Forty-two runners of all ages came out on Sept. 25 to participate in the first 5K run held by the Secaucus chapter of UNICO, an Italian-American service organization. Residents and people from surrounding towns enjoyed Laurel Hill Park on what was a balmy, sunny day.
The group raised over $1,400 to support the chapter’s charitable works, such as providing support for higher education.
Enjoying the Laurel Hill Park course
“It was a lovely, delightful run,” said Harvey Strauss, 66, from Bergen County. It was the first time he had ever been to Laurel Hill Park and he was happy for the discovery. “This [park] is one of the little treasures of New Jersey,” he said.
The race began at 9 a.m. The 3.1-mile course took runners over mostly paved paths through the park. The first runner to finish came in at 17:04 minutes and the last runner finished at 46:17 minutes.
“It was a lovely, delightful run.” – Harvey Strauss
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“This is a pretty good course,” said Diane Curry, 47, from Maywood. While she felt the turnout was low, she said she did appreciate that she got a t-shirt. She runs four to five races a year.
“It was nice especially for the first year,” said seasoned runner Stefanie West, 26, from Fair Lawn. She runs in a 5K race at least once a month. “My goal was to run under 25 minutes, and 25:44 wasn’t bad.”
Supporting the foundation
Lauren Dowd, 31, who grew up in Secaucus, served as the race director and organized the event. Her mother’s been in UNICO for years. Lauren joined “because UNICO is a great foundation [that] raises money that goes to help people in Secaucus,” she said.
Dowd said that since it was the first year of the event, she was happy that UNICO covered the race’s expenses before it even began.
“It was definitely a success,” said Dowd.
“This is such a tremendous event for one person to pull off and [Lauren] did it! From start to finish, she was there,” said Debbie Santoro, president of the local UNICO chapter. Santoro said the Secaucus chapter of UNICO has, in the past, given over $50,000 to Secaucus High School for scholarships.
“If a family is in need from a fire, death, or loss of a job, we’ll help people out,” said Santoro of other types of support the organization provides.
The Secaucus UNICO chapter is the fourth largest in the country with 115 members. Members are comprised of people who are either Italian or married to an Italian. Associate members can be of any ethnic or cultural background but have no voting power and cannot hold office.
Honorary members are recognized after 25 years of membership.
Winners
Trophies were given out for the top three overall male and female winners and medals were given out for individuals that placed first in their age category.
The overall male winners were:
First Place: Felix Olivo, 34, Carteret – 17:04
Second Place: Giovanni Gallara, 36, Blairstown – 21:10
Third Place: Marty West, 28, Fair Lawn – 21:52
The overall female winners were:
First Place: Stefanie West, 26, Fair Lawn – 25:46
Second Place: Jennifer Vestal, 25, Secaucus – 26:44
Third Place: Etsuko Kayama, 46, Union – 27:14
Adriana Rambay Fernández may be reached at afernandez@hudsonreporter.com.