A Year After Terrorist Bombing, Seaside Semper Five Runs Again (Photos)

SEASIDE HEIGHTS, NJ — A year ago, runners were getting their bib numbers and doing their final warmups and stretches when a pipe bomb in a trash can turned a sunny mid-September day into one clouded with fear as terrorism touched the Jersey Shore.

The impact of the explosion that disrupted the Seaside Semper Five 5K run last year was evident everywhere on Saturday morning. Clear plastic bags tied up to cones replaced trash cans all along the boardwalk. Police officers, sheriff's officers and armed, uniformed FBI and ATF agents strolled the boardwalk among families. A New Jersey State Police helicopter and a drone equipped with a camera flew overhead, keeping an eye on spectators lining the route.

Just as visible, however, were the expressions of patriotism and solidarity with the Marines and the Marine Corps charity that is the reason for the race. Runners dressed in red, white and blue. Runners carrying the Marine Corps flag and running carrying the American flag.

And the sculpture of a bald eagle and the Marine Corps symbol on the beach near Dupont Avenue, created by the Bikini Boys to pay tribute to the race.

Accused bomber Ahmed Khan Rahimi remains behind bars, where he's been for nearly a year following his arrest three days after the blast that prompted the cancellation of the 2016 Seaside Semper Five. The blast was the first of three he's charged with; a Chelsea explosion that injured 29 people later in the day on Sept. 17, 2016, and five explosive devices found near the Elizabeth train station also are attributed to him.

On Saturday, more than 1,300 runners and walkers enjoyed the freedom of traversing the 5K race on the boardwalk that started and ended in front of the Beachcomber bar at Dupont Avenue. Organizers said the race, which raises funds for the MARSOC Foundation, had a number of entrants who joined the race solely to make donations but did not actually run.

The MARSOC Foundation assists active duty and medically retired MARSOC (U.S. Marine Corps Special Operations Command) personnel and their families as well as to the families of Marines and sailors who have lost their lives in service to the United States. It had received about $100,000 the first three years of the race's existence, including raising $45,000 in 2016 despite the bombing, race director Frank Costello has said.

"The motto of the Marine Raiders is 'Spiritus Invictus,' meaning Unconquerable Spirit," the race website notes. "It is with this unyielding fortitude that the 4th Annual Seaside Semper Five returns."

The fortitude was the common thread, from the furrowed brows of the man pushing a walker who was fighting for every last step as spectators cheered him, to the determined sprint of the runner dressed in fatigues and an military vest. They were young and old — toddlers riding in strollers as parents pushed them along, to 85-year-old Joseph Placente, who dressed in red, white and blue and carries an American flag at numerous events. They came from nearby, in Seaside Heights and Toms River and Brick, and they came from much farther: Albany, NY, and Baltimore, Maryland, Gainesville, Florida and Bristol, Connecticut.

A group of Marines stationed at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst ran as a group, in two lines, the front Corps members carrying the Semper Fi and American flags.

And then there was John Van Olden of Fair Lawn. The 61-year-old ran the 5K dressed in full firefighter gear, including his helmet emblazoned with Fair Lawn Station 4. He has run races before in his gear, including a New Year's Day 5K in Fair Lawn. But on Saturday in Seaside Heights, his firefighter gear was a reminder of the assistance given by the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers 5K. When the Seaside race was canceled, the Tunnel to Towers organizers welcomed the displaced runners, allowing them to join the New York City-based 5K. That race honors the memory of firefighter Stephen Siller, who ran from the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel to the World Trade Center with 60 pounds of gear on his back on Sept. 11, 2001, after seeing the terror attacks on the Twin Towers. Siller was one of hundreds of firefighters who died in the attacks.

As Van Olden completed the final part of the race, he was surrounded by members of the organization Team RWB, who ran in red shirts with their logo on the front and carried American flags as they ran. Team RWB's mission is "to enrich the lives of America’s veterans by connecting them to their community through physical and social activity," it says on its website.

Toms River Mayor Thomas F. Kelaher, a retired U.S. Marine Corps lieutenant colonel, was master of ceremonies for the event. He also was among its sponsors, which included Fedex; Cooper Clinic; Coyne PR; the Citta Foundation; United Airlines; the Rotary Club Of Toms River; News 12 New Jersey; Urner Barry; Kelaher Van Dyke & Moriarity; the Jay & Linda Grunin Foundation and the Philadelphia Phillies.

Evan Adanatzian, 17, of Manahawkin, was first across the line and the overall winner, finishing in 16 minutes, 22 seconds. Dianne DeOliviera, 46, of Brick, was the first woman across, finishing in 19 minutes, 36 seconds, to take 10th overall. Impressive was the finish by 9-year-old Jessica Abbott of Toms River, who was 21st with a time of 20 minutes, 46 seconds.

Full race results from Saturday's Seaside Semper Five can be found by clicking here.

Photos by Karen Wall, Patch Staff