Event Spotlight:
Bancroft NeuroHealth's 20th Annual 5K Race Named Championship Race for Mid-Atlantic Association of USA Track and Field Grand Prix Circuit: Kristy Johnston Named Celebrity Runner for March 24th Event
Wednesday, March 14, 2001
By Frank Ward
SJSports Special Correspondent
HADDONFIELD, N.J. - More than 1,000 runners are expected to compete in the 20th Annual Bancroft NeuroHealth 5K Race on March 24, which has been designated as the 5K championship race on the Mid-Atlantic Association of USA Track & Field's 2001 Grand Prix Circuit.
The race, scheduled to start at 9 a.m. at Hopkins Lane and Kings Highway on Bancroft's Haddonfield campus, will feature celebrity runner Kristy Johnston. Johnston, whose appearance is sponsored by Foster and Gross Radiologic Associates, won the Chicago Marathon in 1994 and finished second in the women's marathon at last year's United States Olympic trials.
Proceeds from the race will benefit Bancroft NeuroHealth programs for people with disabilities.
Last year, almost 700 people participated in the day's activities, which include the 5K race and a fun run/walk. With the USATF designation this year, more people are expected to participate, says Joe Puleo, race co-chairman and owner of Haddonfield Running Company.
"It's a wonderful coup to be designated a championship race by USA Track and Field," says Puleo. "It's a reflection of how great the race is and how much people outside of the Bancroft community think of the race and the job Bancroft does each year."
Registration begins at 7 a.m. at Bancroft's school building on Hopkins Lane near Kings Highway. The cost to enter is $15 for those whose registrations are postmarked by March 17, and $20 for those who register on the day of the event. The fun run/walk costs $10. In addition, families with three or more people will pay no more than $45.
All entrants will receive a race T-shirt and have the chance to win prizes. The top male and female finishers in the 5K race will earn $200. Second-place finishers will receive $100 and third-place finishers will take home $50.
Also, the top three male and female finishers in each of 12 age categories will receive awards, as will the top three male and female finishers in the fun run/walk. Awards also will be given out to Haddonfield residents, people served by Bancroft and Bancroft staff members.
Last year, Karl Paranya of Ardmore, Penn., edged out Sean Mick of Haddonfield by two seconds to win the men's division. Cassy Bradley-Byrne of Pottstown, Penn., won the women's competition, followed by Kristina Laubenstein of West Chester, Penn., and Haddonfield High School sensation Erin Donahue.
For more information, call the race hotline at 1-800-966-0096, or visit www.bancroftneurohealth.org, where you can download a copy of the race application.
Sponsors of the race include Costanza Building Construction, Chase, Haddonfield Running Company, Rehab Connection, Nordic Springwater, Comcast, USA Track & Field, adidas, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter of Voorhees, VirtuaHealth, and Foster and Gross Radiologic Associates. Other organizations lending support to the race include the Haddonfield Police Department, as well as Bancroft's Partners for Success program, which includes Commerce Bank, WaWa, Printing and Promotions, Archer and Greiner, Holman Enterprises, USI MidAtlantic, the Law Firm of Ferrara, Rosetti and DeVoto, Voorhees Pediatric Health System and All Risk.
Founded in 1883, Bancroft NeuroHealth serves more than 1,000 children and adults with developmental disabilities, brain injuries and other neurological impairments annually. Based in Haddonfield, N.J., Bancroft has sites across southern New Jersey, and in Delaware, Maine and Louisiana. Programs include education, rehabilitation, and vocational, residential, evaluation and treatment services.
|
