Rich on Running: Gold Star Run features tribute to Swampscott’s Raymond

Not only did the third annual Gold Star Run for Honor offer a chance to complete a 5K or a 10K in Swampscott on Saturday, it also honored the memory of Army SPC Jared Raymond, a Swampscott resident who died in Iraq in 2006.”It went wonderfully,” said Ashley Steeves of B&S Fitness in Salem, which managed the event for the second straight year. “We had a great showing. We raised a lot of money for the Jared Raymond Scholarship Fund.”There were 225 runners who registered for the race and 185 who came to the course on Saturday morning. Steeves said that an equal amount of people turned out for each race.The course began at the Clarke Elementary School and continued down Burrill Street onto Essex Street and Paradise Road through Vinnin Square, then back up Paradise past Whole Foods to the Clarke. Those who did the 10K had to run two loops.”It was pretty flat,” Steeves said, although she noted that there was “a gradual incline” by the Whole Foods.There was a poignant moment at “Jared’s Square,” the section of Essex Street about one mile into the race that is dedicated to Raymond. The 5K race entrants included a platoon of about 30 recruits (as well as two fitness instructors) from the 16th Massachusetts Police Academy at Camp Curtis Guild in Reading. The platoon stopped at the square and did 16 pushups to honor Raymond.”It was discussed among the other instructors how we could commemorate Jared,” said Swampscott police officer Kevin Reen, an instructor at the academy. “It was something we could do.””Everybody was talking about that (the recruits’ pushups),” Steeves said. “They were a really nice presence and motivation.”In the 5K, winner Max Freiert of Salem finished in under 21 minutes (20:13.5), and the first-place woman – Leslie Horwitz of Swampscott – came in “not too much after,” Steeves said, at 23:10.0. There were also awards for Team Jared 5K members Cara Bednar of Marblehead, Amber Macione of Salem and Danielle Bradford of Danvers.The 10K, meanwhile, featured what Steeves described as “a pretty tight finish” between the first and second-place men – winner Donato Dandreo of Swampscott (40:29.6) and second-place finisher John Boveri of Quincy (40:31.0). Carol Funk of Swampscott was the top female finisher (44:34.1). Team Jared 10K award winners were William Madden of Windham (NH), Funk, and Chip Tuttle of Salem.Full Potential Chiropractic of Swampscott was the title sponsor of the race.Raymond’s family attended the event, including his mother, Jacki, whom Steeves said is “very involved in the entire race planning – designing T-shirts, finding sponsors, recruiting volunteers.”Reen, a Lynn native, did not know Jared Raymond, but he has been involved with the event that bears his name. When Reen joined the Swampscott police department, he worked with Detective Jim Schultz to put together a road race honoring Raymond.”Being a local kid, (Jared) wanted to go serve in the Army,” Reen said, adding that afterward “he wanted to become a police officer. It hits home to us in the law enforcement community.”A ‘Spring Fling’ at Lynn WoodsThe Lynn YMCA is hosting the second annual 5K Spring Fling at Lynn Woods on Saturday, May 21, at 10 a.m. Proceeds will benefit the Y and its programs for children, families and adults. To register, visit www.active.com or contact Sharon Dobbyn (781-581-3105×244, [email protected]).Rich Tenorio writes a weekly running column for The Item. Email him at [email protected].