Firecracker Four-Miler and Fun Run Returns In-Person
Submitted by Andrew Feldman
The Firecracker Four-Miler and Fun Run made a triumphant return in-person on July 4th, hosting 1,449 participants, one of the largest turnouts in the event’s 42-year history.
The annual race, organized by the Cranford Jaycees, was forced to go virtual last year with runners participating remotely. It wasn’t clear until May whether the traditional format could return, but the event was able to proceed with minimal changes.
“We felt really fortunate that we could hold the race again,” said Dave Farrell, who co-chaired the event with Roger Imhof. “We heard from so many runners how much they’ve missed in-person races, and the response from the community was overwhelmingly positive.”
Cranford’s Township Committee issued a proclamation at their July 13th meeting to commend and thank the Jaycees for the event, noting how the 70+ volunteers and the thousands of participants and spectators were brought together safely.
Stephen Rathbun, 21, of Springfield won the four-miler event with a time of 20:01.0. Nicole Vanasse, 19, of Martinsville was the top female finisher at 22:52.8. The top male and female finishers in the one-mile fun run–Evan Surmay, 15, and Bella Giudice, 12–were both from Cranford.
The event is a fundraiser for the Jaycees scholarship fund. In June, the group awarded a total of $30,000 in scholarships to twenty graduating Cranford seniors: Casey Benderoth, Katharine Bracke, Caroline Bush, Sinead Cumiskey, Kathryn Dolan, Rachael Durant, Maeve Hanlon, Robert Kelly, William Kennedy, Julia Love, Genevieve Marchesi, Peter Marino, Olivia Merriman, Erin Miklencic, Meghan Pitts, Deirdre Tighe, Maya Tobolewski, Mason Towery, Liam Walsh, and Catherine Walter.
The Cranford Jaycees next major event will be Oktoberfest, which returns to Union County College on October 2nd. Tickets go on sale in early-September.
Photo by Cranford Jaycees
