Another great Revolutionary Run/July 4th race worth celebrating

At this rate, the famous Revolutionary Run July 4th 10K/5K might be around as long as the Washington Crossing Historic Park it’s run in.
The two go together so well and that’s why last Friday’s competitions once again drew more than 1,000 runners.
It’s a perfect partnership. The flat, scenic course which goes through the park and along River Road in Upper Makefield Township has been drawing big fields since its inception in 1980.
Which explains how so many runners in the two races complete one of the events with some of their best times.
Just a great way to kick off a holiday of food, flags and fireworks.
“It’s a great place to run,” agreed Joe Boyce, a veteran runner from Levittown. “We do a lot of running there, just as a casual group. It’s a staple of the area.
“I enjoy American history, particularly as it pertains to the Revolution. So it’s great to run it.”
Boyce, who was edged out for third place in the 10K 60-64 bracket by training partner Jim Larson, had a good reason for the unexpected close finish.
He’s training for his first Half-Ironman Triathlon in Augusta, Maine later this month. Some of that cycle mileage also goes toward his annual 500-mile ride to raise money for Anchor House, a charity to assist children with life challenges, based in Trenton.
In the 10K RevRun event, Alex Izewski of Yardley took home first place honors with a time of 34:04. Chris Leonard of Feasterville-Trevose placed third in 36:19.
Other top Lower Bucks finishers included Yardley’s William van Blunk (36:41) in fourth overall and Nick Accardo of Washington Crossing, who placed sixth in 39:00.
On the women’s side, Gianna Tedeschi of Skillman, N.J. picked up top homors with a speedy 36:48. The first Lower Bucks finisher was New Hope’s Elizabeth Koloski in 38:50.
Langhorne’s John Faccenda won the men’s 5K race in 16:58. Mickey Moorhead of Levittown placed third in 17:18. Michael Zoda of Morrisville ran a strong race as the 34-year-old clocked a time of 18:49, good for 13th.
In the women’s 5K competition, Perkasie’s Stephanie Savastano placed first in a time of 19:34. A pair of New Hope runners earned fourth and sixth respectively: Aleta Budd ran 21:45 and Natalie Johnston crossed the finish line in 22:24.
Of special note: Gert Freas of Chalfont continued her amazing streak of performances. The 65-year-old placed 10th overall in 22:37, which is an age-graded rating of 85.94.
Some of other top age-group performances by Lower Bucks runners included a first place from Yardley’s Rick Mingione in the 70-74 bracket with a 45:18. Phil Davies of Doylestown was second in 51:50.
Lambertville, N.J. runner Brittany Debord won the 30-34 division in 41:56.
Bucks County Roadrunners Club members Stephanie Young, John Wheeler, Natacha Smith, Bronwyn Bird and Colm Quinn turned in strong efforts. Their times can be found at www.compuscore.com.
As for his usual 500-mile Anchor House ride in July, Boyce is turning his attention to long hours of training for that first Half-Ironman in Maine but he’s still active in raising money for his favorite charity.
“Still doing the fund raising, which is the most important,” he said. And the miles he trains for the Maine race will go toward that endeavor. “It’s for the kids who are homeless, abused.”
Because Boyce is also swimming and running in training for the upcoming race, there just hasn’t been enough time to prepare properly for a week of cycling.
The RevRun was part of a three-day span in which he also competed in the Dairy Air Half-Marathon and the Not-on-the-Fourth race.
“Kind of overtraining,” he said. “In another week or so I’m going to start tapering back. It’s a big jump for me.”
When he’s competing in Maine, he will still have memories of another great July 4 race to occupy his thoughts.