Event Spotlight:
Bancroft NeuroHealth Gearing Up To Host 19th Annual Race

Thursday, March 2, 2000

By Frank Ward
SJSports Special Correspondent

Approximately 1,000 people are expected to compete in the 19th Annual Bancroft Race on Saturday, March 18, in Haddonfield.

Last year, more than 700 runners participated in the event, which includes two competitions - a 5K run and a one-mile fun run/walk.

Proceeds from the race will benefit Bancroft NeuroHealth programs for people with disabilities in Camden, Gloucester, Burlington and Salem counties in New Jersey as well as in Maine, Delaware and Louisiana.

"The money is going to go toward purchasing assistive technology materials and computers to help people served by Bancroft function more independently in a variety of ways," says Joe Puleo, race committee chairman and owner of Haddonfield Running Company.

Registration begins at 7 a.m. at Bancroft's school building on Hopkins Lane near Kings Highway in Haddonfield. The 5K race starts at 9 a.m., followed by the one-mile fun run/walk at 9:15 a.m.

"It's the largest 5K race in South Jersey," says Puleo. "Depending on the weather, we get 750 to 1,000 people to participate each year."

Registration for the 5K race costs $15 for those whose registrations are postmarked by March 11, and $20 for those who sign up on the day of the event. The one-mile fun run/walk costs $10 to enter. In addition, families with three or more people will pay no more than $45.

All entrants receive a race T-shirt as well as a chance to win prizes. The top male and female in the 5K race will take home $200. The second-place finishers will receive $100 and the third-place finishers will earn $50.

In addition, the top three male and female contestants in each of 12 age categories will receive awards. Also, the top three male and female contestants in the one-mile fun run/walk will earn prizes. Awards will also be given out to Haddonfield residents, individuals served by Bancroft and Bancroft staff members.

Last year, Haddonfield's Brian Gallagher captured first place in the men's 5K run with a time of 14:49. Matthew Sandercock (Upper Darby, PA) finished second and Edward Callinan (Turnersville, NJ) took third.

In the 1999 women's 5K competition, Kimberly Saddic of West Chester, PA, finished first with a time of 16:48, while Susan Yagielski (Philadelphia) took second and Nadine Marks (Wilmington, DE) finished third.

To register or for more information, call Bancroft NeuroHealth's race hotline at 1-800-966-0096, or visit the organization's web site at www.bancroftneurohealth.org.

Sponsors of the race this year include the Haddonfield Running Company, VirtuaHealth, Adidas, Nordic Springwater, Garden State Cable, Dale Carnegie Training, Office Depot, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter of Vorhees and Rehab Connection.

Founded in 1883, Bancroft NeuroHealth is a non-profit organization serving more than 1,000 children and adults with developmental disabilities, brain injuries and other neurological impairments. Based in Haddonfield, NJ, Bancroft NeuroHealth serves families throughout the United States and abroad. Programs include education, rehabilitation, vocational, residential, evaluation and treatment services.