Not even the blistering summer heat could slow down runners at the Northfield Summer Road Race on Thursday.
The weekly race saw 21 runners and five walkers make it through the 3.1 mile course that begins on Main Street in Northfield.
It was Isaac Bingham who was the winner and first runner to cross on Thursday, completing the course in a time of 19 minutes, 40 seconds.
For Bingham, what makes the race so special is the community and family vibes of it. His three sons all participated on Thursday, two running and one riding his bike.
“This is such a fun race,” Bingham said. “Bob [Emberley] started this race 14 years ago, my oldest son is 11 and we have pictures of me pushing him in a stroller back in the day. It’s family and community that make it so great.”
Bingham, who manages Upinngil Farm in Gill, brings fresh produce from the farm to give out as prizes to the runners.
The community aspect is what keeps him coming back each week.
“It’s a really fun, laid back, community oriented race,” Bingham said. “Everyone is supportive. We love it.”
Oliver Bartus took second (20:35) on Thursday, March Guillaume took third (21:03), August Bingham placed fourth (22:58) while Marcy Cabanas was the first woman finisher and took fifth overall (23:43).
Cabanas is a longtime runner in the Northfield Road Race, agreeing with Bingham about the family and community aspect of it being a large part of why she continues to come back.
“I’ve been running here since 2012,” Cabanas said. “It’s the community aspect of it that keeps me coming back. You know everyone and it’s a good workout every week.”
Running in a race this weekend, Cabanas said she didn’t want to push it on Thursday but was still happy with her time.
“It’s gone well this summer,” Cabanas said. “I’ve had some decent times. It was muggy tonight and I was trying to take it easy because I’m probably going to run the Mug Race on Saturday. I wanted this to be more of a workout for me which worked well with the weather.”
The Northfield Summer Road Race takes place every Thursday starting and finishing at 105 Main Street in Northfield. The cost is $5 per runner with $10 max per family. Local high school cross country team members run for free. Walkers are welcome and can choose a shorter distance. The race is a Northfield Recreation Commission event.
Volleyball
It was a successful summer for the Frontier volleyball team as it prepares for the upcoming fall season.
The Hawks A team went 9-11 in the Premier Division of the PV Juniors Summer League, earning a spot in the Premier Silver Bracket during the postseason.
Frontier opened the tournament with a 25-15, 25-18 win over the Bombers to advance to the finals, where it took on the Block Party. After dropping the first set 25-21, the Hawks stormed back to win 25-21 and 15-11 to win the title with a 2-1 victory.
The Frontier B team competed in the On the Rise Division, going 6-14 and playing in the On the Rise Bronze bracket for the postseason.
Frontier opened with a 25-18, 25-11 win over West Side 2 in the semifinals before taking down Agawam B 25-21, 25-20 in the title game to win the tournament.
Timmons-Messer
Rick Stempel and Jeff Seymour shot the low gross of 37, followed by Andy Chartier and Norm LaCoy with a 38, in the Timmons-Messer League at Northfield Golf Club on Wednesday.
Dan Campbell and Jim Jason shot the low net of 27 followed by Dan Castine and Don Churchill with a 28. Scott Powers won closest to the pin on No. 6 (eight feet, six inches) and Brad Stafford won on No. 7 (5-0). Jeff Seymour was the match medalist with a 39.
CCG
The foursome of Matt Pitoniak, Hap Eaton, Bill Luippold and Kevin Piecuch were the winners with a score of 54 in the Gary Stacy Memorial Outing on Thursday at Country Club of Greenfield.
Jon Unaitis, Josh Harker, Heather Powers and Justin McCloud took second (56) while Roy Emerson, Dylan Archer, Garrett Cote and Joel Nelson placed third (57).
Dan Gavin, Casey Downie, Doug Muelberg and Chris Ray carded the low net (50) while the team of Chuck Stacy, Jim Olewski and Kevin Warner tied with the team of Shawn Record, Eric Semb, Meg Logan and Mark Logan, the team of Sue O’Connor, Lisa Sullivan, Colleen Slattery and Karen Sacco, the team of Joe Salvador, Jim O’Donnell, Dan Ferreira and Mike Stotz as well as the team of Hank Yablowski, Ed Galenski, Lauren Galenski and Chris Sacco for second (51).