Pace Setter : January 2026

HMRRC Announces 2025 Hall of Fame Inductees

HMRRC is proud to welcome three extraordinary members into this year's Hall of Fame—runners and volunteers whose dedication has helped shape the Capital Region running scene. The Hall of Fame recognizes outstanding athletic achievement, long-term service to the club, leadership as race directors, and contributions to the sport across our community.

Josh Merlis

If you've spent any time around local races, you've heard Josh's name—probably more than once. Few people have poured more energy into growing, improving, and celebrating running in the Capital Region.

Josh's athletic résumé speaks for itself:
• Mile: 4:40 (with a 28-year streak of sub-5-minute miles)
• 5K: 15:51
• 10K: 32:57
• 10M: 54:20
• Half Marathon: 1:12:09
• Marathon: 2:41:56 (and 20 years under three hours)
• 50-mile: 6:57:47

He ran his first 5K at age 6, his first half marathon at 11, and his first marathon at 20. He also completed the Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim and once won both the 3.5-mile and 15K at the Indian Ladder Trail Run on the same day.

Josh has been a pillar of HMRRC service: longtime Race Director of Winter Series #4 (19 years), director and assistant director of the Tawasentha XC Series, frequent contributor to The Pace Setter, and a dependable race volunteer.

Beyond HMRRC, he founded the Albany Running Exchange in 2002 and has launched many beloved local events, including Dodge the Deer 5K, the Helderberg to Hudson Half Marathon, Miles on the Mohawk 10M, the Electric City 10K, and the ARE Summer Trail Run Series. In 2008, he created ARE Event Productions, whose professional timing and race management have elevated events across the region, including HMRRC's Workforce Team Challenge and the Mohawk-Hudson River Marathon and Half.

Running in the Capital Region is stronger thanks to Josh.

 

Megan Leitzinger

For more than two decades, Megan has been one of the area's strongest female competitors and one of HMRRC's most dedicated volunteers.  Her running credentials are impressive. For ten straight years, Megan raced at the front of the field, especially at the marathon distance, where she ran several sub-7-minute-mile marathons. She also broke 19 minutes for the 5K and ranks among the Adirondack Distance Classic's all-time female leaders for top-10 finishes. Later in her career, she completed two outstanding Ironman Lake Placid races.

Her volunteer credentials are equally impressive. Megan co-directed the ValleyCats 5K for 17 years, helping launch the race, develop the course, and establish a partnership with the Tri-City ValleyCats. She has served in nearly every volunteer role imaginable: course marshal for the Winter Series and the Stockade-athon, kids' run helper, course marker, and timing/results assistant, long before chip timing simplified the job.

Although she no longer races at the same volume, Megan remains a valued presence at HMRRC events.

 

Karen Bertasso-Hughes

Karen's running résumé reads like a highlight reel. Her PRs include:
• Mile: 5:30
• 5K: 17:29
• 10K: 36:07
• Half Marathon: 1:16:51
• Marathon: 2:41:27

She has dominated many of the region's events:
• 6-time female champion of the CDPHP Workforce Team Challenge
• 10-time winner of the Hangover Half
• 4-time winner of the Troy Turkey Trot 10K
• 2-time winner of the Labor Day 5K
• 3-time winner of the Adirondack Distance Run

Karen has completed 30 marathons, with 14 under 2:50. In 2024, she finished 6th in the Masters Division and 43rd woman overall at the Chicago Marathon, and ranked 10th nationally among American women aged 40–44.

She pairs her racing with steady volunteer service. Since 2016, she has been a lead volunteer for the Stockade-athon kids' race; from 2014 to 2016, she served as the race's Elite Athlete Coordinator. She has also volunteered for HMRRC's Just Run track program, assisted with the Grand Prix, and supported numerous other club events.

 

This year's inductees were officially recognized at HMRRC's holiday banquet in December.