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Top Tupper Triad finisher conquers challenge in an hour and a half

Louis Ferrone, of East Syracuse, descends Coney Mountain on his way to a first place finish in the Tupper Triad Challenge Saturday morning. (Enterprise photo — Justin A. Levine)

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TUPPER LAKE — The first ever Tupper Triad Challenge drew an almost capacity crowd to three small mountains near Tupper Lake Saturday, and among the crowd were runners, walkers and strollers.

Organizer Jim LaValley said the event was meant to get people outdoors and help promote one the Adirondacks’ newest hiking challenges.

“The Triad has become a really popular thing, not just locally, but on a regional basis and we thought it was a great time of year,” LaValley said. “We thought doing a challenge like this would get people out moving and experiencing what the Triad is all about.”

Thirty-seven competitors took to the Mount Arab trail at 9 a.m. on Saturday, with competitors divided into age groups. Most of the competitors were content to just take it easy, with an eye out for the free beer and lunch that came with the registration price.

Mary Fontana, left, and Maureen Shaheen, both of Tupper Lake, make their way up the Mount Arab trail early Saturday morning. (Enterprise photo -- Justin A. Levine)

“We love the challenge and hiking a mountain first thing in the morning and it’s a great work out,” Samantha Bullock, of Edwards, said. “We’ll see what the day brings.”

The first finisher of the day was Louis Ferrone III, a recent Paul Smith’s College grad from East Syracuse. Ferrone finished the three mountains — a 7.6-mile total, including drive time between trails — in 1 hour, 31 minutes. Ferrone said he’d never done any of the Triad mountains — Coney, Goodman and Arab — before.

“We just heard about it yesterday,” Ferrone laughed. “And I had the time, so I came up.”

While Ferrrone hadn’t done the Triad previously, he is no stranger to long distances or extreme trail running.

“I think I ran my first 5K in 2002, but since then I’ve gotten into ultra marathons in the past six years,” he said. “I’ve actually done none of these before, I’ve always driven by them and I like the cliffs on the edge. I’ve always thought I’d like to get up those mountains, and it turns out they were the ones for today.

Hayden LaMere, of Tupper Lake, runs up the Coney Mountain trail during the first ever Tupper Triad Challenge in 2017. (Enterprise photo -- Justin A. Levine)

“I had no idea what to expect, honestly. I didn’t look at what the trail conditions were. The roots are my main concern when I’m running because you can’t see them well when you’re running. I actually did roll my ankle when I was coming down from Mount Arab.

“I was like ‘Oh man’ but it bounced back and I was good.”

Kim and Todd George, from Massena, jog up the Coney Mountain trail late Saturday morning as part of the Tupper Triad Challenge, which had runners and hikers tackle Coney, Goodman and Arab mountains around Tupper Lake on Saturday morning. (Enterprise photo -- Justin A. Levine)

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