Saturday's YMCA Bucks County Strong 5K runners were greeted with ideal conditions as over 450 athletes were drenched in sunshine for a change and enjoyed windless temperatures in the upper 50's. The ideal conditions were the perfect backdrop for a brief celebration of life ceremony at the race start for the late Dick Patterson who was the 5K Series President for over 20 years. Dick's wife Edythe and many other members of the Patterson family were in attendance. Racers were treated to Skip Schanbacker playing Amazing Grace on his trumpet. Mrs. Patterson was presented with the coveted Bucks 5K Series Jacket, and all Patterson family members were designated as honorary race directors by our esteemed Y race leader Justin Grand.

In the overall category, the college kids, home for Mother's Day, took time away from their families to dominate the Series leaders and spoil the string of great races by the leaders in both divisions. Twenty-year-old Mitch Campbell, of Penn College, fresh off a 50K trail victory this past weekend, had enough left in the tank to run an impressive 16:22.23 as he overtook an obviously hobbled Alex Izewski, off his own impressive Broad Street Run performance. Despite his injury, Alex gutted out an impressive second-place finish more than 90 seconds ahead of the third-place finisher, Matt Brown.

The woman's overall victory went to another twenty-year-old, Megan Lysek-Hagy of Lock Haven University, who blasted a sub-19-minute 5K, besting the current and previously unbeaten 5K Series leader Kellie Shimer to take top honors.

Bob Boland continued his "Mastery of the Masters Division" once again having the highest score as he steamrolls all of the men's masters runners in the age-graded division.

An upset of sorts took place in the female age-graded competition with Gert Freas "coming down from the mountain" (she has been hiking the Appalachian Trail for several months) to edge out the normally unbeatable Nancy Smith with a score of 91.8 vs 90.6. Nancy's score would have won any other age-graded score in the history of the 5K Series. What an amazing duel these two Series veterans waged against each other.

At this time, we are tabulating course records for the Y race and Series standings as well as 5K Series jacket eligibility and should have updates by Friday, May 17th.

There are only two races left in the Series. The Doylestown 5K is next up on May 25^th. Please sign up for this amazing event. The last race in the Series is the Break-Fast 5K and 10K on June 16th. Overall Series awards and jacket presentations will take place immediately following that race.

Johnny King-Marino