More Than 2,500 Run for a Slice

The 10th Annual Downtown Westfield 5K and Pizza Extravaganza got a major reprieve from the blazing summer heat – although it was hard to find a person besides Race Director Sherry Cronin who truly appreciated the weather. Most participants – including this runner – thought it was too hot to run. But compared to the three-digit temperatures forecast for the next 72 hours, the weather Wednesday evening ultimately proved ideal.

“We dodged a major bullet,” Cronin, who also serves as executive director of the Downtown Westfield Corporation, said after the race. “Had this race been tomorrow, we would have had a lot more heat issues, and it was nice to not have to look at the radar continually like past years.” In 2008, a thunderstorm forced organizers to cancel the race. 

This was the third straight year that the race, informally known as the Pizza Race or Pizza Run, followed a revised route – one that removed a hairpin left-turn into Mindowaskin Park in the first 400 yards and created a safer left-turn onto Euclid Avenue. The changes make for a safer course that can accommodate 2,500 runners, but they also increase the difficulty: runners now must crest three hills.

For a list of the race's finishers and times, courtesy of CompuScore, click here.

It is said that for every finisher there is a story; for every competition, hundreds of races within the overall contest. Here is an account of one middle-aged runners’ travails:

At 6 p.m., an hour before race time, Quimby Street was a whirlwind of activity. The prime hub was The Running Company, where a large contingent of Westfield High School runners gathered around assistant coach Chris Tafelski for a last minute pep-talk. Tafelski has twice been the top-finisher from Westfield, and he remains a valuable asset to legendary Blue Devil coach Jack Martin. Tafelski, a 1997 WHS alum, has organized the highly successful summer running program for several years, and he said he always looks forward to Westfield's annual summer race.

“The Pizza Run is a fun way to get the kids excited about their summer running," Tafelski said. "This is just about midway between the last day of school and the first day of formal practice. It's been a long time since the kids have raced, and it's going to be awhile until they race again. With so much time devoted to just training, it's easy to lose sight of why you're doing what you're doing. So it's nice to bust the rust."

Blue Devil runners past and present dominated the race Wednesday with seven of the top 20 places. They were led by rising senior Zach Lizmi, who finished in third-place overall with a time of 16:50.87.

The Running Company has become synonymous with the Pizza Run. Store owner Gene Mitchell dominated the early years of the race with three first-place finishes and numerous course records.

Another Running Company participant, D.J. Thornton, a 2010 Union Catholic Regional High School graduate, improved on his second-place finish from 2010 by dominating this year. Before the race, Thornton was cautiously optimistic.

“I am in good shape so I am just going to try and run my race and take my chances,” said Thornton, who is entering his sophomore year at Notre Dame. 

After the race, Thornton said he was pleased with the overall experience. “It was a good race. I ran this race for the first time last year. I had a lot of fun this year.... From the first mile on I was alone. I ran a strong pace." 

The Running Company also had the women’s’ winner, Caroline Williams, of Westfield, who finished in 18:59.83. A former star at Mount St. Mary’s and a rising sophomore year at Columbia University, Williams improved on third- and second-place finishes from the past two years.

"I'm really excited. I've been doing this race since sixth grade. It came together this year,” Williams said.

Vendors offered a wide variety of snacks and drinks for race participants. I paused to hungrily ingest a Balance Bar from the Wells Fargo table, then made my way to the starting line in front of the Rialto Theatre on East Broad Street. The throng seemed to stretch all the way back to the train station.

Mark Zenobia of On Your Mark Productions, which has managed the race since its inception in 2002, warned race participants about the heat. He also attempted to move some young runners away from the front of the line.

“If you can’t run under six minutes a mile, you shouldn’t be up there," he said. "If you stay up there and get trampled it is your own fault.” 

I moved back to the fourth or fifth row of runners – too close to the front for my overall race pace, but I tend to start fast. After Cronin and Mayor Andy Skibitsky greeted the runners, a blast from an air horn started the race. 

I knew right away that a sore ankle had not healed enough to let me push-off properly, so I was content to simply run. The first hill led us out of Mindowaskin Park and crossed Mountain Avenue onto Lawrence Avenue, where we hit the second hill. As we turned onto Sylvania Place, the one-mile mark of 8:21 told me that breaking 26 minutes would be a challenge. Water was plentiful from official water stops, sprinklers and people handing out their own cups of water. The most popular shirt among runners seemed to be the blue technical shirt from the thunderstorm-year of 2008. 

As we wound our way past Franklin School, we hit another hill on Prospect Street. Most runners seemed to be having fun. As we turned onto Brightwood, the heat started to take its toll on me. At the turn onto Embree Crescent, the two-mile time told me what I already knew – I had slowed to 8:45 for my second mile.

I convinced myself not to stop, and as we turned right onto Clark Street I knew that this would be the last hill of the course. We made a quick left on Dudley, and then it's back to Elm for a downhill cruise to Broad Street. I had little energy left to take advantage of this finish. Although a strong push could get me under 27 minutes, the time didn't bear much significance, and I cruised through the finish with my slowest time ever for the race. 

The finish proved well-organized. Several volunteers made sure I was okay. Water was plentiful and the pizza easy to find. As I left to head home, the party was far from finished. A rock band played, and runners and their families enjoyed the last pleasant night until Sunday.