The 48th Annual Polar Bear 5 Mile Race was held on Saturday, December 31, 2011 on the boardwalk of Asbury Park, NJ. It was a glorious day overall in contrast to the dire conditions last year during a snow storm.
The event was staged by Shore Athletic Club under the direction of Elliot Denman.
The temperatures were moderate about 50 degrees with little wind. The sun was out at the start and then the clouds came in about half way through and some rain showered the runners for about 15 minutes.
The field of about 500 runners lined up at the start on the south side of Asbury Park’s Convention Hall. Dave DeMonico on his trumpet and “Chickie” on drums played the National Anthem for the runners. Then the runners were given the signal to start and they proceeded south along the boardwalk and turned just after the Casino building and back to Convention Hall doing a total of 5 loops. A large crowd of spectators lined the finish area cheering on their friends and relatives as they made the loops around the course.
Coming in first was Gerard Sciafani of Lincoln Park, NJ and DeSales University in a time of 27:333. Gerard just joined the Army and will be starting his tour of duty in the New Year. He was followed by Tom Yakowenko of Metuchen in 27:44 and then Bob Napolitano of brick in 28:06.
For the women the winner was Allison Linnell of Colts Neck in a time of 30:19. She was followed by Caitlin Dorgan of Middletown in 30:55 and then Elizabeth Campbell in 31:44.
After the run a hearty group of about 25 made their way down to the ocean for a dip in the frigid water.
All the runners were treated to some delicious soup courtesy of McLoone’s on the boardwalk. Awards were presented to the overall and age group winners by a volunteer group from Red Bank Catholic High School.
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