Westfield Announcements
Announcements for all categories
The 9th annual Downtown Westfield 5K & Pizza Extravaganza will be held on July 21, 2010 with a start time of 7:00 pm. This year for the first time, the race will be pre-registration only by July 17. All on-line registrations close at midnight on July 17, and all mailed entries must be postmarked by July 15. T-shirts and d-tag pick up can be picked up as early as 5:00 pm on race day.
This event, which is one of the largest non-corporate 5K in the state, attracted over 2,500 runners and over 6,000 spectators last year for an evening of running, pizza, prizes, and entertainment. According to Sherry Cronin, Executive Director of Downtown Westfield Corporation, “The event has become well known as the ‘pizza run’ and is a great way to showcase the business community and surrounding neighborhoods. Given the popularity of the event, we decided to make it pre-registration only this year. Last year, almost a third of the runners registered on the night of the event making it challenging to register everyone and start the event on time. Mark Zenobia of On Your Mark Productions does a great job in directing the event and has recommended pre-registration only and introducing new ChronoTrack d-tag scoring.”
Trinitas Regional Medical Center is the 2010 Platinum Sponsor of the event, the first one in the nine-year history of the race. So far, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey has returned with a silver sponsorship. Overlook Hospital and Westfield Pediatric Dental Group have returned with bronze sponsorships. PSE&G and State Farm Insurance Christine Consenza Agency are contributing sponsors. Creative Dental Care has returned with a supporting sponsorship. According to Beth Brenner, Assistant Executive Director of Downtown Westfield Corporation, “We are thrilled with the level of enthusiasm expressed by sponsors so far and have a goal to hopefully make a small profit on the event this year. We expect many other sponsors to join this elite group. Any proceeds would be earmarked for downtown streetscape improvements.”
The race will be held on the USATF certified course for the following route: On E. Broad Street Left onto N. Euclid Avenue, Left onto Park Drive through Mindowaskin Park, Cross Mountain Avenue, Right onto Lawrence Avenue, Left onto Sylvania Place, Right onto Elm Street, Left onto Newton Place, Right onto Prospect Street, Left onto Brightwood Avenue, Left onto Embree Crescent, Left onto Eaglecroft Road, Right onto Clark Street, Left onto W. Dudley Avenue, Right onto Elm Street, and Finish just past E. Broad Street. Pizza and dessert will be provided to all registered runners. Entertainment will be provided by the ever-popular Michael Craig Band with an awards ceremony immediately following the race. Register by mail or online at www.PracticeHard.com. Technical t-shirts will be provided to the first 2,000 entrants. Embroidered caps will be provided to the first 600 entrants.
To find out more about the Downtown Westfield 5K & Pizza Extravaganza, contact Sherry Cronin or Beth Brenner at the Downtown Westfield Corporation at 105 Elm Street , Westfield, NJ 07090 (908) 789-9444. Click here to download a pdf of the race application.
The Downtown Westfield Corporation (DWC), formed in 1996, is the management entity of the Special Improvement District. It is governed by a seven member Board of Directors, has two full-time and one part-time staff members, and numerous volunteers serving on Design, Promotion, Economic Development and Organization committees. The vision of the DWC is for Westfield, NJ to be a preferred destination where people want to live, work, and visit. Westfield is also honored to be one of 26 designated Main Street Communities in New Jersey , a program of the National Trust’s National Main Street Center .
Photo caption: A sea of runners lined the streets at the 2009 Downtown Westfield 5K & Pizza Extravaganza. This year’s event will be held on July 21, 2010 and will require pre-registration only. Photo by Millicent K. Brody.
