With certain popular races on certain great weather days, magic can happen.
It did on Sunday morning, where upwards of 900 runners registered for the 26th annual Kiwanis-Herald Sesame Place Classic in Langhorne and enjoyed a competition for the ages.
Blue skies and comfortable temperatures greeted striders from near and far.
The field of more than 700 finishers was the largest since the pre-pandemic years.
Since 1999, more than $600,000 has been raised for the Dick Dougherty Honorarium Fund which provides financial assistance for college-bound scholar-athletes from 18 Bucks County high Schools.
Each participant in the race received a free one-day admission pass to Sesame Place good through Sept. 30.
There was spirited running in the featured 5K, the one-mile run and the kids’ Sesame Sprint.
In the 5K race, Luke Holman of Virginia took home male top honors with a time of 17:27. In female competition, Ashley Kelly of Morrisville reached the finish line first in 22:09,
Race committee members from the Levittown-Bristol Kiwanis Club said this was one of the best received events in the Classic’s history.
“It amazes me every year that this race has become the spectacle that it has,” said Jill Gilardi, who helps manage race registration and number procurement. “There isn’t a race that embraces family more than ours.”
This year’s featured character, Grover, was quite a popular one with race partcipants. Numerous T-shirts with his image on them were seen being worn by runners of all ages in the three events.
“I love seeing familiar faces and families,” Gilardi said. “I love when we see three generations of families entered. It’s fun and exciting to be involved in this race.”
Large crowds were on hand to cheer on the runners as they made their way on the loop surrounding Oxford Valley Mall.
Holman, who won this race in 2024 and finished second last year, once again drove all the way up from Virginia just to participate.
“This is just such a great event every single year,” Holman said. “It’s a flat, fast course. It gets a lot of great support from Sesame Place and the community.
“And it’s great to see all the high school kids out there. It was a great race today, kind of like a high school cross-country race. There was a pack of about eight or nine guys together the first mile. I was kind of neck-and-neck with somebody at the (1.5-mile) turnaround and pulled away after that.”
The KHSPC race committee hopes the event will continue to grow once again as it did in the early 2000s.
“I am so grateful for the fabulous turnout this year,” said Kiwanis Club’s Jill Saul. “The weather was perfect and the crowd was amazingly helpful and kind.
“The best part is that the proceeds from this family-friendly event provide scholarships for deserving scholar-athletes in Bucks County. The best of everything in one awesome event.”
Bucks County Herald’s Ernie Nocito appreciates the amount of preparation and duties which go into an event of this magnitude.
“Putting together the 26th annual Sesame Place Classic takes a tremendous amount of planning,” Nocito said. “This year resulted in a fantastic race with a great turnout of runners and spectators, young and old. Perfect weather at Sesame Place combined with everyone’s spirit provided the perfect backdrop for this fun and memorable event.”
Dixie Rhodes of Kiwanis has helped organize quite a few of these races and the energy they generate never gets old.
“The entire day was filled with positivity,” she said. “The runners enjoyed being with their families on a Sunday morning while others enjoyed the exhiliration of exerting energy by running. Among some, the competition was fierce, while for others they were pleased to finish the race.”
Another long time race committee member, Mary Berman, offered similar sentiments.
“What an incredible day at the Sesame Classic,” she said. “We were absolutely thrilled by the amazing turnout and inspired by every single runner who showed up today. The energy, encouragement and community spirit throughout the day was unforgettable.”
Results from the 5K and one-mile events can be found at https://runsignup/Race/Results82896#resultlSetld-654;perpage:5000
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