Run is 'Slice' of Life in Westfield

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 cancelation due to severe thunderstorms.

“We dodged a major bullet,” said Cronin, the Downtown Westfield Corporation executive director, 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 over 2,500 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.

A complete list of finishers and times can be found here.

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, a 1997 WHS alum, 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 D.J. 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.