Our HOF'ers

Rosemarie Nelson (2025)

Rosemarie Nelson has been involved with the race for nearly 30 years, most recently serving as president of the Mountain Goat Run Foundation, a position she has held since 2017. Rosemarie served as race director during the challenging Covid pandemic, which temporarily moved the event to the fall for the first time ever.

Rosemarie’s roots with the Goat run deep. She first ran the race in 1983 and PRed just a year later with a time of 1:15. She won her age group several times as well as a handful of Time Bonus awards during her 17 successful completions of the challenging course.

Her contributions to the Mountain Goat have secured the race as one of the most beloved and revered running events in Central New York and firmly within the fabric of Central New York traditions and lore. She is the creator of the Mountain Goat Relay, allowing teams of runners to complete the course with each person completing five miles; she created a Mountain Goat archive at the Onondaga Historical Association; helped coordinate four course changes; expanded the event’s social media presence; expanded title sponsors ensuring the race’s current health and longevity; created an internship program with Syracuse University; and beefed up the Mountain Goat’s board and staff.

Len Barry (2025)

Volunteer Coordinator Len Barry first ran the Mountain Run in the early 1990s. After several years of racing and volunteering, he joined the race committee in 2014 and his dedication and responsibilities in making the event a reality have only grown each year.

The Mountain Goat Run would not be possible without hundreds of volunteers along the course and in Clinton Square, all of whom Len Barry recruits and wrangles. Len coordinates the mile captains along with their teams for on-course support. He manages volunteer assignments and develops the schedules for volunteer tasks through communications prior to the event and day of. Len works closely with the Mountain Goat Race Director, of which he has worked with several, to plan the annual layout of Clinton Square. He has also been instrumental in mapping training runs, the event-day route and coordinating volunteers and Syracuse Police support to keep runners safe on the 10-mile course.

Len also created a brigade of bicycle escorts to lead and monitor all runners and barricades on course during the race, which is critical to the safety of all runners and spectators. Len has coordinated all traffic volunteers, maps and Syracuse Police’s support, at our training runs for more than 10 years. He has led the way in the resurrection of the SuperGoat / NannyGoat and created recognition awards as well.

Bill Pinkel, Jr. and Letizia and the Z Band (2025)

For nearly 20 years, the dynamic duo of Bill Pinkel, Jr. and his wife Letizia, lead singer with Letizia and the Z Band, have been central to making the Mountain Goat a memorable party for all. As Entertainment Director, Bill Pinkel, Jr. coordinated all entertainment for the Mountain Goat Run including all on-course bands and music as well as entertainment for the post-race party in Clinton Square. He volunteered countless hours to the role over 20 years before passing away in late 2024.

Bill recruited, scheduled and secured all on-course music as well as the Clinton Square stage and its sound for the post-race party that is a draw for thousands of people including runners, their fans, friends and families. Bill also managed the speaker system at the start and finish line and was an all-around go-to guy for race day logistics. Bill was ever-present and stepped up wherever and whenever needed without ever being asked.

The race would never have had Bill’s invaluable help were it not for his wife’s original involvement as Letizia and the Z Band. Letizia and her band were recruited to play at the post-race party nearly 20 years ago and their involvement and dedication to the event has never wavered. Letizia headlined the post-race party in Clinton Square several times before moving her talents to one of the most revered parts of the course: the Colvin Street hill. Every year, Letizia and her band sing along to the intoxicating and motivating sounds of more than a dozen drummers who coax hundreds of runners up the challenging hill.

Mountain Goat runners often say they have a love/hate relationship with the Colvin hill because of its steepness but Letizia, the Z-band and their band of drummers carry them up the hill year after year. The Colvin Street drummers are as iconic to the Goat as any part of the race, thanks to Letizia’s immeasurable talents and efforts.

Laurel Leone (2024)

Laurel (Burdick) Leone is a 2002 Fayetteville-Manlius graduate whose love and skill for running originated in high school. Laurel has long been an impressive athlete, participating in varsity cross-country and indoor/outdoor track under the training and guidance of legendary coach, Bill Aris.

Highlights of her early running career include New York state championship in cross-country as a sophomore and the 3000-meter event in outdoor track as a junior. She also was a three-time Foot Locker National Finalist from 1999 to 2001. She went on to earn an athletic scholarship at Boston College and became an All-American in her senior year of cross-country. In 2017, she was inducted into the F-M Athletic Hall of Fame.

Post collegiately, Laurel trained with a small local elite group, Stotan Racing, headed by John and Bill Aris. An impressive achievement of her post-college running career was her 2010 Boston Marathon finish of 2:44:16, which qualified her for the 2012 Olympic Marathon Trials. Laurel has won the Mountain Goat run a record-breaking six times and has cut the tape at countless races across Central New York. Her name is synonymous with dominance in women’s running locally, from 5Ks to half marathons.

Laurel is a busy mom to two kids, Jack, 12 and Hannah, 9, and she and her husband, Pat, own and operate Leone Timing and Result Services.

Pat Riccardi (2024)

If one were to sum up the attributes of an inductee to the Mountain Goat Hall of Fame, it would likely look something like that of 2024 inductee Dr. Pat Riccardi. From his first participation in the Goat in 1982, he has run some iteration of approximately 30 Mountain Goat weekends. Pat is a multiple age group award winner over his history of running the race. But his contributions and involvement in the race didn’t stop there.

Pat previously served on both the Mountain Goat Race Committee and Board of Directors. During a particularly crucial time in the race’s history, he also served as the race’s medical director. Pat established many of the protocols, policies and procedures that are still in place today to keep runners safe should they need medical help or treatment during the event.

For a long period of time, Pat’s race weekend went something like this: coordinate with the medical personnel just before the start of the race; assist on race morning setting up the infrastructure of the finish line medical response area; go out with Jack “Water Boy” Stauffer to drop off water at the water stops; come back and run one of the races. Once his event was over, he’d often work the finish line as a volunteer.

Outside of the Mountain Goat, Pat is a vital member of the Syracuse Track Club having received multiple awards including the Dave Beach Humanitarian Award. He coordinates the STC’s UltraVet Men’s team for the club’s team running efforts. Most importantly (to some, at least) he is the de-facto leader of the STC Grumpy Old Men Mountain Running Team.

Jack Stauffer (2024)

There are few elements of The Mountain Goat Run that Jack Stauffer has not been involved in. Stauffer, spent 20 years on the Mountain Goat Race committee. He was instrumental in countless parts of Syracuse’s most iconic road race including serving as one of the original water czar’s (back when 25 volunteers manned trash-can water stations on the course for about 500 runners). As the race grew, so did Stauffer’s water efforts as the volunteer staff swelled to more than 130 volunteers serving 2,500 runners.

Jack’s contributions to the Mountain Goat have been quietly influential for many years. During that time, he created the race application booklet before online registration was available, worked countless pre-race training runs and spent three years on the Mountain Goat Foundation board.

Jack has run the Mountain Goat eight times – usually crossing the start and finish lines in between helping set up and take down portions of the race, including all of those critical water stations. He has run the Mountain Goat 3K three times including a top 10 finish at age 49.

In addition to his many contributions to the Mountain Goat, Jack has been instrumental in the Central New York running community in just as many ways. The Dave Beach Humanitarian Award recipient served as vice president of the Syracuse Track Club for 10 years, produced its newsletter and website for nearly twice that long and is the founder and former race director of the Super Couch Potato 5k. He has also completed 24 marathons including seven in Boston.