Event Spotlight:
Bancroft NeuroHealth's 21st Annual 5K Race Named Championship Race for Mid-Atlantic Association of USA Track & Field Grand Prix Circuit:
Two-time Olympian Todd Williams named celebrity runner for March 23rd event
Tuesday, February 26, 2002
By Frank Ward
SJSports Special Correspondent
HADDONFIELD, N.J. - More than 1,000 runners are expected to compete in the 21st Annual Bancroft NeuroHealth 5K Race on March 23. The race has been designated as the 5K championship race on the Mid-Atlantic Association of USA Track & Field's (USATF) 2002 Grand Prix Circuit. The event will also serve as the women's qualifier for the USATF national 5K championships.
The race is scheduled to start at 9 a.m. at Hopkins Lane and Kings Highway on Bancroft's Haddonfield campus, and will feature former Olympic runner and University of Tennessee distance runner Todd Williams, whose appearance is sponsored by Foster and Gross Radiologic Associates. Williams is a two-time 10,000 meter Olympic runner. He won the U.S. Olympic Trials in 1996. He also is a 10-time U.S. champion in track, road and cross country events.
Proceeds from the race will benefit Bancroft's Center for Children and Families. Located in Cherry Hill, Bancroft's Center for Children and Families provides cutting-edge services to children with complex medical, behavioral and special education needs. Services include evaluation, treatment and planning; behavioral psychology services; specialized neurology clinics; school consultation and home-based services; after-school activities; and family support and education.
Last year, almost 1,000 people participated in the day's activities, which include the 5K race and a fun run/walk. With the USATF designating the race as the women's qualifier for the national 5K championships in addition to the Mid-Atlantic championship race 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, and a qualifying race for a national championship," 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 16, 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.
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 Comcast, adidas, Nordic Springwater, Haddonfield Running Company, USATF, Office Depot, Subaru, Morgan Stanley of Voorhees, Rehab Connection and UCBPharma. 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; Costanza Construction Company; Wawa; Printing and Promotions; Archer and Greiner; Holman Enterprises; USI MidAtlantic; the Law Firm of Ferrara, Rosetti and DeVoto; and Voorhees Pediatric Health System.
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.
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