Adam Prudhomme
Editor
Over 200 runners aged five to 80 took on the Napanee Heritage Race 5 km and Kids One-Miler on Saturday.
Kingston’s Adam Andrecyk took the top spot overall in the 5 km, finishing in a time of 17:54.12, ahead of Camden East’s Matthew Stacey (17:54.12) and Marysville’s Jason Lloyd (18:22.41).
Napanee’s youth put on an impressive showing as fourth place went to 10-year-old Jack Gregory (18:43.69). The top female, who placed ninth overall, was 14-year-old Ocean Fierz (19:42:22), also of Napanee.
“It was really good to see young runners coming up who are Napanee residents who are showing such strength and being able to compete at such a young age,” said Heather Giffin, one of the race organizers.
The kids One-Miler had 60 finishers this year. Each runner was given a hand-crafted participation medal. Photo by Adam Prudhomme.
The kids One-Miler saw 60 finishers with 11-year-old Garret Hopkins of Kingston earning the top spot with a time of 6:18.59. Lucas Donnan (age eight) of Roblin was second (6:37.69), Liam Mulder (age nine) of Napanee was third (6:43.34), Wesley Davey of Napanee (age nine) was fourth (6:47.38). Tyendinaga’s Jessica Brant-McCalder (age 10) was the top female and fifth overall with a time of 6:48.66.
“We were pleased with the turnout,” said Giffin. “It was neat to see we had some runners who had been there every year since the race started and also a lot of runners who were trying the race for the first time.”
A farm-to-table buffet was provided for the runners courtesy a tourism grant from Lennox and Addington County.
The exact dollar total raised from this year’s race is still being calculated. Money raised from this year and the next two year’s races will be put towards an outdoor fitness park to be installed on the Napanee River waterfront trail in partnership with the Gibbard District.