Temperatures flirting with 50 degrees. Four miles of calorie-burning before all the Super Bowl parties. Eleven hundred kindred spirits.
All in all, Sunday’s Pre-Game 4-Miler in Morristown was a lot more entertaining than the Big Game.
“Only my hands were cold,” said Kourtney Kane, a Hopewell hairdresser who ran in a sparkly Wonder Woman costume.
Brian Jones of Hamburg wore much less, but seemed none the worse for wear. “Last year it was only 34 degrees. This is not bad at all,” said the County College of Morris student, clad only in running shorts and jogging shoes.
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There were caped crusaders and hula-skirt men and runners pushing baby strollers. Some serious racers showed up, too. Chris Croff, 25, of Summit sprinted through Morristown and Morris Township in under 20 minutes, averaging 4:59 miles to take top honors.
Stephen Mennitt, 24, of Edison, was second with a 20:33 total and Atilla Sabahoglu, 36, of Piscataway, finished third at 20:39.
Allie Dublinski , 29, of Morristown, posted the best time for the ladies, 25:12. Erika Meling, 24, of New Brunswick, was next, at 25:17, and Hollie Heimer, 23, of Browns Mills, was third with a 25:32 time.
“You couldn’t ask for a better day,” said Chris Russo, race director for Superhero Events. “The weather, the people, the vibe. Everyone’s very happy.”
A portion of the proceeds will go to the Community Soup Kitchen and Outreach Center.
In addition to the costumed runners, the field included some true superheroes.
Tom Lee of Robbinsville lost his right leg while serving with the Army in Iraq in 2007. These days, he is a tri-athlete. Wearing a prosthetic leg, Tom ran on Sunday with the state chapter of Team RWB, a veterans organization. He crossed the finish line waving a U.S. flag, turning in a very respectable time of 36:18.
Hooah!
This longer version features more runners; maybe you are in here?
