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Many thanks to everyone who laced up their sneakers to run or walk for the good of our feathered friends. Continue reading for results and photos from Mystic Aquarium's 5th Annual Penguin Run/Walk.
Run
Walk
Kids
Awards/Penguin Race
Top Fundraisers
Winning Individual Fundraiser: Louise O'Boyle
Winner Fundraising Team: AP Marine Science
Nearly 1,000 people laced up their sneakers on Saturday, October 15 to participate in Mystic Aquarium’s 5th Annual Penguin Run/Walk, raising nearly $30,000 for African penguin research and conservation.
The event consisted of a 5k run on a trail, field and road course, two-mile walk and ¼-mile kids’ race. The top three runners in each of eight age divisions for males and females received a ceramic tile, donated by Get Fired Up of Westerly, R.I., featuring artwork created by the penguins with their feet. The top fundraising team, Avery Point Marine Science of Groton, Conn., received a meet-and-greet with a penguin and will be recognized on a plaque at the aquarium. Top fundraising individual Louise O’Boyle of Stonington, Conn., received an original penguin painting.
The winning middle school cross-country teams – the Pawcatuck Middle School Girls Team of Pawcatuck and Brunswick Middle School Boys Team of Greenwich – received an engraved trophy that will be passed to next year’s winning team. Each of the members on the middle school winning teams also got to meet a penguin up close.
Money raised from the event supports Mystic Aquarium’s African penguin conservation efforts. The aquarium’s 29 African penguins serve as ambassadors to their wild counterparts and aquarium staff travel to South Africa annually to participate in critical African penguin rescue and research efforts. The African penguin became endangered in 2010 and over the past eight years, the world’s population has declined by 60 percent.
SNERRO timed the race. The top three runners in each age division were:
Males 13 and under
1. Sean Crowley, Pawcatuck, CT 19:43
2. Brandon Rathbun, Westerly, RI 21:36
3. William Powers, Greenwich CT 21:40
Males 14-19
1. Liam Regula, East Hampton CT 19:14
2. Chris Peisch, Greenwich CT 21:24
3. Markus Lake, Greenwich CT 23:15
Males 20-29
1. Nick Miller, Norwich CT 17:49 (overall race winner)
2. Evan Johnson, Willimantic, CT 19:07
3. Frank Pearson , Westerly RI 19:24
Males 30-39
1. Kevin Gallagher, Salem, CT 18:47
2. Joel Schwartz, East Lyme, CT 21:38
3. Vincenzo Race, New London, CT 21:48
Males 40-49
1. John Pajer, Leicester, MA 17:51
2. Spyros Barres, Mystic, CT 18:00
3. Thomas Olendorf, Mystic, CT 19:46
Males 50-59
1. Christopher Cain, Mystic, CT 19:11
2. T J Dooling, Pawcatuck CT 19:24
3. Vince McCurdy, Waterford CT 21:41
Males 60-69
1. Peter Olsen, Clinton, CT 23:17
2. Jim Troeger, Norwich, CT 26:31
3. Bob Fiore, Mystic, CT 26:32
Males 70+
1. Ronald Gale, Norwich, CT 28:42
2. Dick Walsh, Old Lyme, CT 29:29
3. Tom Sullivan, Ledyard, CT 34:50
Females 13 and under
1. Liz Grau, Pawcatuck, CT 24:02
2. Kaitlyn Pajer, Leicester, MA 25:01
3. Caroline Morehouse, Stonington, CT 26:00
Females 14-19
1. Marisa Shields, Nowalk, CT 23.16
2. Charlotte Robinson, Pawcatuck, CT 23:23
3. Michelle Pajer, Leicester, MA 23:55
Females 20-29
1. Erin Decay, Fall River, MA 25:32
2. Jennifer Stambaugh, Ledyard, CT 26:05
3. Correna Blewett, Lincoln Park, NJ 26:29
Females 30-39
1. Shawn Savage, Niantic, CT 22:41 (overall race winner)
2. Melanie Diamanti, Pawcatuck, CT 23:43
3. Erica Murray, Groton, CT 24:17
Females 40-49
1. Kim Vanvlaenderen, Jewett City, CT 23:28
2. Suzin Webb, Stonington, CT 24:31
3. Pamela Kane, Mystic, CT 25:55
Females 50-59
1. Kathleen Steamer, East Lyme, CT 29:10
2. Gayle Sirpenski, Voluntown, CT 29:10
3. Christine Wilson, Naugatuck, CT 30:14
Females 60-69
1. Rose Buckingham, Norwich, CT 28:33
2. Susan Sheckley, Niantic, CT 30:34
3. Patricia Phillips, Niantic, CT 31:42
The full results list is available at Snerro.com.
Prize donors included 5, 6, 7, 8, Dance, Mystic Drawbridge Ice Cream, Red Star World Wear, Alley Katz Bowling Center Mystic Soup Company, Rock Spot Climbing, Ballou’s Wine Bar, Mystic Village Beanery Somewhere in Time Café, Better Body Works, New England Runners Magazine, Sports Bar, Chili’s Grill and Bar, N.L. Shaw, Stonington Vineyards, Dairy Queen, O’Keefe’s Discount Liquors, Walt’s Roast Beef, Dog watch Café, Okemo Mountain Resort, World Gym, Eastern Mountain Sports, Olde Mistick Village, Yellow House Café, Get Fired Up, Peggy’s Cutting Crew, In Touch Massage, Peking Tokyo, Mystic Aquarium Gift, Store Precision Fitness, Mystic Cycle Center, Project Oceanology, Thai One On
Event sponsors included New London Day/Zip06, Direct Energy, Savings Institute Bank and Trust, Girard Ford, Something Fishy, Kool 101, Guilford Veterinary Group, Wide World of Bagels, Precision Fitness, SYNNOTT IMAGING, Coca-Cola Bottling Co of SE NE, My Dogs Place, Our Companions, Event Network, Rhode Island Rentals, Get Fired Up, Ocean Blue Catering, Monsanto, Denison Society, Denison Pequotsepos Nature Ctr, Olde Mistick Village, Fire Police of Old Mystic, Stonington Police Dept., Mystic River Ambulance Assoc
About Mystic Aquarium
Mystic Aquarium is a division of Sea Research Foundation, Inc., a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization, and is counted among the nation’s leading aquariums with more than 300 species and an extensive collection of marine mammals, including New England’s only beluga whales. Mystic Aquarium has been a pioneer in offering guests a variety of up close encounters with a wide range of marine animals. The mission of Sea Research is to inspire people to care for and protect our ocean planet through education, research and exploration. Learn more at www.mysticaquarium.org or www.searesearch.org.
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