3rd Annual Twilight Run Draws Nearly 300 runners

A cool breeze and partly sunny skies made for good running conditions for the third annual Twilight Run for Education held last Saturday in Havertown. The race drew almost 300 runners this year.  The  5k race was preceded by a one-mile fun run for kids. 

As the crowd waited for the races to begin, the Jazz Band provided music to get the crowd and runners pumped for the race. The course, which followed along Darby Road, “…is a really great course,” said race coordinator Jon Meyers of , one of the sponsors of the race. 

Mary Beth Lauer, vice president of the Haverford Township School District Education Foundation, said in a statement that “with the money raised today and in the coming year, we hope to begin providing significant grants to district schools for programs to create unique learning opportunities for students. This money will be the seed money for all five elementary schools to provide various educational programs. School committees will decide the best way to use the funds to benefit the most kids in their school.”

Before race day, the foundation had already raised $24,000 towards the school empowerment grants and raised more than $2,500 at Saturday’s event. This event has put the foundation closer to their goal of raising $40,000 but “more donations are still needed,” says Lauer.

To start the race, the second annual elementary school One-Mile Challenge saw more than 60 children from all five elementary schools participating.  The schools compete to win the right to have the One-Mile Challenge trophy displayed in their school for the whole year. Last year’s race winner, , was able to keep their title and took home the trophy for another year!

The winner of the One-Mile Challenge was third-grader Jack Roth of Havertown, a student at . Roth clocked in at six minutes and 19 seconds and had a hard time talking to Patch after the race,  but managed to say, “it was hard.”

Roth’s mother, Dawn ran the 5k and clocked in at 30 minutes, eight seconds.

The overall winner of the 5K race was 44-year-old Doug Schmitt, who clocked in at 17:10. He was also the winner of the race last year.  Twenty-seven-year-old Shannon Klick, a teacher and track coach at the , came in first for the women at 19:41.

Coming in second overall was 27-year-old Nick Penrose with a time of 17:18. Third place went to 55-year-old Peter Churchman who came in at 17:22.

Ten-year-old Maya Troilo of Havertown is a three-year veteran of the Twilight Run and has run the race with her mom Colleen each year, but she says, “this year I will run with my friends!” Maya is a fifth grader and on the track team at Chestnutwold Elementary.

“I like to run. It’s fun and keeps me fit! I also like helping out the school,” Troilo says.

Neil Weygandt was the guest of honor at this year’s Twilight Run and handed out the prizes to the top runners. Weygandt is a local legend among long distance runners, finishing his first Boston Marathon as a 20-year-old in 1967.  He has run in every Boston Marathon since then.

“I’m glad to be here and to give out the awards,” Weygandt says. “It’s a great cause and the runners have a really good course to run.”

Weygandt remembers when he first caught the running bug. 

“I began running in tenth grade at Haverford High School. I was on the JV and varsity teams and we were second in the state finals both years! That began my lifelong passion for running,” he said.

Weygandt is a 1964 graduate of Haverford High and currently lives in the Pilgrim Garden section of the township.

Anyone interested in making a donation to the foundation can do so at either of the following websites:  www.HaverfordTwilightRun.org  or www.HaverfordEdFoundation.org.