2008 Westfield Pizza Race Canceled

After several close brushes with nasty weather during its first six years, the seventh Westfield Downtown 5K and Pizza Extravaganza Race fell victim to all that Mother Nature could dole out Wednesday night and left the Westfield police no choice but to cancel the popular race. The decision was made at 6:30 pm, thirty minutes before the scheduled start time. With Doppler radar showing several powerful thunderstorms due to hit the area within the next hour the police told Race Director Sherry Cronin and organizer Mark Zenobia that they could not guarantee the safety of all runners due to the weather.

While clearly disappointed, Cronin understood the police viewpoint. “The runners and volunteers come first. If we cannot guarantee their safety then there is nothing else to do than what was done.”

Unlike other cancelled events, there will not be a makeup date for the race due to all the expenditures and contingencies already in place.

“We couldn’t do this race on another day. It’s just a freak weather event,” said Cronin, who wasn’t certain whether entrants will get refunds.

“We didn’t cancel the race on our own. We were told we had to so I am not sure how that affects refunds,” said Cronin.

As Cronin peered at hundreds of undistributed race shirts, she said wistfully, “We are going to have a major chore at the laundry to get all these shirts dried out.”

The decision stunned many runners, many who withstood difficult travel conditions only to arrive and hear that the race was cancelled.

“I guess they had to do it for safety, but I am still disappointed,” said a runner who preferred to remain anonymous.

“I am from Millburn and had planned to take the train here but when New Jersey Transit shut down for several hours I had to take the bus here. I wasn’t sure I would get here on time. Now this happens. I guess I’ll go out for a run so I can get something done.”

Race timer David Siconolfi, who has worked at over 1000 races in his career, said cancellations are a rare occurrence.

“We have them occasionally but they usually are snow related. The weather was crazy today. It was not easy setting up and I certainly understand the decision to cancel.”

After a record 2226.entrants last year, Cronin was hoping for 2600 this year. As of last Friday entries had passed 1600 but the horrible weather and early cancellation kept any kind of walkup entry to a minimum. The huge popularity had caused the organizers to slightly alter the beginning portion of the race, but the change will not be tested until next year.

With the DWC having already paid for 500 pizzas the cancellation resulted in Ferraros and Cosimos distributing pizza to the runners who waited on line in the restaurants.

The conditions made for a challenging evening for a dedicated group of sponsors and volunteers.

“Our race sponsors enable the event to take place since registrations alone
do not cover the cost for running the event,” noted Cronin.

The Westfield Jaycees were poised to hand out over the aforementioned 500 pizzas provided by Ferraro’s Pizzeria and Cosimo’s Pizzeria & Restaurant. Water, soda, cookies and paper goods were provided by ShopRite of Garwood. Additional cookies were supplied by Bovella’s Pastry Shoppe. Trader Joe’s supplied water for the race course which will be distributed by Girl Scouts. Stop & Shop and Lord and Taylor also provided bottled water. Over 100 volunteers, including many from the Westfield Y, assisted the DWC to ensure the event’s success.

Entertainment was provided by The Michael Craig Band on Quimby Street. The group consisting of Michael Doyle of Westfield and Craig Helgeson of Warren has been providing entertainment for all seven years of the race. The foul weather created extra challenges.

“We’re disappointed that we weren’t able to play this year but hopefully the weather will be better next year and we hope to be back,” said Doyle.

Pacing a wide and varied sponsorship list was Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield that returned to be a Gold Sponsor. Cronin was also pleased that over 75% of the sponsors are located Westfield’s Special Improvement District (the district which is managed by the Downtown Westfield Corporation).

Bronze sponsors for the event included Citibank, Commerce Bank, Fun Bus, Kiehl’s Since 1851, Lord & Taylor, Overlook Hospital-Atlantic Health System,, Qdoba Mexican Grill, ShopRite of Garwood, Verizon Fios, Weichert, Realtors, Westfield Pediatric Dental Group and Westfield Wealth Management. Contributing sponsors for the event included Capital One, JMK Auto Sales, Learning Express Toys of Westfield, State Farm Insurance Christine Cosenza Agency, Stop & Shop, and The Town Bank. Supporting sponsors for the event were Joseph A. Banker, DMD Creative Dental Care, Redco Engineering & Construction, Rita’s Water Ice, and Zamba Chicken. Downtown Westfield businesses also offered special promotions and giveaways at the event.

Perhaps the most disconcerting noise of a forgettable night took place at 7 pm, the exact time the race was supposed to start. A Westfield policeman yelled that people should get out of the road because Elm Street was being reopened to traffic. To everyone that was at least an hour too soon.