Freedoms Run: Over 1,000 running enthusiasts race through Shepherdstown for annual event
SHEPHERDSTOWN — Runners of all ages took over the town on Saturday morning, as they joined in the Freedoms Run Racing Series.
While the morning’s drizzly weather made running conditions a little challenging, it did not keep many of the runners from finishing their races. And, for those who might not have had enough endurance on their own, their fellow running buddies helped see them through to the finish line.
“Definitely get into a running group!” said half marathon runner Craig Miller, of Shepherdstown, noting his appreciation for the care the race organizers took in preparing the course. “The weather was really nasty — it rained in the morning and was then really slippery on the course. But they had people at each of the turns, to make sure everyone was good to go. It was a fun time and good course, with the run through Antietam Battlefield.”
Miller has completed the Freedoms Run half marathon four times and has since passed along his love for running to his five-year-old daughter, who ran in the one-mile Kids Fun Run.
“All of the kids from town run together,” Miller said of the race. “This was her second time running the race — she did it last year, as well.”
For Freedoms Run Racing Series founder Dr. Mark Cucuzzella, the one-mile Kids Fun Run has proven to be his favorite of the racing series, which along with the half marathon also features a marathon, 10k and 5k.
“We’ve had a free kids run since the beginning of this,” Cucuzzella said. “It’s always kind of the little highlight of the busy day!”
According to Cucuzzella, over 1,000 runners participated in this year’s racing series, with a slight increase from last year’s number. Among those new runners were Carrie Castonguay, of Maine, and her two daughters, Mariah and Catie.
“She’s in the army and she just got stationed in West Virginia, and so we wanted to do a run closer to her and we wanted to do the run together — well, some of us wanted to do it!” Mariah said, laughing, “Well, some of us wanted to do it. Others got dragged into it!”
Catie, who teaches with West Virginia University’s Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, admitted to being the one “dragged into” running the half marathon.
“They kind of roped me into it!” Catie said. “Our mom has always wanted to do one, so we said, ‘If you want to do one, we’ll do it with you.'”
The family started preparing for the race in April, according to Castonguay, after finding the racing series advertised on the Running in the USA website.
“It is our first time doing a half marathon, ever! I think we’re one and done,” Castonguay said, with a smile. “I feel good about our time, considering we trained for hills at home in Maine, but we weren’t quite prepared for the amount of hills on this route.”