The 2014 edition of the Brandywine 5K was a far cry from the first event in 2013. While more than 80 runners took part last year, there were only six this year.
Race organizer Tyler Therriault attributed the poor turnout to the chilly, rainy weather that had participants running through raindrops on Saturday, Nov. 1. He said 40 runners had signed up, but the weather likely kept them away.
As for the runners who did take part, the weather was no obstacle.
Valerie Osborn, originally from Uwchlan Township but who now lives in Boston, said she ran a race in Boston last weekend during a nor’easter. She came home to visit with family this weekend and looked for races online. She found the Brandywine 5K.
“Benefitting the battlefield is important. I’m very interested in local history,” she said.
Heather Banchs is from West Goshen. She and her friend Gabby Neri, from Rising Sun, Md., chose to run after Neri, too, learned about it online.
“We wanted to do one before it got too cold,” Banchs said, adding that she wanted to help support a local entity.
Neri said she works in West Chester and, like her friend, thought it would be good to take part in a run that benefitted the park.
Robert Schwarz, from Concord Township, came in first with a time of 28:45. When asked how he felt at the finish line, he had a one-word answer: “Exhausted.”
Schwarz didn’t participate last year and said he got involved because his cousin was running it. His cousin is Therriault.
However, the significance goes beyond family.
“It’s a good event and I hope it becomes a regular thing,” he said,
Last year’s race was the first 5K to benefit the Brandywine Battlefield Park and, as reported then, the event raised $20,000. This year, the amount was less than $9,000, Therriault said.
Part of the drop off was due to the fact that Chadds Ford Township donated $5,000 last year, but not so in 2014.
Money raised through sponsorships, donations and entry fees goes toward educational programs at the park, according to Andrew Outten, the park’s education coordinator.
This year’s course was different than last year’s. In 2013, runners left the township municipal building driveway at Ring Road, went up Route 1 to Heyburn, turned right to Ridge, then another right to Ring and back down to the township building.
Runners this year again left from the driveway, but went up Ring to Bullock, turned right to Creek Road, then another right until they reached Station Way Road where they turned left and ran to the Brandywine River Museum. Pennsylvania State Police provided a pace car for the runners’ safety.
About Rich Schwartzman
Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.