The 10th Annual Downtown Westfield 5K &
Pizza Extravaganza got a major reprieve from the blazing summer heat although
it was hard to find a person besides Race Director Sherry Cronin who truly
appreciated the weather. Most participants including this runner thought it was
too hot to run but the weather was ideal compared to the dire forecasts for the
next 72 hours as well as past race weather including a cancellation due to
severe thunderstorms.
“We
dodged a major bullet,” said Cronin after the race.
“Had
this race been tomorrow we would have had a lot more heat issues and it was
nice to not have to look at the radar continually like past years.”
Although this was the tenth year of
the race, this was only the ninth completion due to the 2008 cancelation and my
eighth, having missed the 2007 race due to a broken leg. This was the third
year of the revised course that was altered to change a hairpin left turn into Mindowaskin Park
in the first 400 yards and changed to a safer left on Euclid that was more accommodative to the
huge throng of runners. The new course is a marked improvement over the
original and a must because of the growth of the race but it has made the
course significantly more difficult with three hills.
It is said that for every finisher there is a
story and hundreds of races within the overall contest. Here is an account of
one middle aged runners’ travails.
At 6 pm, an hour before race time, Quimby Street is a
whirlwind of activity. The prime hub is The Running Company, where a large contingent
of Westfield High School runners gathers around
assistant coach Chris Tafelski for a last minute pep talk. Tafelski has twice
been the top finisher from Westfield
and is a valuable asset to legendary Blue Devil Coach Jack Martin. Tafelski has
been organizing the highly successful summer running program for several years
and always looks forward to the race.
“The
pizza run is a fun way to get the kids excited about their summer
running. This is just about midway between the last day of school and the
first day of formal practice. It's been a long time since the kids have
raced, and it's going to be awhile until they race again - with so much time
devoted to just training, it's easy to lose sight of why you're doing what
you're doing. So it's nice to bust the rust,” said Tafelski
“The kids have done a nice job so far this summer - they
have big goals and know what it takes to get there. I think they're
excited to get out there and see what they can do,”
Blue Devil
runners past and present dominated the race with seven of the top twenty
places, led by 2011 senior Zach Lizmi in third at 16:50.87.
The Running Company has been synonymous with
the race with owner Gene Mitchell dominating the early years of the race with
three first place finishes and numerous course records.
Another Running Company participant DJ
Thornton, a 2010 Union Catholic graduate improved on his second place 2010
finish by dominating this year. Before the race, Thornton was cautious about his chances.
“I
am in good shape so I am just going to try and run my race and taker my
chances,” said Thornton, who is entering his sophomore year at Notre Dame.
After the race, Thornton seemed pleased with the overall
experience.
“It
was a good race. I ran this race for the first time last year. I had a lot of
fun this year."
From
the first mile on I was alone. I ran a strong pace."
The Running Company also had the women’s’
winner, Caroline Williams of Westfield
who finished in 18:59.83. A former star at Mount St. Mary’s, Williams enters
her sophomore year at Columbia
University and improved
on a third and second place the past two years.
"I'm really excited. I've been doing this race since sixth grade. It came
together this year,”
said Williams.
My pre-race preparation is to try
and drink plenty of water and stay inside as long as possible. There is much to
partake among the numerous vendors and I hungrily ingest a Balance Bar from the
Wells Fargo table. As I make my way to the starting line in front of the Rialto
Theatre, the line in back seems to stretch to the train station.
Mark Zenobia of On Your Mark
Productions, which has managed the race since its inception in 2002, tries to
warn the runners about the heat and also attempts to move some young runners
away from the front of the line.
“If
you can’t run under six minutes a mile you shouldn’t be up there. If you stay
up there and get trampled it is your own fault.”
I move back to about the fourth or
fifth row, which is too far up for my pace but I tend to start fast anyway. After
Cronin and Mayor Andy Skibitsky greet the runners, an air horn starts the
race.
I know right away that a sore ankle
has not healed properly to let me push off properly and I am content to just
run. The first hill leads us out of Mindowaskin
Park and crosses Mountain Avenue onto Lawrence Avenue
where we hit the second hill. As we turn onto Sylvania Place the one mile mark of 8:21
tells me that breaking 26 minutes will be a challenge. Water is plentiful from
official water stops, sprinklers and people handing out their own cups of
water. The most popular shirt among runners seems to be the blue technical
shirt from the thunderstorm year of 2008.
As we eventually wind our way past Franklin School we hit
another hill on Prospect Street.
Most runners seem to be having fun. As we turn onto Brightwood, the heat is
starting to take its toll on me and as we turn onto Embree Crescent, the two
mile time tells me what I already knew-I had slowed down to 8:45 for my second
mile. I convince myself not to stop and as we turn right onto Clark Street I know
that this is the last hill. We make a quick left on Dudley
and then it’s back to Elm for a downhill cruse back to Broad Street. I have little energy left
to take advantage of this nice finish and even though a strong push could get
me under 27 minutes, the time doesn’t bear much significance and I cruise
through the finish with my slowest time ever for the race.
The finish is well organized with
several volunteers making sure I am okay. Water is plentiful and the pizza is
easy to find. As I leave to head home,
the party is far from finished. The band is playing and runners and their
families are enjoying the last pleasant night until Sunday.