Champions square off for annual races

The top four male runners at last year’s Syracuse Festival of Races were in the top 10 of the world’s fastest 5K performances. John Itatu, the defending champion, has the second fastest time in the world with 13:27.

Along with Itatu, a handful of runners will either be defending or attempting to break world records this Sunday at the 2003 Syracuse Festival of Races.

Races will start and finish at Manley Field House. The day starts with the men’s 5K at 9 a.m. and the women’s 5K at 9:45 a.m. The 3K fun and fitness and the community fun(d) walk start together at 10:45 a.m.

‘In the world’s most popular road race distance, we had four out of the 10 fastest performances,’ said Dave Oja, the race director. ‘It is a celebration of the world’s fastest athletes and personal records at the same time.’

Other 5K record-holders will join Itatu on Sunday. Briana Jacucewicz from Farmingdale, N.J., has the fastest time for a 12-year-old female at 17:45. With a time of 19:00, Ed Whitlock is the Canadian record holder for the 70-74 age group. Marie-Louise Michelsohn of Long Island holds the U.S. record for 61-year-old females with a time of 19:45. Joshua and Jordan McDougal, who are 17 and 15, broke the U.S. record for their age groups last year.



Steve Boyd of Kingston, Ontario, just turned 40 and will be competing for the Canadian Masters record. The Masters is a race for men age 40 and over. The current record is 14:40, and Boyd is striving for a 14:20.

‘He wants to crush the record,’ Oja said.

Currently, there are 300 to 350 registered participants. However, Oja said that 80 percent of registration occurs between tomorrow and race day. He expects about 35,000 participants in the four races, with about 500 each for the men and women’s 5K, 2,000 for the 3K and between 100 and 200 for the fundraiser.

The Syracuse Chargers Track Club Inc. is organizing the event. The Chargers, founded in 1972, is one of the largest and most respected running clubs in the country, Oja said. Affiliated with Syracuse University, the Chargers use Manley Field House for competitions, practices and youth programs.

‘We have over 2,000 members, from just-born to mid-80s,’ Oja said.

The 3K race that follows the 5K races will consist mostly of the elementary school population.

‘Hopefully, it will introduce a younger population to the run so they can continue to be involved,’ Oja said.

There will be a community fun(d) walk that occurs at the same time as the 3K. Participants will walk or run to raise money for a non-profit organization.

Hermes newspaper is sponsoring an award that will be given to the SU fraternity or sorority that raises the most money in the fundraising walk.

Justin Silverman, the president and co-founder of Hermes, met Oja last spring. Oja wanted more SU students to participate in the race, and Silverman came up with the award. The fundraiser is especially relevant because most fraternities and sororities have non-profit foundations.

‘This is an opportunity for all students, and especially greeks, to participate in a great event and raise money,’ Silverman said.

College students are rarely exposed to opportunities of road racing, and having the races at Manley will make it more convenient for SU students to get involved.

‘Road racing has been lacking in getting people in the college undergraduate age group to participate,’ Oja said. ‘I want students worried about gaining the freshman 15 to run instead of smoking cigarettes to get rid of the freshman 15. My goal is to get students to fall in love with running so they will do it for their college years and the rest of their life.’

Participants can register on race day, but they can save money if they register earlier on the web. Entry fees range from $5 to $30.

‘The Festival of Races is an advertisement for the running lifestyle, the fitness lifestyle,’ Oja said. ‘It exposes people first-hand to how much fun it is to do something that’s good for you.’





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