CHESTER PRINCE CROWED AS WINNER OF XERCISE 5K IN CHESTER ON SATURDAY
Erik Prince, 32, won the Xercise 5K in Chester on Saturday. It was a case of home-town-boy makes good as Prince flew along the streets of Chester Borough and past his own home to finish in 16:41
“I live right on the race course,” said Prince. “So I know the course very well, where the hills are and where I can go fast. It’s a great course.”
“Chester is such a great town and it’s wonderful to see it showcased like this,” he said. “They had a good turnout, and the weather - it was supposed to rain.”
Rain wasn’t in the picture as what began as a blustery morning and overcast at the start ended with bright sun. Main Street was shut down for the start of the race at 9:00 a.m. and then again as the racers crossed from the south side of town to travel up Hillside to work around to the finish on Collis Lane, adjacent to Memorial Field.
Trailing Prince was Erik Corbin of neighboring Mendham who finished second in 17:44. Corbin’s wife Julie, who finished in 19:32, was the winner of the women’s race.
“I thought it was great,” said Julie Corbin. “For a first time race I thought it was really good. There were a couple of small hills that kind of kept you honest. It was a fun race. It was well run.”
More than two hundred runners finished the race.
MIDLAND RUN ON TAP FOR NEXT SUNDAY IN FAR HILLS
In contrast to the Xercise 5K with it’s small town atmosphere, next Sunday’s Midland Run at Moorland Farms in Far Hills will have the feel of a major racing event. The headliner, the 15K, which goes off at 9:00 a.m. is the championship for all divisions of USATF-NJ. A 5K is run at 11:00 a.m. for runners who prefer the shorter distance and a two-mile fitness walk goes off at noon. At 2:00 p.m. the Midland WHEELS bike race goes off. In all several thousand people will be on the site for the all day affair that features tailgate picnics, clowns other entertainment.
Although the Moorland Farms portion of the 15K course has been modified several times, the rest of the course has remained the same. It will always be a very challenging race to run.
The original start was level to slightly downhill, but now the start is almost blessedly uphill, which can serve to slow the runners down to a reasonable opening mile pace. Then there is a slight downhill going onto Route 202 to the first mile. It boasts a long gradual climb to the two-mile mark and then is slightly downhill to deceptively flat going into Peapack.
For the next three miles the course is a mix of long uphills and some roller-coaster downhills, but mostly the course climbs. Leaving Peapack on Willow, known to all as the Four-Mile-Hill, the runners face the first long uphill with cattle and horse pastures on either side.
The course undulates for three miles and then the second and last large hill looms, the dreaded Seven-Mile-Hill. Runners who never walk in a race often find themselves doing just that. But once the hill is crested the course flows mostly downward and back onto the farm for the finish.
The top New Jersey runners who are members of USATF-NJ are eligible to win prize money, with $500.00 going to the first man and woman, $350.00 to the second, $250.00 to third and down through tenth place on a sliding scale to $50.00.
Masters prize money will be awarded based on WMA Age grading with $300.00 for first, $200.00 for second and $125.00 for third. Fourth through tenth places will win the amount of money as corresponds to their WMA Performance Level Percentage. For example in 2004 Chip Boehm, 47, of Bernardsville, placed fourth age graded man with a 83.6 PLP. He received a check for $83.60.
Registration can be done online at the race website at www.midlandrun.org. Those who have registered can be found listed at www.compuscore.com. There is no race day registration and the online registration closes on Friday, the 13 th.
Published in the DAILY RECORD on Sunday, May 8, 2005.
Copyright Madeline Bost 2005