HAMPTON COVE — Bruce Bett nabbed top honors and Alana Scarano was second, repeating as the Cookie Dash 5K women’s champ, on Saturday at Hampton Cove Middle School.
Bett, 25, of Madison, zipped through the Deford Mill neighborhood and Big Cove Creek Greenway in 17:24 for the win.
Scarano, 32, of Huntsville, wasn’t far behind, finishing in 18:11. She won the 2025 title in 17:20. She one of two females among the top 20. Jerainy De Jesus, 9, of Madison, was 19th (2nd women) in 20:34.
Tyndale O’Neill, 13, of Huntsville, was third in 18:14, nipping on Scarano’s heels.
The field had 569 official finishers, one of the larger fields of the last few years. The race begins at the middle school and winds through the neighborhood before returning on the greenway. It has been at the middle school for 12 years, but the race dates to the early 1980s.
Race proceeds benefit the Huntsville Community Drumline and Hampton Cove Schools PTA. The drumline kept spirits hopping pre- and post-race, and also for the 1-mile race.
Cookie Dash is put on by the Huntsville Track Club, with support from RunningLane, Redstone Federal Credit Union and Tortora’s. Runners enjoyed hundreds of cookies after the races.
See all of the results for overall, age groups and 1-mile here and finish line video here.
Cookie Dash History
Thanks to Harold Tinsley’s meticulous curation of Huntsville Track Club history, we have some great background about the Cookie Dash 5K.
This is one of the city’s oldest events, dating to the 1980s. Tinsley’s account, from an old HTC News member newsletter:
The prime mover in the race was Alton “Gabby” Dickerson, “the running mailman.” Following the death of Alton in the early 1990s, Ben Stevens approached the HTC Board about taking over the race and renaming it the Alton E. Dickerson Re-Creation 5K Run. He would provide the sponsorship. Few people in the club were more popular than “Gabby.” It was a fitting tribute to an outstanding runner and club member dating back to the early 1970s.
Those who trained with Alton were kept entertained throughout the run. He was the life at local races. Whitesburg Baptist Church eventually decided to drop its involvement in the race. It moved to Southwood Presbyterian Church, where HTC President David Purinton was a member.
Although not originally listed as the race directors, Clare and David Purinton were extensively involved with the race and its move to Southwood. In 2001 the race went back to the original name, Re-Creation 5K Run, for what reason I’m not sure. When Clare Purinton did formally take over as race director in 2009, the name was changed to Cookie Dash 5K Race. It was a tribute to the church members who baked wonderful cookies as the postrace snack.
The race moved to Rivertree Church in 2013, and to its present location at Hampton Cove Middle School in 2014.
