Race Reports

The 2026 Sunset Runway 5K brought runners, families, major running brands and local food vendors to Greater Binghamton Airport, where Parker Stokes won a fast race. The event is also giving back with a $1,000 donation to the Broome County Veterans Service Agency.

20 Years. Four Miles. Thousands of Stories.

Twenty years after runners first filled the streets of Downtown Middletown, the Run 4 Downtown celebrated its 20th running on August 15, 2026—and the anniversary produced some of the fastest performances the current course has ever seen.

Gavin Rossi ran 19:47 to shatter the men's current-course record, while Skylar Musa ran 22:42, lowering her own women's course record and earning her fifth consecutive Run 4 Downtown victory.

But the real story becomes even more interesting when you look beyond the leaders.

We went back through nearly two decades of Run 4 Downtown results and found runners whose names appear 10, 15 and even 18 years apart. Some are remarkably close to the times they ran more than a decade earlier. Others moved through entirely different age groups while continuing to return to the same Middletown starting line.

There is Jean Norton, whose 2006 and 2024 four-mile performances are separated by 18 years—and only 46 seconds.

There is Patty Insignares, whose 2006 and 2022 performances are separated by 16 years and less than one minute.

There are runners such as Michael Amodio, Steve Brockett, Peggy Jacobsen and Alison Britto, whose names connect different eras of the event.

And then there are stories a results sheet could never completely explain.

One longtime Run 4 Downtown runner eventually officiated a wedding at the race after the couple crossed the finish line. Family First became such an important part of the event that the race's team competition was eventually named Mickey's Team Challenge in honor of Mickey Hock.

Even the 2026 winners tell stories beyond their finishing times. Musa returned one year after winning the race only three months after having a baby and ran more than two minutes faster. Rossi arrived after a Division I track season at Rutgers and became the first runner to break 20 minutes on the course introduced in 2024.

From roughly 130 participants at the inaugural event in 2006 to more than 800 runners and walkers in 2026, Run 4 Downtown has evolved into one of Middletown's signature community traditions.

The results tell us who ran fastest.

Twenty years of results tell us something bigger:

who kept coming back.

The 2026 Kelly LaBare 5K brought 242 runners to Otsiningo Park in Binghamton for the 29th running of one of the Southern Tier’s most recognizable road races. Confluence Running Elite athlete Daniel Schaffer captured the overall victory in 15:22, returning a decade after winning the same race as an 18-year-old—and running three seconds faster in 2026. Elizabeth Predmore led the women in 18:16.

Beyond the winners, the results reveal some remarkable stories of longevity and improvement. Steve Esposito completed his 19th Kelly LaBare 5K and remains one of the area’s fastest runners, while John Salva ran faster at age 34 than he did on the same course a decade earlier. Andrew Cloke broke 16 minutes at age 41, Donnell Davis improved by exactly two minutes in one year, and Shelby Fisher continued a multi-year progression that has taken more than a minute off her time.

We dig into the 2026 Kelly LaBare 5K results, compare performances across previous years, highlight rising young runners, longtime competitors and age-group standouts, and look at the history that has made the Kelly LaBare 5K an important part of the Binghamton and Southern Tier running community.

The 2026 4 on the 4th Road Race brought 651 finishers to Visions Federal Credit Union Headquarters in Endwell, NY for a fast, festive Independence Day four-miler. See overall winners, age-group highlights, fun facts, community notes, and Falcon Race Timing result links.