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Jason Coleman came to Whittingham Cancer Center's Annual Benefit Walk/Run to encourage his wife, Maria, and get her back into running. He ended up walking away with the winner's hardware.
Coleman, 32, won the 5-kilometer race in 18:49. He beat Adam Rosengarten of Norwalk to the finish line by six seconds. Brittany Szabo of Weston won the women's race in 20:02.
Coleman said the race was his first 5K of the year. He usually runs 10ks, but enjoyed the fast, flat course that started at Calf Pasture Beach. "It was fast and windy,'' Coleman said. "The wind slowed me down. It was constant resistance." He also received encouragement from Dr. Jeff Pivor to run the race. Pivor, who is Coleman's dentist, is the co-chairman of the event along with his wife, Holly. "I made sure to sign up when he told me about it,'' Coleman said. "They do a great job."
In the women's event, Szabo won in 20:02. Janice Flynn of Redding was credited with finishing third in the women's race but she got a late start. She warmed up in the parking lot with her daughter as the start of the race was delayed. When the horn sounded to start the runners, Flynn and her daughter sprinted to catch up to the pack. She lost several hundred yards before creeping up close to the lead.
"This was my first race since 2007,'' Flynn said. "My dad was treated for cancer at Whittingham. I wanted to come down here and show some support for him."
There were 150 finishers in the race, according to race results posted here. No age group awards were distributed because pre-registration forms did not include a section for age.
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