Tower Hill Church to 'Run for Haiti' April 21

First Presbyterian Church of Tower Hill in Red Bank will hold their second annual 'Run for Haiti' 5K through Red Bank and Little Silver on Saturday, April 21, but this year, runners can expect a different course than they encountered last year. 

The first incarnation of 'Race for Haiti' on April 2, 2011 raised over $10,000 for Haitian children, a contribution which was matched by Microsoft for a total donation of $20,000. Organizers say they expect to exceed that amount this year when an estimated 500 runners are expected to trot 3.1 miles in the 5K.

This year's race will begin at the church atop Tower Hill, proceed downhill on Harding, then loop around on Red Bank Regional High School property before heading back up Tower Hill.

The starting gun will go off at 8:30 a.m., and organizers say all runners are expected to complete the course in 45 minutes, possibly clearing up the area as early as 9:15 a.m. 

"We hope to not just run this race as a one off or two off basically," said organizer Al Sagosz. "It's good for our church, it's good for Haiti, it's good for our people, it's good for the community."

Sagosz and fellow Tower Hill church member Bill Chaney spoke about the run with council in Little Silver on Feb. 6, in response to rumors the race was denied by councils in Little Silver and Red Bank.

Little Silver officials said they never denied the race. The church had yet to even submit them a proposal.

Chaney and Sagosz said they have since gone to the Red Bank special events committee to discuss the course route, which had been the same course as George Sheehan Classic.

Police chiefs in Red Bank and Little Silver expressed to the organizers that they did not like the Sheehan course due to impacts to local traffic and businesses. Residents of the Alderbrook townhouse community, the entrance to which is off Harding, have complained about not being able to get out of their development during the Sheehan.

Organizers consented to the route change and sat down with Red Bank Police Chief Stephen McCarthy to throw out ideas about what course they could run to minimize impact to residents.

The solution they came up with is to leave the westbound lane of Harding Road open to traffic and push runners over onto Harding's eastbound lane.

Little Silver Mayor Neff said he would like to see a similar solution for the Sheehan route through Little Silver this June.

"It's something that's more feasible than running through all these roads. Actually when we sat down and put pencil to paper, we found it was cheaper for us to do it this way, which means we'll be able to give more money away, which is great," said Sagosz.

Chaney and Sagosz estimated race day would require 3 or 4 police officers to man the intersections of Prospect and Harding, Alderbrook and Harding, Ridge and Harding, and possibly Harrison and Harding.

Though the course narrows this year, organizers believe there will be enough room for everyone.

"Even as the race spreads out, there's great sidewalks there for the walkers. Last year, no one had a problem pushing over to the sidewalks," said Sagosz.

Councilman Donald Galante asked the organizers if they had communicated with Fair Haven about the matter, and they were told the Red Bank and Little Silver police would cover for Fair Haven.

Sagosz said the race would be insured, and they would like to get the boy scouts involved with cleaning up after the race. Chaney says last year the community riled up over 50 volunteers for the post-race cleanup.