On Saturday morning, May 28, 2011, the sea shore town of Spring Lake, New Jersey, will be full of runners as they prepare to participate in the Annual Spring Lake 5 Mile Road Race. 10,000 runners are registered and expected to fill Ocean Avenue for the start. The race is one of the oldest in New Jersey, starting in 1977 with just a couple of hundred runners, and is now in its 35thyear.. Just about every year it has grown in size, and it marks the start of the summer racing season at the Jersey Shore on the Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend.
The classic course starts on the wide expanse of Ocean Avenue and heads North where it goes around the Lake Como and heads into Spring Lake downtown along Third avenue where many spectators cheer on their friends. It makes its way around Spring Lake past St Catherine’s Church which overlooks the Lake and then back to Ocean Avenue where runners can see the finish line about a quarter mile in the distance near the Essex and Sussex..
Last year topping all 9000 participants was Craig Segal in a time of 24:50. For the women it was Noel Brock a time of 28:15. Both Craig and Noel were repeat winners and will be looking to make it three in a row this year.
The race is part of the Jersey Shore Golden Grand Prix which also includes the Belmar 5, Asbury Park 5K, George Sheehan Classic and Pier House 5K.
If you have not registered for the race you should know that it has been sold out for several months reaching its limit just a few days after registration opened. There may be a few openings available through Charity Partners but they are also going fast so you will need to check in with one of them.
On Friday evening May 27 several thousand kids will be participating in the kid’s Races. Registration for the kids races are still available by visiting the Spring Lake 5 Web site
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