Hundreds turn out on overcast day for Bearcat 5K

SALISBURY — Many of the attractions of the annual Fall Festival in Salisbury are edible and buttery. For those who over-indulged (and for those who give fitness priority over really good freshly baked delights), the three-day festival also offered a perfect antidote: a 5K road race held on Sunday morning, Oct. 7.Sponsored by The Hotchkiss School (and named the Bearcat 5K in honor of the school’s mascot), the run follows the boarding school’s cross-country course. The run benefits the regional Housatonic Youth Service Bureau.This year, 188 men and women took part in the race, with top times for men going to Avery Baldwin of Lakeville (18:42) and Marco Quaroni (also of Lakeville and also with a time of 18:42) and Roco Botto of Cornwall (19:22).The top female finishers were Margaret Demarrais of Sharon (21:43), Laura Herr of Kent (22:20) and Sara Botto of Red Hook, N.Y. (23:48).Full race results are online at www.fasttrackcoaching.net.Race organizer Nancy Vaughan of Hotchkiss said there were 37 competitors ages 7 and under who took part in the Fun Run; and 36 competitors who were 12 and under who took part in the chip-timed 1K race. The first-place male was Ethan Friedman, 9, of Brooklyn, N.Y. The first-place female was Lola Henderson-Thomas of Lakeville. Food was of course a part of the race. Participants were invited to a free lunch that included burgers made of grass-fed beef from Salisbury’s Whippoorwill Farm and all-natural Freebird chicken gyros and veggie gyros.And for anyone interested in joining the fun but not the race, there were demonstrations by Joe Brien of crafts for kids, boomerang tossing by Patrick Surdan, face painting by Hotchkiss students, reptiles from the Audubon Center in Sharon and more.