It was a muggy and humid day on America's historic birthday, but that didn't stop the racers from gathering on P.T. Barnum Square in Bethel.
They ran and walked in Wednesday's 47th Annual John Demile Fire Cracker 8K running race, with walkers also competing in the 2 mile race.
Bethel's First Selectmen Matthew Knickerbocker called runners to start the race that was sponsored by Bethel's Parks and Recreation. All the race proceeds went to the Scotty Fund, and the walk proceeds went to Pro Access, Bethel's Teen Center.
At 8 a.m., children ages 3 to 10 years old lined up for the Mini Cracker race. Afterwards, the 72 kids were rewarded with firecracker ice pops.
Adult racers started their 8K road race and 2 mile walk at P.T. Barnum Square and ended at 1 School Street. $200 cash prize was awarded to the first place male and first place female winner to complete the road race, while $100 went to the second place male and female winners. $50 cash prize was also awarded to the third place male and female winners.
Chip timing and split time, with finish times were posted at the end of the races by Fast Track Timing, LLC.
Among those racing among the 490 participants was Bethel Public School's Superintenant Dr. Kevin Smith and Bethel Police Department's Office Christos. Bethel's Pro Access Teen director Hilda DeLucia was also another participant.
The 8K race winners were as followed:
1st place: William Sanders
2nd place: Kevin Hout
3rd place: James Osbourne
4th place: Mike Nahom
5th place: Bryan Kovalsky
The 2 mile walk winners were as followed:
1st place: Chanthy Chhom
2nd place: Trinh Tran
3rd place: Zach Lacava
4th place: Huong Trang
5th place: Melissa Kunkel
The day's event ended with an awards ceremony presenting all the winners with their prizes.
