9th Annual Ross-Kupcha Memorial Run a Success

On October 25, the 9th Annual Ross-Kupcha Memorial Run took place in National Park, N.J. The run is held in memory of Browning Ross, a two-time Olympian and Gloucester Catholic track and cross country coach, and also Bob Kupcha, an orthopedic surgeon and war veteran.

This year, the memorial run raised money for the Camilla Hall Retirement Home for IHM sisters and also the Bob Kupcha Scholarship Fund at GCHS.

Race director and current Gloucester Catholic cross country coach, Jack Heath, said, “I think it was our best race yet. Perfect weather and a visit from our Bishop to give all of the runners and walkers a pre- race blessing topped it off. It was great to see the IHM sisters there. They appreciated all of the efforts of the runners, walkers, and sponsors on their behalf.”

A bag piper from the Giordano Detachment of the Marine Corps and the Bonsal Blues Band also played at the race.

Heath commented about a course mistake that he discovered shortly after the race began. Instead of the 5K run being 3.10 miles, it turned out that the course was slightly longer than that, at 3.2 miles.

Heath said he realized it when he saw the leader runner go slightly off course right after the start and knew the race might be a “little long.”

Heath said: “It was fitting to have a race that is named after Browning Ross and not be exactly 3.10 miles. Ross rarely had races exactly the named distances. He usually measured courses with his car and frequently changed the course on his races just to keep it interesting. He would have liked this year’s race to see all of the high school runners and because of the course change.”

The top finishers in the race were Rams cross country’s Travis Finley, who finished with a time of 23:08.19. He was followed by second place finisher and teammate, Sean Ward. Gloucester Catholic coach girls’ soccer coach, Kate Ormsby, placed third overall.

Visit Coach Heath’s blog by clicking here.