Winners Announced For Successful First Running The Ave 5K In Downtown Vineland

With beautiful weather and a large field of 145 runners, the first Running The Ave 5K, which took place in downtown Vineland on Sunday, June 23, went into the record books in grand style. The run was organized by Main Street Vineland, in cooperation with Second Capital Running, with Premier Orthopaedic Associates as the major sponsor. 

Runners from throughout the region participated and when the event was over, the winners were:

First Place: Eric Bofinger, age 34, of Pittsgrove, with a time of 16 min. 52 sec.
Second Place: Marco Cardoso, age 46, of Sayreville, with a time of 16 min. 59 sec.
Third Place: Estevan Barreras, age 29, Millville, with a time of 18 min. 18 sec.
First Female Finisher: Rachel Pereddy, age 28, of Little Egg Harbor, with a time of 21 min. 4 sec.
Second Female Finisher: Kimberly Zarate, age 16, of Vineland, with a time of 22 min. 22 sec.
Third Female Finisher: Katie Chillari, age 24, of Vineland, with a time of 24 min. 8 sec.
Vineland’s Fastest Finisher: Sergio Custodio, age 31, with a time of 18 min. 46 sec.
True Grit Award (last place finisher—”to celebrate the spirit of never giving up”): Lauren Davenport, age 38, of Millville and Susanna Philippouss, age 48, of Vineland.

For this sanctioned race, Vineland’s downtown business district was transformed into a magnificent 5K course, which included a run through beautiful Landis Park. Volunteers at cheering stations along the route encouraged the runners.

“This was truly a magnificent day for Vineland and The Ave. The tremendous response, from start to finish, beat all expectations—especially for a first-year run,” said Main Street Vineland Executive Director Russell Swanson.

“Event coordinator Andre Rivera, of Second Capital Running, was a tower of strength all during this project, from the initial planning stage to the realization of the event itself,” Swanson said. “Andre, the runners, as well as all the sponsors and providers of services, did themselves proud. This event will certainly take its place as a key part of Main Street Vineland’s summer season on The Ave.”

For more information on all Main Street Vineland programs and events, call the Main Street Vineland office at 856-794-8653, visit the organization’s website at www.TheAve.biz, or its Facebook page.