CHS alum wins annual July 4th Road Race

By Mike Berger

A total of 90 runners, ranging in age from 4 to over 60 years old, braved the hot and sticky weather on Monday morning, July 4, to finish the annual Canton July 4th Road Race, which started and finished at the Canton Town Club on Bailey Street. Canton police and firefighter/paramedics reported no medical treatments despite a near 80 degree temperature and high humidity at race time, which began at 9:30 a.m.

Road race winner Nikita Amelchenko and top women's finisher Shelia Donovan (Photo by Amy Nachbar)

The road race, now in its 44th year, had a new winner for the first time in four years, with recent CHS graduate and three-time race champion Christian Bates opting not to run. This year, Nikita Amelchenko, a former track teammate of Bates at CHS, won by a large margin with a time of 32:53.

Amelchenko, who now runs track for Stonehill, said he wanted to beat Bates’ time of 31:05 from last year’s race, which was also run in hot and humid weather. Amelcheko said the heat did not bother him; however, he felt it most during the middle three miles, which had several hills, before finishing with a strong kick.

Shelia Donovan of Canton, a veteran of local road races, was the first woman to cross the finish line and finished 10th overall with a time of 37:22. Donovan is the owner of Shelia Donovan Pilates Studio on Washington Street and also volunteers her time with the Roadrunners Club of America. She took last year’s race off to volunteer for another event, but was the first woman finisher two years ago as well.

Twelve-year-old Joe Goggin of Randolph, who won the 2010 fun run at 10:08, returned to win again this year at 10:09. Goggin, after crossing the finish line, ran back to cheer on his brother Paul, 7, who finished second in the 8 and under division. Joe is an avid runner who just finished a track camp in Whitman. He is named after Joe Gecewicz, one of the founders of the Canton Town Club.

The fun run drew 33 participants this year, an increase of nine from a year ago. But the 5-mile adult race drew only 57 runners, down 16 from last year. Race organizer Joe DeFelice noted that Canton has competition on July 4th with other local races, including ones in Norwood and Sharon and a new race that starts and ends on the 50-yard line at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro.

Still, the Canton race maintains its niche as a family-oriented event with many family members participating together. DeFelice even handed out special awards to those runners who completed the race while pushing a baby carriage, including Marty Sasin, Jim Donnelly and Justin Miranda.

The top three finishers in each category received a trophy, and each first-place winner received a plaque. All runners received a road race t-shirt.

In other race news, DeFelice said the annual Canton Homecoming Road Race, sponsored by Reebok and the Canton Association of Business and Industry, has been moved to October 1 and will start and finish at Reebok headquarters on Royall Street. The move was made because Canton is not hosting a downtown block party event this September.

Fun Run Results

Boys 9-12