Health & Fitness
Bucks 5K Series: Gourley and Swasey Duel at Bridge Valley
The third race in the Bucks 5K Series was an exciting duel between Steve Gourley and James Swasey. They both beat the course record.
The weather was perfect for racing at the Bridge Valley 5K Race for Autism on April 28, and once again the runners responded with one new course record and seven age group records.
The Bridge Valley is the most challenging of the Advanced Sports Chiropractic Bucks 5K Series. It’s the third race in the seven race series.
Nearly 900 registered runners enjoyed the 5K and the One Mile Run.
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Steve Gourley was the overall winner in 16 minutes, 48 seconds, breaking his own course record. He nipped James Swasey by 3 seconds. Zach Smith was third with a time of 17:51. Gourley and Swasey have been very close in all three of the Series races. Steve won the Y race by 4 seconds, while James edged Steve by 6 seconds for 3rd place in the New Hope race.
Nancy Smith, Zach Smith’s mom, won the women’s race in 20:12. Remarkably, she was only 5 seconds off the course record set by then teenager Sarah Simonetti. Susan Walton (21:13) was second and Tracey Sawyer (21:52) was third.
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Johnny King-Marino (our Advanced Sports Chiropractic sponsor) was the top age-graded male master, coming in with a rating of 78.9 percent. Phil Davies (77.9%) and Bob Powell (77.0%) were close behind. Nancy Smith (88.4%), Susan Walton (81.0%) and Judy Dixon-George (76.8%) were the top age-graded female masters.
After the first 3 races, all of the Series Championships are wide open. Beginning next week, www.bucks5kseries.com will list all of the Series standings to date. All of the race results are also posted there.
The age group records were set by Cade Sands (under 12), James Swasey (20-24), Tracey Sawyer (30-34), Steve Gourley (30-34), Johnny King-Marino (50-54), Nancy Smith (55-59), and Lynda Terry (60-64). Cade Sands’ twin, Cole, broke the age group record for the under 12 boys at the previous race in New Hope. Lynda Terry is just returning from a serious accident that occurred as she was leaving the Y race with her husband. Their car was blindsided by a very careless driver.
The Cornerstone Clubs 5K is the next race in the Series. It starts at 9:30 next Saturday at Doylestown Hospital’s Health and Wellness Center in Warrington. Avoid the crowds on Saturday by pre-registering now at www.bucks5kseries.com. There is also a Pump and Run competition starting at 7:45. The race benefits iRun4life, a non-profit organization that assists elementary schools in promoting non-competitive running programs that combat childhood obesity.
