Festival Ironwood Walk, Run and Roll has record turnout

The 21st running of the Festival Ironwood Walk, Run and Roll held on July 20 was met with a record turnout.

“We had 230 entrants which tops all past 20 years,” said Chris Bergquist, race director. “It really helped that our two mile female winner, Carolyn (Andresen), was getting married later in the day. I think most of her wedding party and guests participated in our race prior to the wedding celebrations.”

Jason Smith from Milwaukee, Wis., was the top male finisher in the 2-mile event in a time of 10:21. Andresen, originally from Ironwood and now from Eau Claire, Wis., won the women’s 2-mile title in a time of 12:44.

Alan Peterson, Ironwood, was the 5-mile champion posting a time of 25:24. Emmy Tuzee, Ironwood, repeated as the top female in the 5-mile event in a time of 35:58.

Entrants for the race came from all over the United States with one international entrant.

Gregory Wilson easily won the Longest Distance award coming over 8,000 miles from Udhailyah, Saudi Arabia, to compete.

It’s fun to see where entrants come from,” said race director, Chris Bergquist. “This year we had folks from Virginia, California, Nevada, Indiana, Colorado, Florida, Texas, Washington, Minnesota, Illinois, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Upper and Lower Michigan.”

Emmett Damgard (2 years) and Taylor Damgard (6 years) from Superior Wis., were the youngest entrants and Patricia Kytola, Ironwood, was the senior entrant at age 83.

“The wide range of ages shows that this event is truly something you can participate in at any age,” said Bergquist. “Aspirus Grand View is the sponsor of this event and we gear this to be a healthy event that all family members can enjoy together.”

Door prizes given out during the awards ceremony included sunglasses from Aspirus Grand View Eye Center, sweatshirts donated by Handsome Prints, and duffel bags and T-shirts from Aspirus Grand View.

“I really want to thank all the volunteers who came out to help with the race,” said Bergquist. “This type of event could not happen without their volunteer efforts.”

Complete race results are posted at aspirusgrandview.org and uprrc.org.