"I've known a lot of these guys for a long time, and when I joined the brotherhood I knew I'd be running in this race," he said.
Collins was just one of the over 840 people that ran in the Four on the Fourth Road Race Wednesday.
The center of Chester was cleared of cars - except for a 1910 Ford Model T pace car - as the runners raced through the streets with several hundred more cheering them on at the 29th annual road race.
The Chester Rotary Club sponsors the race each year. "The race is a great way of the community getting together to share our special place," said Midge Beecher, a rotary club member and volunteer at the race. "What's great about this race is the runners go through town a few times so people can see who's in the lead and cheer on their friends."
The four-mile course had runners crisscross through the center of town, giving spectators a chance to follow the action.
Spectators got a chance to see runners get a blast of water to cool them down before heading up Spring Street and looping back down West Main Street for the finish.
"This has been a banner year for us - it's been wonderful," said Susan Wright, president of the Chester Rotary Club. "We have about 840 runners this year and we typically raise about $15,000 that goes back into the community."
"This is a big community effort and we have great support from local merchants and all the volunteers. The roads stay closed for a while after the race - another band will start playing ... and people get to come together and enjoy the town."
The race was clearly a family affair, with one participant actually jogging through the race while pushing his child ahead of him in a baby carriage.
The Calamari family has made this race a family tradition for over 25 years and 16 members of the extended family ran this year, wearing matching T-shirts.
This year, the family is also celebrating the 100th anniversary of the first Calamari to move to Chester.
Nancy Calamari's great grandfather bought a farm on Wig Hill Road in 1907 to mirror the one he lived on in Italy.
He passed through Ellis Island and eventually landed in Chester 100 years ago and the Calamaris have been living in Chester ever since.
While Justin E. Lutz won the race, completing the four-mile course in 20 minutes and 4 seconds, for many the race seemed to be secondary to celebrating the fourth of July and coming together as a community.
To contact James Tinley, call him at (860) 347-3331, ext. 211, or e-mail him at jtinley@middletownpress.com.
|
|
