Peters Township, Pitt grad Nick Wolk sets record in winning 2021 Great Race

The Great Race returned from a one-year hiatus with a record-breaking performance Sunday.

Nick Wolk, 23, of Pittsburgh, became the first runner to win both the 5K and 10K races in this year’s 44th running of the Richard S. Caliguiri City of Pittsburgh Great Race.

The former Pitt cross country and track standout and Peters Township graduate started with a record-breaking run in the 5K race, where he finished in 14 minutes, 10 seconds. Wolk edged Joe Bistritz (14:11) of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, in the 5K race.

“It feels good to be back in-person racing,” Wolf said. “The Great Race has been my favorite race for a long time. It’s the best streets of Pittsburgh, and you get to see the whole city. The whole city comes out to watch.”

Wolk, who runs for Pittsburgh Track Club, broke the 5K record time of 14:25 set by Martin Lyons in 1997.

Sean Battis (15:26) of Pittsburgh, Clay Burnett (15:28) of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, and 2019 champion Jonathan Barnhisel (15:41) of Pittsburgh rounded out the top five in the men’s 5K.

The 5K race started in Oakland at Fifth Avenue and Atwood Street, which is the midway point of the 10K.

After the 5K, Wolk hustled to the starting line for the 10K and finished first in 30:49.

“I really wanted to have fun today. I really love running this race,” he said. “It went by so quickly. It was so fun. I knew I wanted to have fun with it. I stayed relaxed like any other race.”

Travis Myers-Arrigoni (31:27) of Pittsburgh, Brandon Moretton (31:46) of North Huntingdon, Scott McGeary (32:14) of Harrisburg and Nathaniel Alter (32:20) of Lancaster rounded out the 10K top five.

Myers-Arrigoni, a Canon-McMillan grad, also finished second in 2019.

The race, which included runners from 38 states, had weather in the mid-50s with no clouds in sight, which allowed the runners to enjoy the 6.2-mile course that began in Squirrel Hill’s Frick Park. The predominantly downhill course finished near the overpass at Point State Park.

Nina Zarina, 34 of Arlington, Va., came to Pittsburgh for the first time to get herself ready for the Boston Marathon in October. The trip was worth it as she won the women’s 10K race in 34:54.

“I wanted to check how I felt and to test my legs a little bit,” she said. “It was great to see the ladies on the course and to chase them. It was a smooth race. I wasn’t happy about the long uphills, but I was happy about the long downhills.

“It was hard to keep pace, but I was trying to keep my energy for uphills and fly downhills. I wasn’t expecting to see the finishing tape, but that was one more amazing moment for me.”

Allison Schroeder (36:12) of Pittsburgh, Jennifer Bigham (36:40) of Pittsburgh, Hayley Germack (36:58) of Pittsburgh and Jennifer Gerland (36:59) of Garden City, N.Y. rounded out the 10K top five.

Bigham, who has won the 10K three times, was the winner in 2019.

Lisa Burnett, 38 of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, won the 5K race for the fourth time. The winner in 2018 and ‘19 finished with a time of 17:42.

“It was perfect conditions and a little less people, but it didn’t matter because the experience was still awesome,” she said. “I was a bit slower than in 2019, which is what I expected. I haven’t raced anything since a Turkey Trot in 2019. It was fun to get out there and compete.”

Caroline DeFrank (17:59) of Presto, Ruth Segall (18:44) of Pittsburgh, Rachel Reolfi (18:57) of Pittsburgh and Kati Laughran (19:39) of Pittsburgh finished in the 5K top five.

The 10K hand-cycle race had three participants. Rory Cooper, 61, of Gibsonia, finished first in 24:48, followed by David Gifford, 53, of Pittsburgh (28:29) and Kaden Herchenroether, 16, of Allison Park (29:29).

One of the most popular events in the fall in Pittsburgh, the Great Race wasn’t held in 2020 because of the covid-19 pandemic.