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First Annual 18th Anniversary
The First
Annual 18th Anniversary of the Sons of Italy Road Races
say
what? You did read correctly, this was the first annual eighteenth anniversary?
Now does that make perfect sense to you?
If not, let me
explain. For years, seventeen to be exact, the Lawrence Sons of Italy have been
organizing an annual road race. Most years it was five miles but most recently
it has been a 5-kilometers race. The race was usually held in the month of August.
This year it was decided to move the event to July 4th and stage both a 5-miler
and a 5-kilometer race. So there you have it, the first annual 18th anniversary!
On race morning
Lawrence Mayor Michael Sullivan was there as the official starter and to welcome
all runners to Lawrence. The City of Lawrence is gaining a reputation as a city
that welcomes runners and is the gracious host to several of the region's most
popular events including the Claddagh Pub race in March and the Mill Cities
Relay in December. For today's race, over 350 runners and walkers were welcomed
into this revitalized mill city along the shores of the Mighty Merrimack.
"I give these
guys all the credit in the World for keeping this race going," said Dave
Quintal a former University of Lowell cross-country standout and current Salem,
NH resident. Keeping it going are co-directors Marshall McCloskey and Herb Cuhna
along with their dedicated staff of Sons of Italy and Merrimack Valley Strider
members.
Today's event featured
prize money for the top three male and female finishers in both races. Leading
the way in the 5-Miler was Pelham, NH resident and former Providence College
standout Patrick Moulton. Rumor has it that Moulton was enjoying his tour of
Lawrence so much he added in a little bit of extra mileage along the way for
good measure. Patrick's "unMoulton" like time of 27:35 was good enough
for a comfortable victory. On the female side Nicole Morandi of Woburn ran 33:42
for a comfortable victory.
The 5-kilometer
race featured a terrific competition between Daniel Prinic of Woburn, Chris
Volante of Groton and Kevin Alleitte of Raymond, NH with Prinic leading the
way in 15:54. The women's race was a two-way battle between race winner Jennifer
Feinberg of Andover (21:05) and Julie Barrett of Methuen (21:09). A mere four
seconds separated the top two ladies.
This race is a
terrific value for the buck with prize money, technical t-shirts, a challenging
course, chip timing, and tasty post race pasta feed.
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