The 35th annual Walpole Labor Day Road Race was a great experience and the 36th annual road race was no different.
The cool, crisp September morning started with the cross country team arriving at 7am to set up all of the tables, food, and trophies for the upcoming event, and by 9am fellow runners started to arrive.
The athletes either competed in either the 5k or the 10k race and by 10am they were off. By 11:30am the trophy ceremony had begun.
The whole cross country team participated in the 5k race to show their support for their town and team. After all the runners completed their designated course there was a trophy ceremony. Juniors Elizabeth Jelloe, Brigette Lawton, and Courtney Shea as well as sophomore Joanna Garry all won trophies for their age groups. Ben Goula and Ryan Doherty also received trophies for their age group.
Following the trophy ceremony, led by Walpole Ed, prizes given out and the raffles were announced. To make the afternoon even better there was a DJ, great food, and physical therapists on hand to help any runners with post-race soreness.
An enormous amount of work went into the road race and it went off without a hitch, thanks to the road race directors Terri DiVirgilio and Norma Conley. Another major contributor to the road race was Jennifer Russo. She said, “It was the best race ever and it was an all around great day.”
The road race benefits both the cross country and track teams, and it is the biggest fund raiser both teams have all year. The money goes to new hurdles, starting blocks, throwing implements, and to help provide proper supervision for the team. The overall amount that was generated between donations and race fees was a little over $8,000 which will help the teams out immensely.