Exeter Man Wins 'Whale of a 5K' Race

Exeter resident Chris Ritchie, 28, won the "Whale of a 5K" race in Rye today.

Ritchie beat out second-place finisher Andrew King, of York, Maine, by 2 seconds.

Ritchie finished the race in 17 minutes, 52 seconds – making for a 5-minute, 46-second average per mile.

Fellow Exeter resident Andrew Verville, who's 14 years old, finished in 20 minutes, 29 seconds – good for 24th place.

Full results can be found here. A top 20 list can be found to the right under "PHOTOS."

The race was held at the Seacoast Science Center. It was part of the Portsmouth Community Road Race Series, a series of eight races throughout the year in the Seacoast.

The event highlighted tomorrow's Earth Day by recycling water bottles and other material used by runners. There were also demonstration booths run by sustainable organizations like , which has a location in Exeter.