four individual triathletes and 25 relay team members completed a 38-mile course. The event, co-sponsored by the Philipstown Greenway Committee and the New York/New Jersey Trail Conference, once again featured Greenway Trail bike routes and running trails and the Hudson River Greenway Water Trail. The course was the same as last year, with each of the three sections of the triathlon being a loop beginning and ending at Dockside in Cold Spring.

Relay winner Ray Fusco prepares to exit after race Second and third place went to Evan Szablowski, 18, and Tommy Daniel, 20, both cadets at the United States Military Academy at West Point, with times of 3hr 43 min (1:12:06 kayak/ 1:11:26 bike / 1:20:19 run) and 3 hr 43 min (1:12:20 kayak/ 1:10:37 bike / 1:23:42 run).

The overall women's individual winner was Karen McGlade, 41, of Carmel with a time of 4 hr 6min 14 sec, beating the women's course record set last year by Krista Osborn. In second place was Amy Bartoletti, 39, of New York City with a time of 4 hr 33 min 40 sec.

The overall relay team winners were "Team 9 - Garrison." Team members Paul Mackey, 46, Morgan Stebbins, 49, and Ray Fusco, 42 completed the course in 3hr 18 min 59 sec. Second place relay were two-man team Peter Sheehy and Kirk Noreen, also known as the "The Complete Strangers," at 3hr 30min 33sec. Following closely in third place relay were "District 40," Bernard Yee, Roger Mayer and Greg Wilmore, at 3hr 30min 34sec. All three teams beat the course record of 3hr 43min 49min set last year by West Point Team #1.

Womens winner Karen McGlade runs the trail Competitors ranged in age between 18 and 58. About a third of the contestants were residents of Philipstown, with three coming from the United States Military Academy at West Point, and the rest from around the tri-state area. The Town of Philipstown and the Philipstown Greenway Committee sponsored the participation of the three cadets.

Results for the full field may be found at www.HudsonHighlandsTriathlon. org.

The Fourth Annual Hudson Highlands Greenway Triathlon was organized by the Philipstown Greenway Committee in partnership with the New York/New Jersey Trail Conference with assistance from the Philipstown Recreation Department.

Philipstown Greenway Committee Chair, Michael McKee, noted that the triathlon course once again made use of Greenway and potential Greenway trails and roads in Philipstown. "The Philipstown Greenway Committee promotes the completion of each of the three types of Greenway Trails across the extent of Philipstown, enabling Putnam County to become the first county to create an uninterrupted cross-county Greenway Trail link within the thirteen-county Hudson River Valley Greenway Trail system."

Robert Hutchinson prepares to launch The event was made possible by a grant from the EASTER Foundation, a charitable trust based in Garrison. Sponsors of the race also included Hudson Valley Outfitters, which provided kayak rental and on-site kayak support, and Beacon Cycle, which provided on-site bike repair in addition to mobile support on the bike course.

Bill and Gail Sherry of SuperRace Systems, a professional race timing firm based in Garrison, provided timing services free of charge.

Prizes were gift certificates from local businesses: Hudson Valley Outfitters, Riverview Restaurant, The Chalet on the Hudson, Cold Spring Pizza, the Foundry Café, Garrison Market, The Main Course, The Silver Spoon, McGuire's on Main, and Eastern Mountain Sports of Poughkeepsie.

Providing valuable time and materials were Marketing Works Now, Dain Lumber, Grey Printing, and Korff Enterprises.

Twenty-five race volunteers from the community and the New York/New Jersey Trail Conference and Committee members worked to register participants, provide water at key positions on the route, monitor traffic crossings, and assist in transition areas.

A crew of young volunteers from Building Bridges/ Building Boats of Cold Spring rowed their longboat to a position just south of Bannerman's Castle to serve as the turnaround point for the triathlon's kayak race. The volunteers were supervised by organization director David Hardy.

Deputy Sheriff Mike Szabo and the Marine Unit of the Putnam County Sheriff's office provided safety support on the Hudson during the kayak race, supported by volunteers from the Hudson River Water Trail Association in kayaks positioned along the route. Putnam County Sheriff's Deputies also provided safety coverage at the Breakneck Tunnel turnaround, and New York State Troopers managed traffic at the Bear Mountain Bridge.

Special permissions were granted by the Town of Philipstown, the Villages of Cold Spring and Nelsonville, Scenic Hudson, the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, Metro North Railroad, and Chalet on the Hudson to cross properties in various sections of the race.