About 2,500 runners, walkers and wheelchair racers participated in a series of events culminating in with the five-mile George Sheehan Classic in Red Bank Saturday morning. That’s up about 200 from last year, race organizer Phil Hinck tells redbankgreen.
And the event keeps getting more efficient. This was the first time that the race used a timing system in which every runner attached a chip to his or her shoe for dead-on accurate timing. That eliminated stacking of runners in finishing chutes; this year, they could breeze through and keep going without having someone swipe the barcodes on their race bibs.
The breakdown of the race apparatus was completed shortly after 10a with the reopening Broad Street, Hinck said.
The rapid pack-up was helped by the runners themselves, in that the last of them crossed the finish line before 10a. Last year, some stragglers came in later.
As usual, the race was followed by a party in Marine Park, with free bagels, fruit, grilled meat and music.
Race results are here.
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