Photo by Howard Owens.
Zak and Abby Jantzi, representing Bontrager Auction and Real Estate, on Thursday, became the first married couple in GLOW Corporate Cup history to combine for wins in the male and female divisions.
Zak, who also won in 2023 and placed second in 2022, finished in first place with a time of 16:15. Abby topped all female competitors with a time of 20:41.
"We love this race," Zak said. This is, I think, our third year. Bontrager has been really competitive with it. I feel like it's sort of like the main event on our calendar. We're both post-collegiate runners, so just doing community events is really great for us. It's something that, as a couple, we really enjoy to run and train, so it's really just a great event to enjoy."
The first GLOW Corporate Cup was in 2014. It is a fundraiser for the YMCA. Besides the race, the event features a picnic in Centennial Park, called After GLOW, with each participating company setting up a tent and sharing in a meal.
More than 800 runners and walkers signed up for the event this year, said key organizer Steve Tufts, a broker with a primary corporate sponsor, Merrill Lynch.
"I'm really thrilled that we're practically back to where we were (before the pandemic)," Tufts said. "We didn't have a race in 2020. Most races across the country took about 40% hit on participation. We only took 20% in 2021. ... We're looking for it to be another record again next year."
There is no accurate count on how many people were present for the After GLOW, which includes company employees who didn't run and family members, but this year's music entertainment, the Fleetwood Mac tribute band Songbirds drew an unprecedented crowd—at least 100 people not affiliated with any of the participating businesses. No previous bands have anywhere near that draw.
"Our first responsibility is to raise funds for the YMCA," Tufts said. "They're the beneficiary of all our efforts. So, our goal is to make sure we raise adequate funds (for the Y). The secondary goal might be, as you said, benefit to the general community, whether it's a free concert or whatnot. There is no Picnic in the Park any more. Maybe that'll come back some day. I think people miss that. And maybe live music. Maybe there's another company out there in the Batavia/GLOW region that would like to take on another project. We certainly encourage other companies to do something."
With Abby Jantzi's win, an interesting streak among female winners was broken. It's the first time since at least 2015 that a woman with a name other than Kimberly won the female division.
Kimberly Mills has won the race seven times, including in 2023 (Abby finished second in 2023 and 2022). Kimberly Vona, with Batavia Downs, won in 2018 and 2017. Mills did not run this year nor in 2018. She came in second in 2017. Records for the 2014 race are not available online and The Batavian, in its coverage of 2014, did not include the name of the female winner.
In the male division, Zak joins two other men who have won in consecutive years. Collen Mulcahy won in 2016, 2017, and 2018. John Schnitter also recorded consecutive wins in 2019 and 2021 (there was no race in 2020).
Photo by Howard Owens.
Photo by Howard Owens.
