WVS Winter's End 4.5 Mile Run
Sunday, March 23, 2025
(1st race of triple crown)
Penn State Wilkes-Barre Campus
Dallas, PA
Start time: 11am
A Look Back
In honor or our 50th Anniversary year, we will be posting tributes to past Winter's End races. Check back often!
1981
Winner: Bob Thomas, 29, from Jim Thorpe, with a time of 22:38, went on to win the race again two years later! Top Female: Ann Kayrish, 19, from Swoyersville, had a time of 31:24. The race had 131 finishers.
1982
Male Race Winner:
Francis Awanya, 24, from Wilkes-Barre, with a time of 23:15
Female Race Winner:
Molly Ginley, 18, from Ashley, with a time of 28:48
A 49% increase of runners over last year turned out for the 2nd Annual Wyoming Valley Striders Winter's End 4.5 Miler at the Penn State-Wilkes Barre Campus in Lehman, Pa. With separate male and female races, King's College standout Francis Awanya from Uganda and Molly Ginley, a freshman at East Stroudsburg, were the winners of their respective races. The male race saw 236 finishers, while the female race had 51.
1983
Male Race Winner: Bob Thomas, 31, from Jim Thorpe, with a time of 24:09. Bob also won the inaugural Winter's End race two years earlier! Just 14 seconds behind was Bill Bull of Berwick. The male race had 195 finishers.
Female Race Winner: Karen McIlhenny, 20, from Clarks Summit, with a time of 29:14. Karen had placed 2nd the previous year! Only 6 seconds behind her was Mary Kelly from Montrose. The female race had 49 finishers.
1984
Race winners Bill Bull (Berwick) and Sue Carden (Stroudsburg) kicked off an unforgettable Winter's End race winning streak, with Bill claiming victories for the next two years and Sue for the next three! The male race saw 186 finishers, while the female race had 54.
1985
Race winners Bill Bull, 31 from Berwick and Sue Carden, 24 from Stroudsburg made it 2 in a row! The male race saw 165 finishers, while the female race had 33. Striders races have always been affordable, and 1985 was no exception with a $1 pre-entry fee and $2 on race day.
1986
Race winners Bill Bull and Sue Carden made it 3 in a row! The male race saw 166 finishers, while the female race had 45.
1987
Race winner Randy Haas (age 25, from Orwigsburg) finished with a record-breaking time of 22:44, which still stands today! Sue Carden (age 26, from Stroudsburg) wins four years in a row, holding off second-place finisher Patty Kupstas by just 5 seconds!
1988
This race marked the beginning of a three-year winning streak for both Tom and Patty!
Male Race Winner: Tom Carter, 35, from Johnson City, NY, with a time of 22:52. Male race had 117 finishers.
Female Race Winner: Patty Kupstas, 31, from Wilkes-Barre, with a time of 28:07. Female race had 24 finishers.
1989
First Winter's End since inception with no separate male and female races.
Back-to-back winners included:
Overall Winner: Tom Carter, 36, Binghamton, NY, 23:06
Top Female: Patty Kupstas, 32, Wilkes-Barre, 26:06
Check out the snapshot of the triple crown standings after the first race, featuring some familiar names!
1990
Tom Carter of Binghamton and Patty Kupstas of Wilkes-Barre each won their third straight Winter's End. 4.5 Miler. One hundred seventy runners finished the race this year, up from 134 last year. The next 2 finishers in the men's division were Robin Robinson of Mehoopany and Tim Tyson of Wilkes-Barre. In the women's division were Marsha Jochen of Vestal, NY and Gail Pisarcek of Tunkhannock and Carol Kelly of Wyoming, PA.
