Runners take off at the 9th Annual ETS Firecracker 5K Walk/Run starting line on June 25, 2013 at Educational Testing Service campus in Princeton.
Cyrell Roberson and Brennan McDavid of Princeton, Ben Widener of Pennington, Mike Brittan of Philadelphia, Pa. race at the ETS Firecracker 5K Run/Walk on June 25, 2013.
Chris and Matthew Tate of Ewing pull ahead of Dini Totten of Old Bridge and ETS employees Kunar Venukrishnan and Xumaravel Panneerselvam at the ETS Firecracker 5K Walk/Run on June 25, 2013 in Princeton.
YWCA Princeton supporters raced to the finish line at the ninth annual ETS Firecracker 5K Run/Walk on June 25.
Participants helped raise educational funds for the organization’s bilingual nursery school program.
Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes popped the starter’s gun signaling to runners the race was on. Runners took off behind 911 Carrera lap car provided by Porsche of Princeton as the race wove its way through ETS’ campus.
Bryan Kelly, a Captain in the U.S. Air Force from South Brunswick, was the first person to cross the finish line, earning the top spot in the Overall Men’s Division with a time of 16:26.20. Jacob Rist of Princeton was behind at 16:44.25, as was Jason Simon of Gibbstown at 17:40.65.
Marissa Greco of Princeton won Top Overall Women at 19:30.16, followed by Leigh Carroll of Sherborn, Mass., at 21:03.18 and Ziva Petrin of Princeton at 21:03.18.
In Top Masters Finishers Men’s Division, Tom Keating of Princeton took first at 20:23.87, followed by Patrick Applegate of Matawan at 20:34.94 and Ken Coupe of Pennington at 20:48.47.
Terry McWilliams of Moorestown finished first in the Top Masters Finishers Women’s Division with a time of 21:59:67, followed by Ingrid Ladendorf of Pennington at 22:08.62 and Amanda Norvelle of Hopewell at 22:11.49.
Corporate team leaders included ETS which nailed the top spot, followed by Garminators, Princeton Intervals, TYCO, Bank of Princeton, PKCC, Bracco, Mercadien, BeeFit with Tracy and NJ Manufacturers.
Participants and their families enjoyed a variety of festivities at the start of the run, including a warm-up stretch, in addition to an awards ceremony and refreshments at the finish.
Proceeds from the race support YWCA Princeton’s bilingual nursery school.
Built in 1995, the nursery school provides programming for the Spanish-speaking population whose needs were not being served elsewhere. Many of the children do not speak English, when they enroll, but are kindergarten-ready when they “graduate.” It
Although the Bilingual Nursery School focuses on young, immigrant Spanish-speaking children, the YWCA is a large multi-cultural community that attracts people from all over the world. In addition to the school, it offers numerous activities and services including a Breast Cancer Resource Center, aquatics, adult education and martial arts.
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