June 16, 2025

There was no sun, and it drizzled at times, but the third annual Race for the Watershed was considered a success. There were 135 runners who preregistered for the event, which for two years has raised money so Newlin Grist Mill Park can buy water monitoring equipment to monitor the water quality of Chester Creek as it runs through Concord Township.

Not only did 135 runners pay the $35 entry fee before race day, but 250 rubber ducks were “sold” for the duck race down the creek after the 5K. Participants paid $20 per duck, $50 for three ducks. Add those figures to the donations from corporate sponsors — Opdenaker Trash & Recycling, David Auto, and a host of others — and the event had grossed $16,000 even before the race began. (The final net was not available at the time of this writing.)

The event is a collaboration between the park and Concord Township. Steve Jacobs, Concord Township director of Parks & Recreation, explained why.

“Part of our watershed preservation commission has been working with the grist mill over the years on ways to raise awareness around the importance of protecting the watershed. This is one of the events that helps to do just that.”

The watershed preservation committee is a loose committee that includes members of the Parks &Rec Department and grist mill staff, Jacobs said.

“We work together in different ways to raise awareness and funds for the work done here at the grist mill in helping to protect local waterways.”

In reaching financial goals, Jacobs said that’s “a testament to the community’s support for this initiative.”

And protecting the waterway is what it’s all about.

“This is for monitoring so that we can make sure of the water quality,” said Tony Shahan, the executive director at Newlin Grist Mill Park. “When we first started this, we had no baseline information. No one had been studying the upper West Branch of the Chester Creek. Everyone had been studying the lower end and assumed that everything was the same, but it’s not. What we’re finding is that we have better water quality up here. What we’re doing is we have a series of digital monitors that allow us to access the data from anywhere, and it gives us, I think, within five minutes, up-to-date data so we can track trends better and understand what’s going on.”

Brenda Orso, Newlin’s development manager, said the day was an absolute success, based on the number of participants and the amount of money raised. And now, the park can look to more than just buying equipment. Orso said the money raised this year will be spent on different watershed protection projects, such as plantings in the riparian buffer, being one example.

But it’s also a race, and that means runners.

First to finish with a time of 18 minutes and 16 seconds was Sam Chalifoux from Aston. He’s been running for 12 years.

Why did he take part?

“I saw the posters for it and it looked like fun, so I thought I’d try it out,” he said, adding that the reason for the event did not factor into his decision.

Feleen Nancarvis came in from Lancaster County to run. What brought her out?

“The duck derby,” she said. “I’m super excited about it. I thought it was a great idea. I can’t wait to race my duck down the creek, so that’s fun. I’m also getting back into running this year so the 5K was an added bonus to challenge myself a little bit.”

She was also asked if the cause behind the event gave her an added reason to run.

“I think it’s really impactful,” she said, adding that she’s involved with a similar project to preserve and protect the Little Conestoga Creek.

Prizes were given out to the top finishers, Chalifoux for the men and Megan Shea, who came in at 22:22, for the women. Prizes were also given to the top male and female finishers in various age groups: 16 years and younger, 17-29, 30-44, 45-59, and 60 years old and older.