Susquehanna River Running Festival Goes Virtual

Press release from the Al Cesky Scholarship Fund:

August 21 2020

BEL AIR, MD - The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the Al Cesky Scholarship Fund to take its third annual Susquehanna River Running Festival virtual for 2020.

The 5K, 10K and half marathon - and new this year the Susquehanna River Running Festival Challenge - will not be run in person because of safety concerns, but runners can still participate and benefit the Al Cesky Scholarship Fund by signing up for a "virtual" race at http://www.srrf.org or http://www.runsignup.com/srrf and running on their own.

“The safety of runners, volunteers, staff, spectators, public safety personnel and the general public are our number one priority, and execution of an event of this size is not feasible given the health crisis we are facing,” ACSF President Gregory Derwart said.

Proceeds from the event, which is sponsored again this year by University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Health, will go toward the $54,000 in scholarships the Al Cesky Scholarship Fund awards annually to outstanding student-athletes. One graduating male and female student-athlete from each public and private high school in Harford County are awarded $2,000 scholarships, while the top male and female each earn $5,000 awards.

In 35 years, the fund named for legendary Bel Air High football coach Al Cesky has awarded $1.2 million in scholarships.

“Registering for the 2020 SRRF Virtual Run will go a long way to providing these deserving graduating seniors the money they need to supplement college expenses. If you don’t want to run and just want to make a donation, go to www.alcesky.org,” Derwart said.

Runners can complete their race, or all three to participate in the SRRF Challenge, over two weeks from Sept. 12 to Sept. 27.It is clear from early registrations that the SRRF Challenge has become the overwhelming favorite choice.

Those who complete the challenge will earn a special poly blend T-shirt, a long-sleeve hoodie, medal and custom fleece blanket as well as a special medal. All 5K and 10K finishers will receive a T-shirt and half-marathon finishers will receive a comfortable hoodie. All runners will receive a medal.

Runners already signed up for this year who want to run in person may defer to next year.

“While we’ll miss the beautiful views this year, we know this gives runners from all over the country the opportunity to participate,” Derwart said. “We look forward to your support again this year.”

For more information, visit the SRRF web page (www.srrf.org) or "Like" Susquehanna River Running Festival on Facebook.

This press release was produced by the Al Cesky Scholarship Fund. The views expressed here are the author’s own.