Revolutionary Run A Runaway Success

KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa. With a time of 25:23, Jonathan Fasulo, of Ardmore, won his second Valley Forge Revolutionary 5-mile Run in the event's five-year history. Beyond having also won in 2007, the 28-year-old beat his last race-winning time by 36 seconds, clocking in at just over 5:04 per mile.

Fasulo's fantastic feat wasn't the only record-breaking done at Valley Forge National Historical Park on April 18. Registrations for the 2010 run increased by 10 percent, setting a new high for participation.

The Valley Forge Convention and Visitors Bureau-sponsored event drew 1,354 runners, 179 walkers and 31 children who ran the 1-mile Youth Fun Run.

"It's exciting to see the event become a spring tradition," said race director Martha Mayo. "Through word-of-mouth, reputation and social media, we've increased the number of participants each year, attracting people from the entire Delaware Valley area and beyond. Many of this year's competitors ran the race for the fifth time. And many others returned from last year bringing family and friends."

Molly Pritz, 22, of Williamsport, was the fastest female competitor and finished in 28:04. Second-place male and female winners were, respectively, Ross Martinson, of Conshohocken, with a time of 25:58, and Samantha Howard, of Lancaster, at 30:05. Third place went to Patrick Ward, of Philadelphia (26:02), and Doreen McCoubrie, of Malvern (30:56). More race results can be found at www.revolutionaryrun.org.

Runners also helped "green" the event by donating nearly 100 pairs of used running shoes to Nike's Reuse-A-Shoe program. Over 20 years, the program has collected 25 million used sneakers and converted them to NIKE Grind, a base material used to make playgrounds, basketball courts, running tracks and synthetic turf.

In its first four years, the Valley Forge Revolutionary 5-mile Run raised more than $100,000 for trail preservation initiatives at Valley Forge National Historical Park. Proceeds from Sunday's event will be announced as soon as bookkeeping is completed.

The Valley Forge Convention and Visitors Bureau, Ltd. is a nonprofit, membership-based sales and marketing organization that aggressively promotes the Valley Forge area and Montgomery County as a convention site and leisure visitor destination by encouraging patronage of its 500-plus member hotels, restaurants, attractions and services. The Bureau's Web site, at www.valleyforge.org, serves visitors, meeting planners, tour operators and residents.