Reebok Canton Race
By Mike Berger
The ninth annual Reebok Canton Road Race went off without a hitch on Saturday, October 5, at the sprawling Reebok campus off Royall Street. The rain ended just before the start of the kids’ one-mile fun run and more than 600 participants enjoyed perfect race conditions while raising more than $40,000 for several Canton nonprofit groups.
Sponsored by Reebok and the Canton Association of Business and Industry (CABI), the road race has given more than $500,000 since 2005 to various local organizations, including the Canton Police and Fire departments, the Canton Public Schools, Mass. Hospital School, and the Canton Food Pantry. Proceeds also go toward scholarships for students at Canton High School and Blue Hills Regional Technical School.
Community, fitness, and team spirit were all common denominators of this year’s race, which awarded prizes to the top finishers in each age group — from seven and under to 70 and above. The race also had a street-fair atmosphere with restaurants and other vendors lined up after the finish line.
The 5k race was the most popular distance, drawing 348 runners, while the 10k race drew 147 participants and the fun run drew a total of 50 runners in two separate races. There was also a wheelchair division for the fun run, and five businesses fielded teams of runners for the 5k corporate challenge.
Canton’s Eric Greenspan, 28, won the 5k race in 16:16 — four seconds better than his second-place finish last year. Another Canton native, former standout CHS athlete Jess Ackerman, also improved on her impressive showing from last year, finishing fourth overall and first among women in the 10k with a time of 39:07.
The CHS cross country team was well-represented, with three members finishing in the top 10 of the 5k race — Dan Bronstein in eighth, Andrew May in ninth, and Brian Rota in tenth.
Matt Ouellette, 25, of Salem, New Hampshire, looked very strong as he won the 10k with a time of 37:02. Heather Mattes of Medway was the top woman finisher in the 5k (21:09), and 13-year-old Shawn Hewett of East Bridgewater was the fun run winner in 7:08.
In the corporate challenge, race sponsor Reebok took home the top spot, followed by teams from Computershare, Mass. Hospital School, One Beacon, and Bank of Canton.
Click here for a complete list of race results.
Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=22653
Posted by Mike Berger
on Oct 10 2013. Filed under Photo Gallery.
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