Gabby Gobble 5K draws a thousand Turkey Day runners
A thousand runners and hundreds of walkers, with turkeys and Pilgrims sprinkled into the flock, toed the starting line Thanksgiving Day morning for the Gabby Gobble 5K to raise funds for the Get Well Gabby Foundation.
Gabríella M. Vogel, to whom the event is dedicated, was 5 years old when she lost her life to a form of brain cancer called DIPG. The foundation was formed in February 2012 and has raised more than $125,000, which has been donated to A.I. duPont Hospital for Children and to individual children who are fighting a cancer diagnosis.
A fast field raced at the front of the pack, with 20 runners breaking 20 minutes. The top five males broke 18 minutes, and 51-year-old clydesdale Lance Fargo ran a sizzling 19:56.
Will Rehrig, a 24-year-old St. Andrew’s teacher and coach, ran away with the race in 16:11, nine seconds faster than the Mayflower, which landed in 1620.
Joining Rehrig atop the male leaderboard were Seth Ball in 17:27, Francisco Puac in 17:36, Sean Garrett in 17:54 and Matt Klapak in 17:57.
Jennifer Brill, 27, from Washington, D.C., was the first female, in 18:39. She was joined on the leaderboard by Cindy Link in 19:55, Natalie Quigley in 20:40, Nicole Ritchie in 20:49 and Heather Albright in 20:58.
Twenty-seven girls and 19 boys under 9 years of age completed the distance. Fold in another 42 girls and 48 boys in the 10-13 age group and that tabulates to 146 runners age 13 or younger. The Gabby Gobble is truly a race for kids.
