Registration is open for the third annual Susquehanna River Running Festival scheduled for Sept. 26 and sponsored by the Al Cesky Scholarship Fund.
This year’s festival includes a half marathon and 10K that cross the Hatem Bridge over the Susquehanna River as well as a 5K touring historic Havre de Grace.
New this year is the Commander’s Cup, to be awarded by Aberdeen Proving Ground to the male, female and master’s winners of the half marathon. The award is open to all active and retired military, National Guard and reserve.
With the addition of the 10K last year, the half-marathon relay will no longer be part of the festival.
The SRRF has quickly established itself as a premier running event in the mid-Atlantic region, attracting nearly 1,200 runners from the local area as well as hundreds of runners from 20 different states and two countries in each of the first two years. Even more are expected this year. The SRRF has featured elite runners who are former winners of the Baltimore, Cleveland and Akron Marathons.
“We are thrilled to be able bring to the local running community such a premier running event which has attracted hundreds of runners from around the U.S. in just a short period of time,” Dom Corson, one of the organizers of the event, said.
Among highlights of the event are the Baltimore Pacemakers pace group, Performance Resources lead bicycle groups, secure bag drop sponsored by UPS, age-group awards as well as decoys, carved by local craftsman Bryon Bodt, to the top winners. Runners will be treated to premiums, finisher medals and an after-party with catered food, one free beer and live music in Tydings Park.
The Al Cesky Scholarship Fund is a nonprofit, all-volunteer managed organization dedicated to awarding college scholarships to high school scholar-athletes who honor the values of legendary coach and athletic director Al Cesky who posthumously inducted into the Maryland Scholastic High School Coaches Hall of Fame.
As Harford County athletic director, Cesky introduced boys’ and girls’ soccer, lacrosse, tennis, golf and swimming. The ACSF awards $54,000 annually and has exceeded the $1.1 million mark in total giving over the past 35 years.
Andrew Berry, a former Bel Air High School and Harvard standout who is the new general manager for the Cleveland Browns, is a 2005 Cesky winner.
“I’m proud to be associated with the Al Cesky Scholarship Fund because of its representation of scholastic and athletic excellence,” Berry said. “The intersection of these spheres has shaped my life from an early age until now. I’m thankful for the work of the Cesky family to recognize high schoolers with similar backgrounds and support them with their long-term goals.”
For more information, visit www.srrf.org.
