Great weather, good crowd for the 20th Ashenfelter 8K

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — The 20th running of the Ashenfelter 8K on Thanksgiving Day last week was held in perfect fall weather with nearly 3,000 runners entered. The overall winner was Colin Albert, 22, of Easton, Pa., with a time of 23:50.00, just off the record of 23:14.14 set in 2017. The first female finisher was Amanda Marino, 30, of Asbury Park, who came in 49th overall with a time of 27:54.7.

Preceding the 8K was the Tom Fleming One Mile Run which produced a tight finish with Tyler Schoch, 22, of Woodcliff Lakes timed in 5:04.12 and Sarah Adler, 24, of Piermont, N.Y., timed in 5:04.71.

Other 8K finishers from Essex County included Stephen Rathbun, of Springfield, in eighth place; John Gaffney, of Nutley, 17th; and Shawn Williams, of Bloomfield, 31st. The oldest female finishers were Imme Dyson, 82, of Princeton and Antje Hennings, 75, of Demarest. The oldest male finishers were Nathaniel Finestone, 90, of Mountainside, and Arch Seamans, 87, of Rockaway.

Councilman Dan Murphy, who served as race director, said many runners agreed that it was the fastest 8K in which they had ever participated. Murphy said the first 100 male and female 8K finishers usually receive a commemorative glass mug, but this year the first 200 male and female finishers did, marking the 20th running of the race. Murphy likened the Thanksgiving Day event to a well-oiled machine, with contributions from numerous borough departments and organizations.

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