Celebrate Father’s Day On The Course Of The Brendan’s Home Run

Photo: And they’re off.

Father’s Day usually starts with a hearty breakfast before a day of relaxation. But Father’s Day in Belmont begins on the starting line of the five-kilometer race through town as the 17th Annual Brendan’s Home Run takes place on Sunday, June 17.

The certified 5K (3.1 miles) race and walk starts and finishes at Belmont High School Harris Field track (adjacent the Skating Rink on Concord Avenue) at 10 a.m. The walk will start at 9:30 a.m.

With its collection of really fast runners at the head of the race and a flat, easy course for the less-than-fast folks, the race has become a must-do “beginning of summer” event in eastern Massachusetts. Race participants will also get the opportunity to take part in a standout raffle. There is also prize money for the fastest three male and female finishers, age-group and team awards including fastest parent/child tandems.

Cost: Register on the day of race: $30. Download the entry form at www.brendanshomerun.org

The first 300 entrants receive a commemorative T-shirt.

Proceeds from the race go to benefit The Brendan Grant Foundation and Memorial Scholarships. The foundation noted the race’s presenting sponsor Belmont Savings Bank is instrumental to the success of this great event and it’s deeply grateful for the support and generosity of the DerKazarian family.

Contact The Brendan Grant Foundation at 617-489-1514 or at www.brendangrant.org for more information.

Remembering a Son, Celebrating Fathers at Record-Setting Brendan’s Home Run

Photo: Brighton’s Rosa Moriello smashes the existing female record to win the 16th Annual Brendan’s Home Run 5K road race held Sunday, June 18.

A new course record was set on the streets of Belmont as nearly 500 participants took part in the 16th Annual Brendan’s Home Run 5K road race that started and finished at Belmont’s Harris Field on Father’s Day, June 18.

“There’s no place I’d rather be on Father’s Day than here,” said Casey Grant, whose son, Brendan, died tragically during a baseball game in June 2001. Money raised by the race supports the Brendan Grant Foundation, created to honor the memory of a multi-sports athlete – wrestling, baseball, and football – who exhibited a true passion for life.

As for the race, Brighton’s Rosa Moriello took apart the previous women’s course record of 17 minutes and 15 seconds set last year by Laura Nagel, finishing in 16:32. 

The 2015 Boston University grad who was recently named to a US national cross country squad said her goal was to “hang tough and see what I could do and try to be close to my road PR.” While she didn’t match her 5K personal best, “I did chase down some boys which is always nice and exciting,” as she prepares for the USTrack and Field-New England 10K Championship in July.

Mitchell Klingler was visiting the Boston-area from Michigan to see his girlfriend when he came across the race on Facebook. Despite having done a great deal of walking while sightseeing in the past few days, “I asked my girlfriend, ‘You care if I run this 5K?’ and she said ‘Go for it,'” said Klingler.

The Albion College graduate put in a surge sometime after the second mile, finishing in 15:10 to take the victory over a strong field.

 “It was definitely a fun race, hot day but fast course,” said Klingler.

“He lucked out and made $500,” said Brian Rogers, the long-time race director.

Complete results can be found here at Cool Running.

The race attracted more than 350 runners and more than a hundred walkers on a warm and humid Sunday morning. The field not only attracted those seeking a fast time going into the summer, but parents and children, residents who make this a yearly Father’s Day tradition and a hoard of children who ran their own quarter mile race.

“This race works on a lot of levels, and that’s the beauty of it,” said Rogers. Saying there is a special glow about the foundation, Rogers said countless people give their time, provide contributions and make contacts all of “which keeps the memory of Brendan alive today.”

Funds raised by the race and other events have provided scholarships to 41 Belmont High School student athletes, said Grant.

Celebrate Father’s Day On The Run At Brendan’s Home Run 5K

Photo: And they’re off!

Father’s Day. It’s when the family has a relaxing Sunday with dear ol’ dad.

But in Belmont, Father’s Day starts with a quick five kilometer ramble through town as the 16th Annual Brendan’s Home Run takes place on Father’s Day, June 18.

The certified 5K (3.1 miles) race and walk starts and finishes at Belmont High School Harris Field track (adjacent the Skating Rink on Concord Avenue) at 10 a.m. The walk will start at 9:30 a.m.

With its collection of really fast runners – Race Director Brian Rogers is predicting the women’s course record will be “smashed” – at the head of the race and a flat, easy course for the less-than-fast folks, the race has become a must-do early summer event in Belmont and in eastern Massachusetts.

Race participants will get the opportunity to take part in a standout raffle. There is also prize money for the fastest three male and female finishers, age-group and team awards including fastest parent/child tandems.

Cost: Pre-register before Thursday, June 16: $25. Register on day of race: $30. Download the entry form at www.brendanshomerun.org

The first 400 entrants receive commemorative T-shirt.

Proceeds from the race go to benefit The Brendan Grant Foundation and Memorial Scholarships. The foundation noted the race’s presenting sponsors Belmont Savings Bank and Fitness Together are instrumental to the success of this great event and it’s deeply grateful for the support and generosity of the DerKazarian family.

Contact The Brendan Grant Foundation at 617-489-1514 or at www.brendangrant.org for more information.

Course Records Fall At 15th Brendan’s Home Run 5K

Photo: And they’re off!

It was perfect Father’s Day weather – dry, no wind, a bit warm – on Sunday, June 19 which translated to wonderful conditions for the nearly 400 participants who came out to Harris Field to run the 15th Brendan’s Home Run 5K.

And the lead runners didn’t disappoint as both the men’s and women’s course records fell in outstanding performances by a pair of young up-and-comers.

The men’s race was a tight three athlete competition for the entire 3.1 miles with 2014 champion Louis Serafini outsprinting Brian Harvey and Liam Hillery to the line. The 24-year-old former Boston College runner’s time of 14 minutes and 32 seconds was eight seconds better than the previous record of Zack Schwartz’s set last year. In addition, Harvey (14:34) and Hillery (14:35) dipped under Schwartz’s previous record.

In the women’s race, Providence College grad and NCAA Cross Country All-American Laura Nagel finished in 17:15, running away from Karen Roa, who finished second Sunday in 17:47. Jessica Barton took third in 18:06. The 24-year-old New Zealand-native who was a member of PC’s national champion cross country squad, Nagel broke Roa’s women’s record set in 2013 by two seconds.

Leading Belmont residents were 19-year-old UMass runner Ari Silverfine (8th in 16:50) and 23-year-old Flora Berklein who cruised home in 22nd/6th woman in 18:52. 

The wealth of young, strong runner who travel some distance to participate in the Home Run each year has all to do with making a personal connection with them, said the long-time event’s director. 

“I think to get good people here all you need is a couple of conversations and let them know that there’s something special happening in Belmont every Father’s Day,” said Brian Rogers.

Rogers said it also helps when seven-times race winner and 2016 Olympic Marathon Trials finisher Dan Vasallo of Peabody “is always telling other runners about this race.”

But for the vast majority of runners, the race was a chance to put in a few miles before the Dad Day celebrations commenceed. The back-of-the-packers (including parents running with their children)  were cheered on and enjoyed the same swag – thanks to sponsors Belmont Savings Bank, Fitness Together, Belmont Dental Group and the DerKazarian family – as those what finish 10 to 20 minutes head of them

“When we started this thing 15 years ago, we knew we had a significant chore in front of us because Brendan Grant was a quality kid. And if we are going to do anything in his name, this event had to be quality too,” said Rogers.

IMG_2320 IMG_2332 IMG_2334 IMG_2335 IMG_2338 IMG_2344 IMG_2348 IMG_2355 IMG_2358 IMG_2362 IMG_2363 IMG_2367 IMG_2381 IMG_2384 IMG_2386 IMG_2387 IMG_2390 IMG_2392 IMG_2393 IMG_2394 IMG_2396 IMG_2397 IMG_2398 IMG_2399 IMG_2400 IMG_2401 IMG_2402 IMG_2403 IMG_2404 IMG_2405 IMG_2407 IMG_2408 IMG_2409 IMG_2410 IMG_2411 IMG_2412 IMG_2413 IMG_2416 IMG_2417 IMG_2418 IMG_2419 IMG_2421 IMG_2422 IMG_2425 IMG_2429 IMG_2430 IMG_2432 IMG_2434 IMG_2435 IMG_2437 IMG_2440 IMG_2441 IMG_2443 IMG_2445 IMG_2449 IMG_2452 IMG_2454 IMG_2464 IMG_2465 IMG_2467 IMG_2468 IMG_2470 IMG_2474 IMG_2476 IMG_2478 IMG_2480 IMG_2482 IMG_2487 IMG_2491 IMG_2497 IMG_2504 IMG_2506 IMG_2509 IMG_2511 IMG_2522 IMG_2524 IMG_2527 IMG_2530 IMG_2532 IMG_2535 IMG_2540 IMG_2541 IMG_2543 IMG_2544 IMG_2548 IMG_2550 IMG_2552 IMG_2553 IMG_2560 IMG_2561 IMG_2563 IMG_2565 IMG_2566 IMG_2567 IMG_2568 IMG_2570 IMG_2573 IMG_2574 IMG_2577 IMG_2579 IMG_2580 IMG_2581 IMG_2582 IMG_2584 IMG_2585 IMG_2588 IMG_2589 IMG_2590 IMG_2591 IMG_2593 IMG_2595 IMG_2596 IMG_2597 IMG_2598 IMG_2601 IMG_2602 IMG_2603 IMG_2605 IMG_2606 IMG_2607 IMG_2608 IMG_2609 IMG_2610 IMG_2611 IMG_2612 IMG_2613 IMG_2614 IMG_2615 IMG_2616 IMG_2617 IMG_2619 IMG_2620 IMG_2621 IMG_2622 IMG_2623 IMG_2624 IMG_2625 IMG_2626 IMG_2627 IMG_2628 IMG_2629 IMG_2630 IMG_2631 IMG_2632 IMG_2633 IMG_2634 IMG_2635 IMG_2636 IMG_2637 IMG_2638 IMG_2639 IMG_2640 IMG_2641 IMG_2642 IMG_2644 IMG_2645 IMG_2646 IMG_2647 IMG_2648 IMG_2650 IMG_2651 IMG_2652 IMG_2653 IMG_2654 IMG_2655 IMG_2656 IMG_2658 IMG_2660 IMG_2661 IMG_2662 IMG_2663 IMG_2665 IMG_2666 IMG_2667 IMG_2668 IMG_2669 IMG_2671 IMG_2672 IMG_2675 IMG_2676 IMG_2677 IMG_2678 IMG_2679 IMG_2724 IMG_2726 IMG_2727 IMG_2730 IMG_2732 IMG_2733 IMG_2734 IMG_2735 IMG_2736 IMG_2737 IMG_2738 IMG_2739 IMG_2740 IMG_2741 IMG_2742 IMG_2743 IMG_2745 IMG_2746 IMG_2747 IMG_2748 IMG_2749 IMG_2753 IMG_2755 IMG_2756 IMG_2758 IMG_2759 IMG_2760 IMG_2762 IMG_2763 IMG_2764 IMG_2765 IMG_2766 IMG_2767 IMG_2768 IMG_2769 IMG_2770 IMG_2771 IMG_2772 IMG_2774 IMG_2775 IMG_2776 IMG_2777 IMG_2778 IMG_2779 IMG_2780 IMG_2781 IMG_2783 IMG_2784 IMG_2785 IMG_2787 IMG_2788 IMG_2789 IMG_2790 IMG_2792 IMG_2793 IMG_2794 IMG_2795 IMG_2796 IMG_2797 IMG_2798 IMG_2799 IMG_2800 IMG_2801 IMG_2802 IMG_2803 IMG_2804 IMG_2805 IMG_2807 IMG_2808 IMG_2809 IMG_2810 IMG_2811 IMG_2812 IMG_2813 IMG_2814 IMG_2815 IMG_2816 IMG_2817 IMG_2818 IMG_2819 IMG_2820 IMG_2823 IMG_2824 IMG_2825 IMG_2826 IMG_2827 IMG_2829 IMG_2832 IMG_2834 IMG_2835 IMG_2837 IMG_2838 IMG_2839 IMG_2840 IMG_2841 IMG_2842 IMG_2843 IMG_2844 IMG_2845 IMG_2846 IMG_2847 IMG_2848 IMG_2849 IMG_2851 IMG_2852 IMG_2853 IMG_2854 IMG_2856 IMG_2858 IMG_2860 IMG_2861 IMG_2863 IMG_2864 IMG_2868 IMG_2870 IMG_2871 IMG_2872 IMG_2875 IMG_2876 IMG_2879 IMG_2880 IMG_2882 IMG_2883 IMG_2885 IMG_2886 IMG_2887 IMG_2888 IMG_2889 IMG_2890 IMG_2893 IMG_2895 IMG_2896 IMG_2898 IMG_2901 IMG_2902 IMG_2905 IMG_2907 IMG_2908 IMG_2910 IMG_2911 IMG_2914 IMG_2920 IMG_2922 IMG_2924 IMG_2925 IMG_2927 IMG_2928 IMG_2930 IMG_2933 IMG_2934 IMG_2936 IMG_2953 IMG_2964 IMG_2968 IMG_2971 IMG_2977 IMG_2978 IMG_2980 IMG_2982IMG_2680 IMG_2681 IMG_2682 IMG_2683 IMG_2685 IMG_2686 IMG_2687 IMG_2688 IMG_2689 IMG_2690 IMG_2691 IMG_2692 IMG_2693 IMG_2695 IMG_2697 IMG_2699 IMG_2700 IMG_2701 IMG_2702 IMG_2703 IMG_2704 IMG_2706 IMG_2708 IMG_2711 IMG_2712 IMG_2713 IMG_2714 IMG_2715 IMG_2716 IMG_2718 IMG_2719 IMG_2720 IMG_2722 IMG_2723

 

Start Father’s Day On The Roads At The 15th Annual Brendan’s Home Run

Photo: The race.

Rather than give dad a tie or take him out of dinner on Father’s Day, how about start the day running a quick five kilometers with the kids and help Belmont’s own Brendan Grant Foundation. 

The 15th annual Brendan’s Home Run will take place on Father’s Day, June 19.

The certified 5K (3.1 miles) race and walk starts and finishes at Belmont High School Harris Field track (adjacent the Skating Rink on Concord Avenue) at 10 a.m. The walk will start at 9:30 a.m.

With its collection of really fast runners – Olympic Trial qualifiers and a few NCAA Div. 3 champs – at the head of the race and a flat, easy course for the less than fast folks, the race has become a must-do Father’s Day event in Belmont and in Eastern Massachusetts.

Pre-register before Thursday, June 16: $25. Register on day of race: $30

Download an entry form at www.brendanshomerun.org

The first 400 entrants receive commemorative T-shirt

To benefit The Brendan Grant Foundation and Memorial ScholarshipsOur presenting sponsors Belmont Savings Bank, Fitness Together, and Belmont Dental Group are instrumental to the success of this great event. We are deeply grateful for their support, and the generosity of Alan & Isabelle DerKazarian.

Refreshments, raffle, prize money for fastest three male and female finishers, age-group and team awards including fastest parent/child tandems.

Contact The Brendan Grant Foundation at 617/489-1514 or at www.brendangrant.org for more information on Brendan Grant and the work of the Foundation.

A Little Rain Equals Fast Times At Brendan’s Home Run 5K

Photo: Nine-year-old Gillian Palmer runs across the finish line with David Palmer in 35 minutes and 50 seconds in the 14th annual Brendan’s Home Run 5K.

While the steady warm rain may have kept the total number of runners at the 14th annual Brandan’s Home Run 5K race down from previous years – 301 runners finished the race Sunday, June 21, as opposed to nearly 425 last year – it also helped those running the Father’s Day tradition set fast times.

Leading the way was the shirtless Zack Schwartz, a 26-year-old former Brandeis cross-country and track racer, who stormed over the 3.1 mile course in 14 minutes and 44 seconds, smashing the course record of 14:59 set by Ryan McCalmon in  2012. Also breaking the old record was Eric Speakman, the 24-year-old 2015 Stony Brook University graduate, who followed Schwartz by eight seconds.

“This is my best race by far,” said Schwartz, who works at MIT and “am trying to run as much as I can.”

The woman’s race nearly duplicated the men’s as 37-year-old Northbridge-resident Stephanie Reilly finished in 17:22, within five seconds of breaking the women’s record of 17:17 set in 2013 by the woman came in second in Monday’s race, Karen Roa, 24, who finished in 17:48.

Complete race results can be found here.

And while the race – sponsored by Belmont Savings Bank, Fitness Together, and Belmont Dental Group – featured those running in the front of the pack, those participating were enjoying the inclement weather leaving them drenched and dodging puddles as they race by themselves or with friends and family.

The real winner of Sunday’s race was The Brendan Grant Foundation, dedicated to enhancing youth development, and has been instrumental in the support of key initiatives that perpetuate the best core values of healthy parent-child relationships.

 

14th Brendan’s Home Run Set to Burn Up Streets on Father’s Day

Photo: Dads and kids at Brendan’s Home Run.

Oh, sure. You can celebrate Father’s Day the old way by having an overpriced brunch in a crowded eatery. Or you could running a quick five kilometers with the kids and help Belmont’s own Brendan Grant Foundation. 

Belmont Savings Bank, Fitness Together Belmont and the Belmont Dental Group proudly present the 14th annual running of “Brendan’s Home RunTM” 5K Race & Walk will take place on Sunday, June 21, at 10 a.m. at the Belmont High School’s Harris Field.

The walk begins at 9:30 a.m., the race at 10 a.m. with youth races for kids a few minutes after the runners leave the field. 

With its collection of really fast runners at the head of the race and a flat, easy course for the less than fast folks, the race has become a must-do event in Belmont.

Register early as the road race will be capped at 500 entrants. Entry fee for the walk or run is $22 until June 18. On-site entry Father’s Day morning is $25. There is no charge for the 400 meter youth races.

Fathers Day a Home Run for Runners, Grant Foundation

You couldn’t have asked for a nicer Fathers Day in Belmont this past Sunday, June 15; a cloudless sky, warm temps with a cooling breeze.

Perfect weather for more than 500 runners and walkers to head to Harris Field to take part in the 13th annual Brendan’s Home Run 5K Race and Walk, celebrating

“What a great celebration of this town and all the people who came not just to walk and race but who volunteer every year, who ask ‘what can I do’,” said Casey Grant, the founder and president of The Brendan Grant Foundation.

The race saw former champions (Ryan McCalmon, Jessica Minty, Dan Vassallo) and veterans of the race toe the line with a pair of newly-minted national track champions – Belmont High School alumnus Chris Stadler (5,000 meters) and Andrew Carey (800 meters) who finished first in the NCAA Div. 3 track championships last month in Ohio – and a slew of other younger speedsters, many with Belmont roots.

But for the vast majority of runners and walkers, the event was just a perfect way to begin the day went families get together to allow for the feting of “dear ol’ dad.”

It was one of those youngsters, 22-year-old Louis Serafini from Brookline who took the lead at the two-mile mark and brought home the win (along with a $500 winner’s check) in 15 minutes and 15 seconds. Vassallo (who is hardly an old-timer at 29) caught 21-year-old Stadler in the final 300 meters to take second over the eight-time All-American from Haverford College also won the indoor 5,000 meter Div. 3 championship in 2013.

“I ran pretty conservatively and hung behind [Vassallo and Stadler] until two miles then I made my move which ended up being enough for the win,” said Serafini, who graduated from Boston College last year (he ran four years at BC and finished second in the inaugural Runner’s World Heartbreak Hill Half Marathon in Newton last week) and is the manager of the Heartbreak Hill Running Company in Newton.

Stadler’s former team mates, Paul Green and Carey, finished in fourth and fifth to round out a top five averaging 22.2 years old.

“We are particularly proud that three of the top five runners are graduates from Belmont High, and two of those national champions who have grown up with this race in their background. So we feel that we are cultivating the great runners in our community,” said Grant,

No such luck for the youngsters on the women’s field as returning champion Minty beat out Somerville’s Lindsey Willard by more than half a minute in 17 minutes and 24 seconds as Belmont’s Jamie Shea, who at 40 has ten and five years on the two women before her, finished third in 18.54.

“This is the third time I’ve come back for the race. I love the energy, how well organized the race is and how much of a community event it is,” said Minty, a former Colby College All-American who ran the 2012 Olympic Marathon Trials who lives in Concord.

It is that sense of community which Grant hoped would become the lasting legacy of his son, Brendan, who died in an on-field accident playing baseball in June 2001. 

“We started this 13 years ago on the heels of my son passing away … and that was also a community tragedy,” said Grant.

“At the time I felt it was a wonderful way for everybody to do something,” he said.

“And now, we still feel that way, that this is a win-win for Belmont because we are doing great things for the community,” said Grant.

 

 

 

Belmont on the Run: 13th Brendan Home Run This Sunday

Why not celebrate this coming Fathers Day this Sunday by:

  1. Running a quick five kilometers,
  2. Helping Belmont’s own Brendan Grant Foundation, and
  3. Having one final romp on the Harris Field track and turf before it gets torn to pieces during its renovation!

Better yet, why not do all three at the same time by signing up to run the 13th annual Brendan Home Run 5K being held on Sunday, June 15, come rain or shine.

Both the race and walk begins at Belmont High School’s Harris Field, located on Concord Avenue. Here is the day’s schedule:
  • 9:30 a.m. 5k charity walk
  • 10 a.m. 5k road race
  • 10:05 a.m. 400/800m youth races (ages 6-12)

The entry fee on Father’s Day morning is $25. There is no charge for the 400/800m youth races.

T-shirts will be given to the first 400 entrants, awards to the fastest parent/child teams and age-group winners, refreshments and some of the most fabulous raffle prizes around.

An application can be found right here: Brendan Home Run 5k 2014.
Belmont Savings Bank, Fitness Together Belmont and the Belmont Dental Group are the race’s main sponsor.
The Brendan Grant Foundation is dedicated to enhancing youth development, and supports a host of local initiatives that perpetuate the best core values found in healthy parent-child relationships.
 
Each Father’s Day, Brendan’s Home Run 5K lets us celebrate these important family connections.
If you need further information, contact via email: