History of the 5k Race

The Point Pleasant Boro Rotary Club will host its annual 5K and One-Mile Fun Run on Saturday, June 20^th and it will represent eight years of staging a quality running event with community-wide participation and support.  Every year the Club’s 30-plus membership has put into action Rotary’s motto of “service above self” as each Rotarian works to insure that the race is worthwhile and enjoyable for the runners, their families and friends and our community.

 

Club member Tony Onto fostered and inspired the idea behind the Club carrying out a run to raise funds. Under his direction, the first Father’s Day 5K was held on June 15, 2008 with 200-plus runners enjoying the flat and fast course winding its way through the Bay Head Shores section of the Boro. Proceeds from that race were dedicated to local charities and the Club’s scholarship program. Dave Slavinski completed the inaugural 5K in 16 minutes and 10 seconds, a record that still prevails today.

 

For the next two years the Father’s Day 5K and Fun Run enjoy a growth in runner participation and sponsor support.  The continued increase in financial success allowed the Club to expand its help to worthy organizations. The race had become Point Boro’s 5K.

 

In 2011 a personal tragedy generated a change in the event name and an wider focus for the race.  Kevin A. Brue, son of John Brue, Sr. and brother of John Brue. Jr., each a past club president, died in July 2010 after a courageous battle with melanoma. A Point Boro High School graduate and varsity runner, Kevin was an avid road racer and member of the Melanoma Research Foundation’s  “Miles for Melanoma” running team. The Club named the race the Kevin A. Brue Melanoma Awareness Father’s Day 5K, the official name of the race today. The on-going interest and increase in proceeds continued through 2011 and 2012 which allowed the Club to meet the dual goal of helping Rotary charities and the Melanoma Research Foundation.

 

The 2013 race, just eight months after Super Storm Sandy, was a message that the Boro was recovering, including the hard hit area of Bay Head Shores, the home for the course.

 

The 2013 and 2014 the club has continued to improve the race.  Electronic timing was introduced to enhance the tabulating of results for the runners. Sponsor support maintained its growth and allowed the Club to help many charities and to aid in the fight against melanoma.

 

The monies earned from the 5K has enabled the Club to donate tens of thousands of dollars to various community based organizations and charities. To date, $40,000 has been given to the Melanoma Research Foundation in its battle to conquer the disease.

 

No history of the 5K is complete without mentioning that the support and cooperation of the Boro Administration, the Recreation Department, the Police Department and its Explorer Post, the Public Works Department, the First Aid Squad and the school system is a much-appreciated and welcome partnership.