Sixth Annual Browning Ross Bob Kupcha Run

The 6th annual Browning Ross Bob Kupcha 5k run and 1 mile was held May 14 in National Park, NJ. The race is held in memory of two men who were devoted to Gloucester Catholic High School Dr. Bob Kupcha, Gloucester Catholic High School class of 1977 and Browning Ross, two time Olympian and a long time track and cross country coach at Gloucester Catholic High School.

The 5k race passes through historic Red Bank Battlefield along the Delaware River, and was won by Tom Campo Jr of Woodbury (20:38) and Kris Gallagher of Mullica Hill (21:47).

Dave McCollum (class of 1975) 22:00 and Lauren Wilson (class of 2014) 24:48 each won the Dave Williams award for first GCHS male and female finishers. Williams was a great GCHS runner from the 1940’s and 1950’s who was profiled in Runners Gazette: http://ramscrosscountry.blogspot.com/2008/04/dave-williams-gloucester-catholics.html

Both the 5k and 1-mile races featured runners from both ends of the competitive spectrum.

The 5k featured some of the top masters runners in the Philadelphia and South Jersey area, including a number of runners who were regulars at Browning Ross’s races in the 1990’s who today are Boston Marathon and Broad Street Run age group winners, including Jim Flanagan winner of the over 70 age group in 22:12. Joe Hoffman of National Park second over-all and the first over 60 finisher in 21:09, long time South Jersey great Ken Kling second in 22:08, Tom Osler second over 70 finisher and Walt Pierson 3rd over 70. While male masters runners took 9 of the first 10 places in the 5k race, the first 6 finishers in the one mile run were parochial grammar school girls, which bodes well for the GCHS girls cross country team in 2013 and beyond.

Other top finishers in the 5k include Lauren Wilson first under 18 in 24:48 (14th overall), Vicki Lutz Feehan, first in the 19-29 age group and 16th overall in 25:11 and Emily Malfitano second in the under 18 division, and 19th overall in 25:41. Linda Kupcha finished first in the 50-59 female age group in 31:56.

The race featured bagels, fruit and Melitta Coffee. Besides trophies and medals, “Browning Ross style prizes” such as tomato plants, cookies, pickles, running clothes, food coupons from Chick Fil-A and Duffy’s chocolates were awarded to finishers in both events.

Packs of shredded $100 bills also among the random prizes quickly scooped up by the many young runners in attendance without fear of losing their “amateur status”. Proceeds from the race went to the Bob Kupcha Alumni Scholarship, and to a new initiative to raise funds for athletic fields for Gloucester Catholic’s teams (Gloucester Catholic has not had any athletic fields of its own since its founding in 1928 and has recently started a fund to develop land in Deptford, NJ).

There is a possibility that the next Browning Ross Bob Kupcha 5k run will take place on those new fields.

Previous Ross Kupcha Race Winners:

2005 Male: Dave Welsh 16:29 Female: Emily Ward 19:09

2006 Male: Michael McGowan 17:38 Female: Shannon McGowan 22:35

2007 Male: Tom Campo, Jr. 19:44 Female: Meghan McGowan 22:27

2008 Male: Dave Welsh 16:53    Female: Patricia Addis Hudson 21:49

2009 Male: Tony Tartaglia  19:25    Female: Taylor Mickle 22:28

Jonas Cattell 2011

GEOFF SHUTE’S PERFORMANCE AT THE

JONAS CATTELL 10-MILE RUN, WHERE

HE RAN 10 MILES TO THE START LINE

BEFORE THE RACE EVEN BEGAN,

WOULD HAVE MADE THE LEGENDARY

CATTELL PROUD

While winning the 42nd annual Jonas Cattell 10 mile Run in 56:08, Geoff Shute may have run the most interesting ten miles from Haddonfield to National Park (NJ) of anyone since—well, since Jonas Cattell himself covered the distance in 1777.

Shute ( 36) is also the head old cross country and track coach at Pennsville (NJ) High School. Having previously won Jonas Cattell, he decided to run this year’s race as a training run for the Philadelphia Marathon.

While it is common for runners to mention that they were just using a race as a “training run” Shute actually did so, incorporating the ten mile Jonas Cattell race as the second half of a twenty mile training run at his projected marathon pace. Shute parked at the finish at Red Bank Battlefield in National Park NJ and ran ten miles to the races start timing his run to arrive just before the races start. As the gun went off, Shute reversed course and ran the ten miles back to the finish (and his waiting family) almost six minutes faster than second place finisher Jim Sery.

Believe it or not, Shute was not entirely happy with his remarkable performance.

“I wanted to run the race at marathon pace, around 5:28 -5:38 a mile but the adrenalin kicked in and I ran the first mile through Haddonfield a little too fast, around 5:12 pace. I felt good and kept that pace for a while, but started to tighten up and slowed down to around 5:48 pace later in the race. I didn’t use my head and went out a little too fast that first mile.” Shute, who was out of sight from the rest of the pack after the first mile, has won a number of South Jersey races this year including repeating as winner of the Benjamin Ross 5k in June in 16:25.

The first female, Julie Cattell proved that running is still in the Cattell blood by winning the race in a fine 1:07:50. Julie was the first of a number of Cattell relatives who annually keep up the family tradition of re-enacting the historic run of distant relative Jonas.

Other age group winners in the race include Gloucester Catholic Cross Country Sophomore Billy Simila, who was the first teen-age runner in 1:10.45. Jim Sery, 1st over 50 male in 1:02:06 and second overall.

Lisa Wixted 1st female 35 to 39 in 1:14:10, second overall. Britta Deklyver was the 1st female 40-44 finisher and third place overall in 1:16:51.

Sean Simila was the first 14 and under male, finishing in 1:20:45 and Ayaana Lyons was the first place 15 to 19 female in 1:20:58.

Boston Marathon age group winner Joy Hampton was the first place female over 60 finisher in 1:22:12 and Ken Underwood was the first male 60-64 winner in 1:22:42.

Danny Wheeler was the first wheel chair finisher, navigating the hilly run in 1:25:35.

Tom Osler, who has run most of the 42 Jonas Cattell runs was the first place male 70 and over in 1:34:59.

There were 122 finishers on a picture perfect October day ideal for running 10 miles (or ten miles twice).

Notes: Besides winning South Jersey road races, Geoff Shute has previously run the Boston Marathon in 2:39:27 and finished 21st in the Philadelphia marathon with a time of 2:34:37. Geoff has also won Gloucester County Cross Country Coach of the year award at Pennsville (NJ) High School.

Other Cattell descendants who ran the race include Robert Allen, Elizabeth Allen, Tehya Duckworth, David Jonas Weber and Dave Weber.


For more on the history of the Jonas Cattell run: http://www.runnersgazette.com/results/cattel09.htm
The book "Positive Splits:" https://www.amazon.com/Positive-Splits-Running-Stories/dp/1548655341/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=positive+splits&qid=1566215958&s=gateway&sr=8-3


For results of the 2011 Cattell Run:  http://home.comcast.net/~coachheath/Files/Cattell11.pdf

For 1970’s newspaper coverage of early Jonas Cattell races: http://ramscrosscountry.blogspot.com/2010/01/jonas-cattell-10-mile-race-coverage.html