BEVERLY — Despite the rain and lightning that swept through Beverly earlier, by the time the 43rd Beverly Yankee 5K Homecoming Race started at Lynch Park the sun was shining for the 600 runners crowding the starting line.
In one of the closest finishes ever, Tim Richard edged out South Hamilton's Patrick Rich, the Ipswich High spring track coach, by one second. Richard, a 22-year-old, from Attleboro graduated from Holy Cross in May and has ties to Beverly. His father Dan ran at Beverly High in the 1970's and his grandfather still lives in the city.
"Pat and I were together the whole way," said Richard, who finished in a very fast 15:24. He is joining the service shortly as an officer in the Air Force. "This is my fourth year doing this race; Pat won last year while I've been second the past two years.
"It's a real nice course with one big hill half way through. It was very hot out there, but did cool down a bit after the rain. Pat and I started out together and stayed close the whole way. I had to really kick at the end to beat him. We have a great competitive relationship along with a great deal of respect for each other."
The recently graduated Beverly High track All-American duo of Millie Chapman and Monica Adler took first and third respectively. Second place finisher Layce Alves of Rockport was second for the women and had one question for reporters.
"How old is that girl?" asked Alves, who was 25th overall in 18:50 while Chapman finished 20th in 18:30. "She was 20 feet ahead of me, within sight the whole way, but there was no way I was going to catch her. She is really good. I wasn't quite as fast this year, but the air was so thick it was hard to run in — tough to breathe."
Alves had won the race twice before, and was third last year. Adler was third in 19:18, finishing 30th overall, just ahead of Heather Rich.
Chapman is headed for Yale University in three weeks where she will run all three seasons.
"I run this race every year because it's in Beverly and I'm from Beverly, but I never won before," said Chapman. "It's a good training run. I've been following a training program from Yale and felt good out there even though it was pretty hot."
"I didn't see Millie at all; she was ahead of me the whole way," said Adler, who had an outstanding career with the Panthers, but lives in Manchester and will run at Dartmouth College. "This is my first time running Homecoming, and I really liked the course. It was pretty hot out there, and this is my first time running in a while. I just finished up my break and now will get serious."
Chapman and James Pawlicki received plaques for being the first female and male finishers from Beverly. Pawlicki, a 35-year-old, was third overall in 16:34, just ahead of fourth place finisher John Ayers of Beverly (16:37).
"I was never up with the first two guys," said Pawlicki, who won the race a few years ago and tries to do it every year. "They were off at the gun, but fortunately John was with me step for step the whole way. He's the top Master, and he kept my pace honest."
A group of about 30 runners wore "Parisella State Representative shirts", to show support for candidate Jerry Parisella.
"It's always great to be here," said Len Femino, a law partner of Parisella's. "I love the course and the people. When I run here in Beverly I think about guys like Dan Peterson (a running buddy of Femino's, who passed away after a courageous battle with cancer). I did pretty good for an old man (21:33), and it's great to see so many people come out for this race."
AWARDS
Female Overall: Millie Chapman (18:30); Layce Alves (18:50); Monica Adler (19:18).
Male Overall: Tim Richard (15:24); Patrick Rich (15:25); James Pawlicki (16:34)
Males Ages 1-19: Bill Harrington (16:57); Eric Kimball (17:03); Erich O'Neil (17:29).
Females 1-19: Jessica Gomes (21:31); Bailey Potter (22:03); Mackenzie Shelgren (22:13).
Males 20-29: J. D. Lavallee (17:33); David Richardson (18:26); Robert Ainslie (18:36).
Females 20-29: Linda Fortunato (21:39); Jennifer Howland (21:58); Laura Kurth (22:10).
Males 30-39: Michael Paulin (17:14); Rick Provost (18:28); Carl Clarizia (18:44).
Females 30-39: Heather Rich (19:25); Mary Dyan (22:39); Margaret Banker (22:42).
Males 40-49: John Ayes (16:37); William Hathaway (18:10); Hernando Rodriguez (18:18).
Females 40-49: Ellen Poveromo (21:45); Susan Fortin (22:25); Sally Reinwald (23:45).
Males 50-59: Matthew Curran (17:03); Bob Strout (18:07); Marty Lechleider (19:30).
Females 50-59: Linda Jennings (21:54); Julie Menosky (21:56); Beth Lott (24:44).
Males 60-69: David Rein (21:57); Chip Clancy (22:38); Kevin Rich (23:59).
Females 60-69: Pat Burke (30:26).
Males 70-79: Joseph Long (27:18); Stephen Kohanski, Jr.; Lou Peters.
