SHELBURNE FALLS — After hearing about the Bridge of Flowers Race from former AIC teammate Amos Sang — the winner of the 2018 event — Agawam’s Ezra Mutai decided to compete on Saturday. 

You would never know it was his first time completing the course. 

Mutai roared out to an early lead and stayed in front of the pack for nearly the entirety of the run, crossing the finish line in a time of 25 minutes, 28 seconds to easily take first place in the 44th edition of the 8-kilometer Classic (4.97 miles).  

Over 700 runners competed between the day’s two races.

“I’m mentally strong and good at hills,” Mutai said. “Once I was over the hill I knew I was in good shape. This feels great to win.” 

That “hill” Mutai is talking about is Crittenden Hill, or McCusker Hill, which challenges runners due to its steep and lengthy incline. 

While he had never run the course before, Mutai said he knew what he was signing up for with the challenging race and made sure to train for it. 

“It was fun,” Mutai said. “The hill was hard. Amos told me what the hill would be like so I knew coming in. I was aware of the big hill.” 

The wins keep stacking up for Shelburne Falls’ Kayla Lampe. 

Lampe took home first in the Mount Washington Road Race this past spring, her first-ever victory in a road race, and she kept the hot streak going on Saturday at the Bridge of Flowers. 

Lampe placed second to Amherst’s Jenna Gigliotti at the 2023 BOF, but she exacted some revenge on Saturday, placing first on the women’s side with a run of 29:51. 

Gigliotti placed second with a time of 30:55. 

“I was very close last year,” Lampe said. “Jenna is a great competitor so it was great seeing her on the course again this year because she pushes me. We do that for each other. It’s nice winning this. For a while I had a slew of second place finishes. It feels nice getting first.” 

Living in the area, Lampe said she appreciated the support she had in the crowd throughout, which helped propel her to the victory. 

“I live two miles away so it’s very convenient,” Lampe said. “It’s nice because I had a lot of fans here cheering me on. I get a lot of practice on the course. I felt more prepared for the hill this year than I was last year because I’ve been doing more hill training in my running.” 

While Mutai ran away with the win on the men’s side, it was a battle between Shelburne Falls’ Mac Sloan Anderson and Amherst’s Ruben Sanca competing for second place. 

Neck and neck coming across the bridge and into the finish line, it turned into a sprint between the two runners to see who could take the No. 2 spot. 

While both came across at the 26:39 mark, Sloan Anderson leaned forward at the last moment to cross just fractions of a second ahead of Sanca. That lean gave the local runner a second place finish for the second straight year. 

“I thought I had him at first,” Sloan Anderson said. “It turned out it just got too loud and I couldn’t hear his feet anymore. At the crosswalk he came up on my shoulder. You don’t get a sprint finish very often, especially in a race like this. Some of the big races in Boston you see it but not often here. It’s exciting. It feels good taking second.” 

While he doesn’t race as often as he used to, Sloan Anderson — now living in Somerville — said it’s always nice getting back to compete in the Bridge of Flowers, though the rigorous hills don’t get any easier no matter how much experience you have running them. 

“I haven’t raced since last October,” Sloan Anderson said. “I haven’t raced in a while but I always do this race. The hill is never fun. It’s definitely helpful having done it a bunch but it doesn’t really matter how many times you’ve run it, it’s still hard.” 

Hadley’s Brad Mish placed fourth overall (26:57) while 2023 winner William Saunders came in fifth (27:02). Amherst’s Ben Buffone (28:07), Amherst’s Quinn Hampson (28:08), Montague’s Michael Keebler (28:23), Sang (28:30) and Shelburne’s Vincent Gauthier (29:23) rounded out the top 10 overall finishers. 

Swanzey, N.H.’s Anna Zilinski took third on the women’s side (31:32) followed by Leverett’s Kim Nedeau (32:08) and Plainfield’s Meghan Davis (32:28). 

“It’s a fun race,” said Davis, a former Mohawk Trail star who recently graduated from Tufts University. “This race is always a reason to come home.” 

Northampton’s Jane Clark (32:46), Westfield’s Mia McDonald (33:09), Longmeadow’s Marlee Berg-Haryasz (33:11), Worcester’s Emily Knox (34:37) and Hadley’s Laura Christoph (34:46) rounded out the top 10 on the women’s side. 

Meisenhelder, King win 3K race

The day opened with the 3K race (1.86 miles), where Agawam’s Glen Meisenhelder was the top finisher with a time of 10 minutes, 47 seconds. 

Dudley’s Wes Lawless (11:55), Breckenridge, Colo.’s Sam Swenson (12:11), Breckenridge, Colo.’s Max Swenson (12:51) and Ware’s Brian Farmer (12:55) rounded out the top five. 

Lancaster’s Paige King was the winner on the women’s side, completing the 3K course in a time of 13:52. 

Shelburne’s Ava Bardwell took second (14:34) followed by Heath’s Josephine Cross (14:41), Fort Edward, N.Y.’s Sarah Ruggles (14:57) and Wilbraham’s Joni Beauvais (15:12). 

Divison winners

Here are the division winners from the 8K race: 

On the female side: age 14 and under went to Granby’s Addison Hill (45:21), age 15-18 went to Colrain’s Virginia Krezmien (40:48), age 19-39 went to Lampe, age 40-44 went to Christoph, age 45-49 went to Nedeau, age 50-54 went to Manchester, Conn.’s Shannon Bowen-Kievman (42:25), age 55-59 went to Milton’s Eileen Cakouros (39:49), age 60-64 went to Lakeville’s Ann Milligan (51:19), age 65-69 went to South Burlington, Vt.’s Liz Champagne (41:23) while age 70-79 went to Norwell’s Jan Brett (50:53). 

On the men’s side: age 14 and under went to Shelburne’s Carson Richardson (33:41), age 15-18 went to Gauthier, age 19-39 went to Mutai, age 40-44 went to Cambridge’s Patrick Bugbee (30:15), age 45-49 went to Weston’s Timothy Gavin, age 50-54 went to Guilderland, N.Y.’s Robert Irwin (32:52), age 55-59 went to Brighton’s Gregory Picklesimer (31:08), age 60-64 went to Belchertown’s Steve Forrest (38:30), age 65-69 went to Plymouth’s Bill Lapsley (36:51), age 70-79 went to Athol’s Tom Bockus (42:04) and age 80-plus went to Tyringham’s George Gilder (55:06).