The first three races of the Bucks 5K Series have been completed.
New Hope's Johnny Marino and Dresher's Alex Brasington are leading
the Men's and Women's scoring for the overall Series championship.
They each have two first place finishes and a second place finish in
the three races. Alex and Johnny were also the winners in 2002.

Dan McKay and Heather Wallace, both of Doylestown, have turned in the
fastest times of the year,. Heather ran 19:01 to win the Central
Bucks Family YMCA 5K, while Dan ran 15:56 to win the New Hope-
Solebury "Spirit" run.

On April 6th, the New Hope-Solebury "Spirit" race joined the Bucks 5K
Series, with nearly 400 registered runners. The beautiful course
began and ended at the High School. It included a jaunt through
downtown New Hope, quality time on River Road, and some lovely hills
outside of the town. Entertainment and family fun were part of the
post race activities. Dan McKay was the Men's winner and Alex
Brasington won the Women's division with a time of 19:16.

The race included more than 40 kids under the age of 15. The
youngsters turned in some outstanding times. Zachary Corse (19:13)
and Joshua Izewski (19:55) joined Alexandra Brasington in the top
25. At the other end of the age groups, Vadim Buzan (66) raced
across the finish line in an outstanding time of 22:36.

Less than one week later, the runners gathered at the Health and
Wellness Center by Doylestown Hospital for the Fitcare Lifecenter
5K. In spite of the uphill finish, Alex Brasington won the Women's
race in a course record, 19:08, while Johnny Marino won the Men's.
The most hotly contested age group was the 45-49 group, where 5
runners finished in the top 25. Tom Rudan prevailed over John
Gorgol, Fred Hopper, Jim Stein, and Mike Jeffery. The day began
under a threatening sky, but ended in sunshine. This provided a
great setting for the post race festivities.

After the first three races, there are seven runners with undefeated
(3 for 3) records in their age groups: they are Nancy Smith (45-49),
Alex Brasington (12-14), Katie Bonnell (1-11), Vadim Buzan (65-69),
Frank Hopper (60-64), Johnny Marino (40-44), and Jerome Lacotta (35-
39). The overall champions are not eligible for age group awards.
The final standings are determined by using the four best finishes in
her/his age group. As a result, most of the age group awards are
wide open at this time.

The next race in the Bucks 5K Series will be the Sertoma 5K in
Doylestown Township's Central Park. The course has been modified to
add a path along the scenic Neshaminy Creek. There will be a free
raffle for all registered runners. The prize is a Raleigh Mountain
bike. Other post race festivities will include live entertainment
and a Mother's Day plant sale. The number of pre-registered runners
is currently at record levels.

You can register online for the Sertoma 5K race, or any of the other
races at www.bucks5kseries.com.

Complete race results and series standings are also available at
www.bucks5kseries.com.