CONGERS - No record seems to last long at the Rockland Road Runners' annual Turkey Trot.

At this year's 5-mile Thanksgiving-day run at Rockland Lake State Park, the 15th annual, two records fell that stood for only one year.

The participation record, as usual, was the first to go. The early estimate for this year was 1,375, which surpassed last year's record of 1,313. The number of runners has increased every year the event has been held.

To the casual observer, it may have looked like this was the year the trend would stop. Temperatures were in the 30s and it rained steadily throughout the event. Turkey Trot regulars, such as race director Mike Greco, are used to it.

"We've had worse," Greco said. "And it's kind of a running joke. Turkey Trot weather is anything from snow to rain, and maybe even some locusts."

The record for best female finishing time fell for the third year in a row. Kate Irvin of New York City finished in 29 minutes, 29 seconds, breaking her record from last year, 30:46. It was a personal record for Irvin in a 5-miler. She's currently training for a national cross-country competition.

"I needed to get a hard workout today," said Irvin, who tied for ninth overall. "It's better to do it with a thousand people than by myself in the rain."

Bert Rodriguez, 27, of Valley Cottage was the top finisher, with a time of 26:20.

For Rodriguez, the race soon became a solo affair. He finished 1:07 ahead of his nearest competitor, but he found ways to keep pushing and challenging himself.

"I looked behind me at the 2- mile mark," Rodriguez said. "I figured I had a pretty good lead, but last year there was a guy here that ran well (Carlos Jamieson, not present at this year's Trot, set the overall record last year with a 25:38), so I figured if I was going to keep up with anyone that fast, I'd have to run a better time.

"I kept trying to catch the pace car, which never happens."

The Turkey Trot is a charitable event conducted by the Rockland Road Runners. Portions of the proceeds go to benefit several organizations, including People to People (for which there was a simultaneous food drive yesterday), the Rockland County Police Hispanic Society Scholarship Fund, the Congers/Valley Cottage Ambulance Corps, the Salvation Army, and the Manny Lopez Memorial Fund, which is endeavoring to build a statue in Haverstraw in memory of Iraq war casualty Manny Lopez and other American soldiers killed in that conflict.

There is always a patriotic theme for the event. On hand were several veterans, including Iraq veteran Paul Ciorra and Vietnam veteran Charlie Maushardt of Blauvelt, president of the Rockland chapter of the Nam Knights of America. Piermont VFW post 7462 was represented by Korean War veteran Mike O'Neill and World War II veteran and post commander George A. Lynch.

Proceeds from last year's Turkey Trot went toward the World War II memorial statue that was erected by the VFW at Piermont's Kennedy Park in May. The Rockland Road Runners attended the Memorial Day dedication ceremony.

Though the proceeds help to do serious work, the Turkey Trot never loses its spirit of fun. Rockland Road Runners president Laura DiMarino ran this year's race in a turkey costume, which was made more challenging by the rain.

"It gets heavier as you go along," she said. "I think I gained about 10 pounds every mile. But it really wasn't too bad. I ran four minutes slower than my usual time, but it's fun, and on holidays you're supposed to have fun."

There was reportedly even a performing Elvis in the woods at around the 4-mile mark.

"There were Elvis sightings," Greco said. "You never know who will show up at a Turkey Trot."

Reach Daniel Kiernan at dkiernan@lohud.com or 914-696-8237.

At Rockland Lake State Park

Top overall finishers

1. Bert Rodriguez, 26:20; 2. Russ Pfeffer, 27:27; 3. Nicholas Roosa, 27:33; 4. Matt Kepler, 27:47; 5. Patrick McCarthy, 28:27; 6. Shawn Gallagher, 29:16; 7. Tom Delay, 29:20; 8. Frank Visingardi, 29:22; t9. Charles Whalen, 29:29; t9. Kate Irvin, 29:29; 11. Ted Delanay, 29:48; 12. Rafael Alsina, 29:56; 13. Matthew Miller, 30:01; 14. Michael Young, 30:07; 15. Scott Dickover, 30:09; 16. Fernando Espinoza, 30:22; 17. Kevin McKenna, 30:28; 18. Nicholas Irving, 30:31; 19. Robert Whalen, 30:34; 20. Charles Whalen, 30:35; 21. Stuart Schept, 30:54; 22. Christopher Palizza, 31:03; 23. Gregory Hallerman, 31:10; 24. Michael Varieur, 31:20; 25. Logan Scott, 31:21.

Top men's finishers

1. Bert Rodriguez, 27, 26:20; 2. Russ Pfeffer, 25, 27:27; 3. Nicholas Roosa, 21, 27:33.

Male age groups

Ages 1-15: 1. Kevin McKenna, 14, 30:28; 2. Brendan Collins, 13, 31:36; 3. Patrick Kohlbrenner, 13, 33:32. 16-19: 1. Matt Kepler, 17, 27:47; 2. Tom Delay, 16, 29:20; 3. Matthew Miller, 18, 30:01. 20-24: 1. Michael Gerocomi, 20, 31:23; 2. Anthony Copicotto, 24, 32:59; 3. Chris Joyce, 22, 33:42. 25-29: 1. Nicholas Irving, 25, 30:31; 2. Christopher Palizza, 26, 31:03; 3. Adam Skrypack, 28, 33:09. 30-34: 1. Fernando Espinoza, 34, 30:22; 2. Stuart Schept, 34, 30:54; 3. Charlie Rey, 32, 32:11. 35-39: 1. Frank Visingardi, 38, 29:22; 2. Gregory Hallerman, 38, 31:10; 3. J.D. Lewis, 39, 32:43. 40-44: 1. Patrick McCarthy, 42, 28:27; 2. Rafael Alsina, 41, 29:56; 3. Logan Scott, 44, 31:21. 45-49: 1. Shawn Gallagher, 46, 29:16; 2. Charles Whalen, 45, 29:29; 3. Ted Delanay, 46, 29:48. 50-54: 1. Mark Morganellis, 51, 32:02; 2. Julio Melendez, 50, 33:13; 3. Bernard Patten, 51, 34:08. 55-59: 1. Timothy Ricks, 55, 31:35; 2. Dennis Budd, 55, 34:58; 3. David Drucker, 56, 36:07. 60-64: 1. Maile Tom, 64, 35:11; 2. Steve Borton, 60, 39:08; 3. Herbert Conrad, 61, 40:41. 65-69: 1. Ramon Ruiz, 66, 41:12; 2. Nigel Bark, 65, 41:32; 3. Michael Grimaldi, 69, 49:03. 70-74: 1. Angelo Gallo, 72, 47:35; 2. Otto Mond, 74, 53:29; 3. Henry Theobald, 70, 56:20.

Top women's finishers

1. Kate Irvin, 27, 29:29; 2. Carol Guzinski, 40, 33:02; 3. Beata Rudzinska, 24, 33:45.

Female age groups

Ages 1-15: 1. Caile Kohlbrenner, 13, 36:00; 2. Zara Fishkin, 15, 38:10; 3. Lauren Kroukoff, 13, 41:04. 16-19: 1. Emily Rodriguez, 18, 36:58; 2. Kelly Kobylczyk, 17, 37:25; 3. Giuliette Trentacosti, 16, 40:00. 20-24: 1. Allison Schulman, 24, 37:23; 2. Julie Gillis, 24, 37:28; 3. Wendy Muckell, 24, 38:18. 25-29: 1. Courtney Henry, 25, 35:33; 2. Ellen Driscoll, 25, 37:10; 3. Regina Pietanza, 26, 37:15. 30-34: 1. Christine Scerba, 31, 35:36; 2. Leslie Ballantyne, 32, 36:36; 3. Tara Panzer-Cushing, 30, 36:36. 35-39: 1. Sheila Casey, 37, 34:32; 2. Kate Tormey, 38, 37:09; 3. Tina Hoyt, 38, 37:12. 40-44: 1. Laura DiMarino, 40, 35:40; 2. Jeanette Shelow-Macdougal, 43, 36:58; 3. Kassie Donoghue, 41, 38:22. 45-49: 1. Ann Boland, 46, 38:40; 2. Olga Carriel, 45, 38:45; 3. Carolyn Blanding, 48, 40:30. 50-54: 1. Josephine Patten, 50, 35:45; 2. Darcy Turner, 52, 45:34; 3. Irene Kelly, 52, 45:52. 55-59: 1. Lucia Rodriguez, 57, 41:40; 2. Janice Young, 58, 41:46; 3. Rita Labar, 59, 46:34. 60-64: 1. Mary Harnett, 61, 48:59; 2. Enilda Indyk, 62, 49:39; 3. Isabel Hernandez, 61, 1:01:21. 65-69: 1. Marie Killeen, 69, 48:12; 2. Edith Jones, 67, 50:47; 3. Suzanne Bernstein, 67, 1:01:19.