After a five- or six-year hiatus, Farrell finally got the opportunity to return to the race on Saturday and claimed the women’s overall title at the half-marathon distance with a finish time of 1 hour, 23 minutes and 42.34 seconds.

Adam Quinn also got the opportunity to compete on Saturday after he recently started running again after completing his medical residency over the summer, and the 30-year-old from Lake Clear was the first male half-marathoner across the line, finishing in a fast 1:12:03.89.

Saturday marked the first time Quinn has raced competitively in an actual half marathon, although the 30-year-old has run in longer distance events, including the 2013 Ironman Lake Placid that he finished in 10:18:03.

Quinn said he just wanted to come out and be competitive, and early in the race, he headed to the front of the pack and realized that winning would be a real possibility. In the end, Quinn finished more than three minutes ahead of the next-closest racer, Paul Jones, who reached the line in 1:15:09.32.

Amy Farrell, of Tupper Lake, takes the women’s crown at the 13.1-mile distance. (Enterprise photo — Lou Reuter)

“I had an idea of the pace I wanted to run,” Quinn said. “I wanted to go out and see if there were any guys I could stay with. After the first mile, I wanted to pick it up a little more just went by myself. Running out in front is hard. I don’t really like to do that too much, because you’re just kind of running scared and hoping nobody catches you. The good thing about that is it keeps you motivated to keep pushing it by yourself.

“I ran through. It feels good winning,” Quinn continued. “I came away with a good time, and I’m glad to finish first — kind of the cherry on top. It was a great day, a great race, and I’ll definitely do it again. It was wonderful.”

Jay Niederbuhl, of Saranac Lake, rounded out the top three, finishing in 1:20:24.65.

On the same weekend that the Ironman World Championships were taking place in Kona, Hawaii, Farrell was enjoying what she called a training day in Lake Placid, and it was a triumphant one as the 42-year-old topped the women’s field just like she expected.

This summer, Farrell, a multi-time Ironman and half-Ironman champion, had her triathlon sights set on the 70.3 World Championships that took place a month ago in France, which freed her up to run on Saturday. She’s gearing up for the 140.6-mile Ironman Arizona in November and worked Lake Placid’s race into her training schedule.

Elizabeth Izzo, pictured running on state Route 73 near the North Elba Show Grounds, won the women’s 10-kilometer race. (Enterprise photo — Lou Reuter)

“It’s never good to get beat at home, so I’m happy,” said Farrell, who placed third in her age group at the 70.3 World Championships. “I’m really in the thick of Ironman training and today, I really wanted to come out and see how fast I can run. I ran fast in France so I feel really good about my running.

“I’m never here on this weekend so I’m excited I got to do this race,” Farrell added. “Today was great. It was so perfect, the colors were great.”

In addition to topping the women’s field, Farrell placed sixth overall. Liverpool’s Jaimee Balloni was the women’s runner-up, finishing in 1:26:55.58. Cara Scheibling of Morristown, New Jersey was third for the women with a 1:29.00.56 result.

Saturday’s event also included a 10-kilometer race, and Elizabeth Izzo chalked up a victory in her hometown, winning the women’s overall title in 39:36.80. Izzo is attending medical school in Albany and returns on the weekends to her home in Lake Placid to visit her family and for some recreation.

Izzo said her goal wasn’t necessarily to win, but like Quinn, once the 27-year-old took the lead in her respective field, she never looked back.

“The goal was to run a steady pace and a see if I could run certain pace without bonking,” said Izzo, who was also the women’s 10K champion in the race two years ago. “I’ve been running, doing a lot of technique work, working on running efficiently, and I felt good. I started to catch the second place lady around mile three, and once she was in reaching distance I just went chasing. It was a fun race and perfect running weather.”

Izzo’s result was good enough for eighth place overall. Tupper Lake’s Samantha Davies was the women’s runner-up in 40:46.42 and Caitlin Jelinek, of Burlington, Vermont, finished third in 42:16.65.

Brian Woods, of Albany, was the 10K overall winner, claiming the men’s title in 35:05.74. Kyle Dunning finished second for the men in 367:46.48 and Aaron Udel placed third in 37:28.41.

Saturday marked the 49th time the Lake Placid Classic Half Marathon has been held. The race raises donations for area youth organizations that are dedicated to making a difference in the lives of local youngsters.