Bangers Take First at, Uh, the Bangers Debut 5K!
The Brighton Bangers took home the team trophy in the first annual Brighton Bangers 5K at the 2014 Rumble on the River.
Okay, we know what you're thinking, but the blistering combination of Kyle Strickland (second overall), Greg Bertoni, Seth Wolfman, and Jennifer Mitton (first-place woman) decisively bested the other teams to take the debut edition of the flagship club race, which started and ended at Community Rowing Inc., where the Bangers also won hands down in the post-race free-beer-drinking competition.
There was plenty of Bangers neon green passing in a blur along the awesome course, which looped along the Charles River in Brighton to Watertown and back. Most of those Bangers signed up in the futile hope that the relentless nagging online and at the weekly runs would stop. Oh, and also for the free beer.
Andrew Bialecki was the winning man at 17:58, followed by Strickland at 18:33 and Andrew Lynch of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, with 19:14.
After Mitton (20:16) among the women came Ella Froggat of Allston at 20:51 and Banger Lauren McKivergan with 21:23.
Then it was time for that bottomless supply of free beer and great live music under a clear blue sky on a Sunday afternoon so perfect almost no one left to watch the Pats game. Oh, yeah, and the Bacon Truck! Because, as one wise runner noted, there are lots of football games each fall, but not many Sundays like that one.
The team trophy will take its place on the Bangers shelf at the Last Drop as planning begins for next year's running.
The race raised $2,000 for "In the Same Boat," a free program at Community Rowing that helps disabled and able-bodied military veterans transition back to civilian life. Partners and supporters included Community Rowing, Greater Boston Running Company, Wegmans, Whole Foods, Reebok, Larabar, Essentia Water, and the Oak Square Y.
Find all of the results here.
Photos by Lingzhi Liao
