Despite the sweltering temperatures Saturday morning, many racers in Jaffrey’s 10th annual Run For the Rescue 5K took to the course in black t-shirts. The shirts honored Cara Campbell, the Jaffrey firefighter/EMT who died at 30 years old this March. Aside from the shirts, emblazoned with “CAMPBELL” in white lettering, her presence was notable at the fundraiser race, which raises money to buy equipment for the Jaffrey Fire Department.
“She always was the one to bring in the most sponsorships,” said firefighter and race organizer Chastity Hodgson. “At every fundraiser she’d be like ‘Oh, give me $20,’ where I’m like ‘Can you please give?’ She got so much money and she always had new sponsors, and I think she continued that legacy and was our biggest fundraiser once again.”
Hodgson said Campbell’s death brought her fellow firefighters closer together, and that community support was evident Saturday morning, as 86 people crossed the finish line at Community Field.
“A lot of runners were here because of her,” Hodgson said. “I think this year means a lot more not only to us, but to people running the race.”
Conant cross-country runner Matt Bernier was the first across the finish line, leading wire-to-wire and finishing in 19 minutes flat. After a summer of road racing, the varying conditions of the rail trail course were a good transition into the upcoming cross-country season for the rising junior.
“The first mile felt really fast and felt pretty good, but as soon as I hit the woods it was really about trying to get my footing,” Bernier said. “You had to get the speed on the straightaways and in the woods, find your footing…It gave me a good baseline for what the rest of my season is going to look like.”
Below are the age group winners, male and female, followed by the full results.
0-13 Division
14-19 Division
20-29 Division
30-39 Division
40-49 Division
50+ Division
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