Kelley and Lambert Tops at Applefest Half

Additional Photos
Complete Results

Race winner Keith Kelley

Hollis, NH - Manchester's Keith Kelley ran to a comfortable victory in the 15th Annual Applefest Half Marathon today. Kelly's time of 1:11:41 was almost a full minute ahead of second place finisher Dan Beauley (1:12:32) of Dover. Beauley successfully kept alive a family tradition of having a Beauley finish in the top two spots at Hollis. Last year, his brother and identical twin, Dave, also finished second.

Defending female champion, Ginny Nichols of Contoocook, returned to defend her title but came up short as Nashua's Lori Lambert finish first in 1:26:32. Nichols finished a close second in 1:27:04.

The race is followed with a great post race feed

The male masters' top spot went to Brett Michaud with a time of 1:18:03. Michaud, who traveled to Hollis from his home in Albuquerque, New Mexico was treated to some spectacular Fall foliage along the course. The female masters' prize went to Rita Cecil (1:28:36) of Brookline and a member of the host Gate City Striders.

With a slight nip in the air, the weather was very agreeable to the 900-plus runners who started the race. As senior runner Will Mason of Chelmsford put it, "This is a perfect New England day for racing." Second year race director Melanie Kalafates seemed pleased with both the weather and the number of entries. Kalafates said she officially closed the field on Thursday. Applefest allows only pre-entries due to limited parking in Hollis. Kalafates said they might consider increasing the field next year because of additional parking has become available at the new high school.

15th Anniverary shirt

This year marked the fifteenth anniversary of Applefest. To commemorate the event, a new T-shirt design was commissioned. "We did the same for the tenth anniversary," said Kalafates. From all accounts the new design was well accepted as was the race.