VanAlstine and Brummell win Shea Memorial 5-K run

Spurred on by the cause and the spirit of the day, Kenny Freedman lifted weights and did a quarter mile “tester run before he left his house in West Milford to head to the Corporal Christopher M. Shea Memorial 5-Kilometer in Newton. Freedman races several times a year, but this cause, coupled with the venue of Swartswood State Park was “something I just had to do.” Realizing his running shoes were shot, he even swung into the new Sports Authority near his home en route. “The directors of The Bears Youth Running Program organized it and I know they always do a good job,” Freedman said, “But more compelling was the cause: to support a race in memory of a fallen trooper from our area.” Christopher Shea grew up in Newton, graduating from Kittatinny Regional High School, then served in the United States Marines and went on to become a state trooper in Delaware where he lived with his wife and two children. On July 18, 2004, he was killed in the line of duty by a drunken driver. Determined to let his memory live on, the Shea family, led by Chris’ brother, Tim, and parents, Maurice and Pat, founded the annual race which they stage with the assistance of The Bears. It will now be held annually the same day as The New York City Marathon, the first Sunday in November, at Swartswood State Park in Newton. In its first year, 2005, the inaugural race raised about $2,000, but Sunday’s race surpassed that with several hundred runners and walkers plus sponsors and donations amassing close to $3,500. Money raised from the race goes toward a scholarship given to a Kittatinny Regional High School senior going into law enforcement. Ryan VanAlstine, of Midland Park, was the winner, running a blazing 15:31, just 10 seconds shy of the park’s course record. It was a neck and neck battle for the first two thirds of the race with Hackettstown’s Mark Bahnuk, but the second time they hit the wooded camp ground area, VanAlstine pulled away to beat Bahnuk by 25 seconds. “I liked the course,” VanAlstine said, “Especially the part in the camp ground. “We had a good race and it’s certainly a good cause,” Bahnuk added, “The conditions were great too.” In the women’s race, 16-year-old Sam Brummell ran 19:49 for the win the day after competing in high school sectionals for High Point Regional. Though she advanced to next week’s group meet at Holmdel Park, she won’t be running because it conflicts with a Confirmation. “That made it great to be able to run today in this race,” she said, “I liked the course and it was nice to find a good 5-K so close to home.” Brummell’s teammate, Jessica Grimn, was second in 20:15. The Shea family didn’t just put on the race, they also partook. Chris’s brothers, Patrick, Andrew and Tim all ran while dad, Maurice, walked one of the double loops of the course. “Next year I think I might just try to run it,” Maurice Shea, who recently quit smoking, said. “That would be a great goal and something good to do in Chris’s memory.” Other members of the family, including the late Christopher’s godmother, walked the race. As for Kenny Freedman, maybe it was the morning lift or the quarter mile he did to warm up or perhaps it was the slick new Asics racing flats he found on a super Sunday sale on the way to the race, but the 47-year-old achieved his goal: to break 28 minutes. He ran 27:59:82.