Course Records Set During Second Annual Rotary Run

At the starting line – Courtesy image (c) 2017 all rights reserved – Click to view larger image

Submitted by the Rotary Club of Bedford

Team Rober – Courtesy image (c) 2017 all rights reserved

The Rotary Club of Bedford’s Rotary Run winner Chris Kovalchick and third-place finisher Samantha Rober each “used this year’s Boston Marathon as a warm up for the second annual Bedford race.”

Unsurprisingly, the two Marathoners set new course records during the May 13 run: Kovalchick, for men at 26:36, and Rober, for women at 34:09, besting her own 2016 Rotary Run record by 23 seconds.

Rotary Club president Linda Cargiuolo thanked Nathan O’Loughlin, the Rotary Run Committee, all Bedford Rotarians, and the community for supporting the 2017 Rotary Run to make it a great community-building experience.

Also on the Rotary thank you list are the Bedford DPW, the Trails Committee, and event safety officer Sgt. Ronald Undzis who coordinated the Bedford Police, DPW, and members of Bicycle Committee to make the event safe for all. Terrain separates the Rotary Run from other local races because the course takes advantage of Bedford’s town-wide trails system.

Rotarian Ralph Hammond, life-long resident and former Bedford Citizen of the Year, said, ” Bedford is a very special community, and support for the Rotary Run demonstrates our collective kindness to others.” Runners representing BEST PTO, JGMS, BHS, scouts and religious groups participated.

Raising funds for 501 (c) 3 non-profits through the Rotary Run

A singular feature of the Rotary Run is the event’s generosity in benefitting other non-profits, because organizations fielding teams are encouraged to utilize the race as a sponsorship opportunity that benefits their own organization’s mission.

Bedford High School graduate John Feehrer is president of Expanding Classrooms in Kenya, a registered 501c3 nonprofit organization. Through the Rotary Run, Feehrer has raised over $7,000 toward construction of a vocational training school for orphans and other needy children in Naivasha, Kenya. John’s mom, former Davis School teacher and John Glenn Middle School guidance counselor Barbara Feehrer, walked the two mile course on behalf of the Naivasha project, and both Feehrers finished in the top ten. A GoFundMe site continues to collect funds for their project.

Sponsors for Kenneth Ackerman (who finished first on The Bedford Citizen Rotary Run team!) have so far raised $500 for the online community-supported news source. Additional contributions referencing Ackerman’s support of The Citizen during the Rotary Run can be mailed directly to The Bedford Citizen, PO Box 212, Bedford 01730.

The 2017 Middlesex Community College team – Courtesy image (c) 2017 all rights reserved – Click to view larger image

Middlesex Community College is considering the Rotary Run as a fund raising opportunity in 2018. In the 2017 race, ten runners from Middlesex Community College were led by College President James Mabry, Trustee (Bedford Rotarian) Bopha Malone, and Team Captain Jonathan Crocket. Seven members of the MCC team finished in the top 25, including President Mabry.

Using the Rotary Run as a fundraising platform is quite simple for 501c3 non-profits: Registered individuals and teams can collect pledges. Friends and family can pledge, and participants collect his/her own pledge donations. Getting pledges is much easier when your organization has a “cause” which generates a passion.

There is an added bonus to using the Rotary Run as a platform to raise funds: There are no overhead expenses because they are borne by Rotary as a small gift to the community. Several years ago the Boston Marathon raised no money for individual organizations but in 2017, year several million dollars were raised. The Rotary Club of Bedford hopes to do the same here in town.

About the Rotary Club of Bedford

Since 1971 the Rotary Club of Bedford has exceeded the One Million Dollar mark in providing funds for over 350 projects in 44 different countries with the major amount of community service funding going directly to projects within Bedford.

Many Bedford 501c3 organizations have benefitted from the Rotary effort. To address worldwide hunger, the club has a goal of packing over one million “Meals For Kids” and with the help of our community teams, we have now packed over 300,000 meals.

The Rotary Run is designed to help other organizations raise money, and that specific one million dollar goal has already reached $8,205.

This year, everyone involved whether running, helping or even those participating in the Kids Run were for certain, truly winners.