Published by the DAILY RECORD of Morris County, New Jersey
On Sunday, August 9, 2015
TEAM BLOKE 5K TOPPED FIVE HUNDRED
For a first time race, drawing over five hundred on an
August morning says something. The Team
Bloke 5K in Mendham this past Saturday drew 512 finishers and registered 618
runners. Hmm, over 100 no shows. Now that is unusual. Normally only10% of the preregistered runners
are no-shows.
Then you remember what this race was all about. Doug Clark was hit with a truly horrific
brain tumor last November. The race was
organized to raise funds to be shared with Stomp the Monster, a charity that
looks out for families of cancer patients, and with the Clark family to help
defray not covered medical expenses.
Many people registered for the race with no intention of actually
running. They wanted to be part of the
event and donate through their entry to the Clarks. In fact, 82 people registered from afar and
ran in a virtual race, donating to the cause.
Doug and Hillary Clark were very much present for the
event. Doug Clark gave a moving pre-race
talk at the start and emceed the awards ceremony. Hillary also took the mike to express her
appreciation to the runners and volunteers.
The race was won by Karl O’Reilly of Morristown in
16:41. In second was Brian Crowley of
Hillsborough. The 52 year old phenom
finished in 17:21. In third was Mike
Anis of North Brunswick. He finished
just five seconds behind Crowley in 17:26.
Caroline Willian of Short Hills won the women’s race in
19:03. Danielle Czohla of Lafayette was
second in 19:44 and Erin McLaughlin of Califon was third in 19:53.
The race was a first for startup race organizers Garden
State Races. John Williams of Millburn
and proprietor of Modern Athlete in Florham Park, Darren D’Alconzo and Gary Rosenberg,
both of Morristown are partners in the venture.
“This was our first race we put on, so we wanted to make
sure everything went smoothly, for not only our sakes but for Doug’s as well,”
said Rosenberg, team captain for the Garmin team.
“Although I know Doug’s reach on the triathlon and running
scene goes deep and wide, it was nice to see so many people show up just to
support him. Garden State Races couldn’t
be happier to have our first race turn out to be so successful and raise so
much money for Doug,” he said.
Garden State Races will be giving 100% of the profits to the
Clarks and to Stomp the Monster.
LAST MORRIS COUNTY STRIDERS CROSS COUNTRY SERIES
Perfect weather greeted the runners in the Morris County
Striders cross country 5K in Boonton this past Tuesday. Two former high school standouts impressed
the spectators with outstanding runs. Ethan
Gallagher of Morris Plains ran alone to win in 15:49. Had he been pushed he might have been able to
break the course record of 15:34 set by Dan DeBlock in 2014.
Second place went to teenager Joey DeFeo of Randolph who
finished in 16:07. DeFeo has the course
record of 18:58 in the 11 and 12 year old division. He now owns the 14 to 15 record, taking
nearly a minute and half off the 17:31 held by Earl Mulligan.
Former Villa Walsh athlete Megan Curham of Warren demolished
the course record of 18:53 for women held by Diana D’Achille of Denville. Curham was the third finisher overall in
16:49.
Runners who competed in at least
three of the four races qualified for titles in the series. Robert Skorupski of Rockaway, who won race #2,
topped the series, with Reno Stirrat, also of Rockaway second and Michael Azares
of Parsippany in third.
Twelve year old Amanda Houston of
Randolph won the series after winning two of the races and placing second to
Curham on Tuesday. She set the course
record for 11 to 12 year olds in the first race with her 20:43. Katie
Andrews, 16, of Parsippany was second. There
was a tie for third between Christine Carney, 15, of Denville and Sarah Dalfol,
35, of Sparta.
Next up for cross country lovers
is the USATF NJ 5km cross country championship on August 30th at
Natirar Park in Peapack.
##
A calendar of USATF sanctioned events can be found at www.usatfnj.org or at www.raceforum.com for running and tri and
biathlon events.
Contact Madeline Bost at madelinebost@verizon.net.
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