According to township officials, the runners, through their entry fees, helped raise $410 to benefit Project Freedom, a nonprofit that develops housing that allows those with disabilities to live indep
by Charley Falkenburg, Special Writer
ROBBINSVILLE — Right behind the high school, a crowd of people were busy getting their blood pumping early Saturday morning. A few were jogging in place, some were sneaking in a few jumping jacks, several were stretching and many were finalizing the perfect playlists on their MP3 players and phones.
They were preparing for a race that would make township history – they were about to christen Robbinsville Township’s first official cross-country track with a 5k run.
To commemorate the new cross country course, nearly 50 people of all ages gathered at the high school on April 19 to run the trail in the township’s Earth Day Fun Run.
According to township officials, the runners, through their entry fees, helped raise $410 to benefit Project Freedom, a nonprofit that develops housing that allows those with disabilities to live independently.
Two of those participants happened to be mother and daughter duo Yvette Haddock and her little girl, Kendal, 10.
”It just seemed like a fun thing to do – to take a little run,” Ms. Haddock said before the race. Although not too much of a runner, Kendal agreed that the course would be a nice place for a jog.
”Especially on sunny days,” she added with a smile.
The trail has been more than a year in the making, beginning when the township received an allocation of trees from the state to make up for the ones removed during the New Jersey Turnpike Authority’s Widening Program.
Soon, township and school officials began collaborating on how to plant some of the trees to create a cross-country course using the open space adjacent to the high school.
Flash forward and now the township has a 3.1-mile trail with the planted trees set at 25 feet on each side of what is a very scenic path.
Spanning a variety of terrain, the dirt trail edges along green expanses of farmland, a gurgling creek and delves briefly through the woods.
”It’s a top notch course, which will grow nicely as time goes on,” said Township Council Vice President Vince Calcagno. “We were able to put this open space to a real good community use.”
There are already plans to expand the trail by planting trees so they are at 50 feet on each side. There will also be six kiosks spread around for folks who might be looking to simply enjoy a leisurely walk.
Prior to the new trail, Robbinsville Township Recreation Director Joe Barker explained that the closest thing the town had to a cross-country trail was an asphalt path at Community Park that lasted sixth-tenths of a mile.
Now, with it’s own proper 3.1-mile trail, Superintendent Steven Mayer said the school could not only host community events, but also cross country events and championship meets.
”The cross country and track teams in Robbinsville are very good, so having a course like this honors the values in the school district’s commitment to fitness and health,” he said.
Mr. Mayer, Mr. Calcagno and nearly all the runners gathered together before the race to help in a ribbon cutting ceremony – a display Robbinsville Township School Board member Shaina Ciaccio thought was a testament to the union between all the stakeholders within the township.
”It’s not just about the township or the board of education; we want the entire community involved,” said Ms. Ciaccio, who was one of Fun Run’s participants. “We have a different mindset here. We’re very community oriented.”
With the ribbon cut, the applause dwindled and Ms. Ciaccio joined the rest of the runners who made their way back to the starting line and lunged into their running stances. The air horn blared and then they were off.
And within 20 minutes and 38 seconds, 13-year-old Jared Miller sailed through the finish line first. Without stopping, he went straight to the table of refreshments and grabbed a bottle of water.
When asked how it felt to come through first, the eighth grader at Pond Middle School paused.
”It feels good,” he said in between gasps and swigs of water.
Only seven seconds later, Gary Mertz, of Robbinsville, came in right on Jared’s heels.
As more of a roadrunner than a trailblazer, Mr. Mertz thought the race was a fun challenge.
When asked for his strategy, he smiled.
”No strategy today, I just wanted to go in with no stress or pressure,” he said. “This is a fun run after all.”