Hundreds of Pies, Thousands of Hungry Runners

The Downtown Westfield 5K and Pizza Extravaganza has all its bases covered. As one of the largest non-corporate races in the state, it attracts both competitive racers and amateur running enthusiasts from all over New Jersey. And for those that need an extra incentive to lace up the sneaks, there’s pizza at the end.

Tonight marks the 10th annual “Pizza Run,” as it’s colloquially called among Westfield residents and participants, which is produced by On Your Mark Productions and organized by the Downtown Westfield Corporation. The starting gun goes off at 7 p.m. on East Broad Street in front of the Rialto, and the race will head through several north side residential neighborhoods before ending on Elm Street downtown. Downtown streets will be closed off during the evening hours.

As of Monday evening, there were already near 2,500 registered applicants, said DWC Executive Director Sherry Cronin. After the race, all the runners will be offered slices of pizza, soda, Gatorade, water and closed downtown streets to enjoy the evening and the company of their fellow competitors. Cronin estimated the DWC will order 650 pizza pies from Cosimo’s, Casa di Pizza and Ferraro’s.

“Ferraro’s is still with us,” she said. About 300 pies will come from Cosimo’s, 200 from Ferraro’s and the remaining pies from Casa di Pizza. Ferraro’s has moved many of its operations to their Ferraro’s South location since the  that devastated the Elm Street restaurant.

Cronin said the DWC has already left notice with the restaurants to ensure the colossal order can be met.

As in the past, the Michael Craig Band, a duo of about 20 years consisting of Michael Doyle and Craig Hegelson, will provide entertainment on Quimby Street throughout the evening.

The Extravaganza costs the DWC around $7,000, Cronin said. The corporation makes its money back through sponsorships and registration fees, which were $27 and $25 for USA Track and Field members. Any profit seen by the DWC will go toward paying off the debt service it holds for the South Avenue Streetscape project in
2009.

Later this evening, the DWC will only allow preregistered runners to participate, as it did last year. One difference this year, Cronin said, is the use of online registration. Walk-in registration at the DWC office was accepted up until Monday evening.

To encourage early registration, the DWC guaranteed hats to the first 600 registrants and shirts to the first 2,000, which Cronin said have a “special” and “secret” design commemorating 10 years of Pizza Runs.

At the end of the race during the awards ceremony, Cronin said there will be gift certificates and other giveaways all valued around $25. She said 20 businesses donated gifts for the random drawing.

There are no route changes this year along the 3.1-mile course that “profiles the business community as well as the residential community” of Westfield, Cronin said. She added that all the streets along the route will be pothole-free before the trigger is pulled on the starter pistol.

Flyers have been left at all the residences along the route twice, the first time a few weeks ago and the second earlier this week, to notify residents and remind them to take any necessary measures, as they may not be able to drive to their houses if the runners are nearby.

The DWC hired the Westfield Police Department and will utilize volunteers to close the streets to traffic along the route while runners are nearby. Also, Elm Street, near town’s center, and Quimby Street will all be closed for the event’s duration.

Cronin credited the warm treats at the end of the race for the 5K’s continued success.

“Oh, it’s pizza! Where else can you go and run three miles in the heat and finish and each pizza and cookies?” she said. “It is a competitive race, but I think more than anything it’s a fun race and it gives people the opportunity to see people and make a big social event out of it.”