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August 9, 2007

Annual Lundgren 5K on tap

Alan Siegel

It's not the Boston or Chicago Marathon, but the annual Lundgren 5K is a summer highlight in Londonderry every year.

This year, the 28th annual incarnation of the race will be held on Aug. 18 at 8 a.m. The event, which is part of Londonderry's Old Home Days Celebration, is currently one of the oldest running 5Ks in New England.

"It's a nice race," said Al Halpern, who has been involved with the race since its early days. "A lot of people come home. Friends and relatives come back. You see people."

Once again, a good crowd is expected. Last year, a record 225 Londonderry residents finished the race. (The previous record of 217 finishers was set in 2004, the race's 25th anniversary.)

The race was founded by longtime Londonderry track coach Larry Martin, who wanted to bring the sport of track to the tight-knit community.

"When Larry started it," Halpern said, "it was to get the community more involved. It's a good local thing."

Martin, for one, never expected the race to continue for as long as it has. In the first few years of the event, there was actually a 5K (3.1 miles) and a 10K event.

"When I started it, I was just hired as the track coach at Londonderry," he said. "That's what I did it for. To get people running in town. I figured I'd start this little race."

Now, Martin added, "In Londonderry, running and track are pretty important."

Martin sees the Lundgren as an unofficial alumni event.

"It always has been a lot of kids that I was involved with," said Rich Nagy, who runs Lancer Timing, a precision race timing service. "They come back years later. They usually stop by and say something."

"They'll still come back and run. They won't run very well, but they'll run," Martin said, jokingly.

Former champion John Mortimer, a champion distance runner at University of Michigan, won't be participating this year. He does, however, have a good excuse: He's on his honeymoon.

Martin admits that after 28 years of planning, things can get tedious.

"It's a little old hat after a while," he said.

However, it's still a late-summer highlight. The proceeds from the race are not huge, but that doesn't matter.

"We're not making any money off it," said Halpern, who serves as the race's starter. "I don't get paid for working the race."

The event, Halpern said, brings in a mix of people -- aside from Londonderry residents -- every year.

"People come from all places who are vacationing in New Hampshire," he said. "People may see the ads in a newspape ... All of a sudden there's someone from Pennsylvania and West Virginia."

Last year, the winner on the men's side was Rich Cooper of Marblehead, Mass. with a time of 17:17. Jennifer Kramer of Waltham, Mass. finished first with a time of 18:45.

Race details

The annual race is sponsored by Lundgren Chiropractic in Londonderry Square. The preregistration fee is $12; the day-of-the-race registration fee is $15. Early registration is preferred by organizers; free T-shirts will be given to the first 250 people who sign up.

To sign up early, check in at the Londonderry High School gym lobby from 5 to 7 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 17. Day-of-the-race registration will begin at 6:45 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 18.



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