By: Amy Filippone, Dept. of Parks & Recreation
On Saturday, June 1, two staples of Moorestown will take place: the Moorestown Rotary Club’s Scott Coffee 8K/One Mile Fun at 8:30 a.m. and Moorestown Day, which follows directly afterwards. This is the 35th year of the Rotary’s fundraising event, which was begun by Scott Coffee 35 years ago. When he passed away suddenly in the summer of 2006 at the age of 54, the race was named in honor of him.
“Scott Coffee was a great guy and passed away too young,” Bill Van Fossen, the race chairman, said. “The idea for the run came from Scott when we were looking for an idea for a new fundraiser. From a few hundred people the first year, it has grown to about a thousand runners. We get runners from all over the Delaware Valley and North Jersey. It’s become a well-known race and it’s now part of the Mid-Atlantic USATF Championship race series.”
Van Fossen said Moorestown Day has coincided with the Race for the past 20 years.
“I think a lot of kids around town have started their running careers by running either the one-mile fun run or the 5×1 mile relay,” Van Fossen said.The proceeds go to the Moorestown Rotary Charities which funds college scholarships and Rotary projects locally, nationally and internationally.
Moorestown Parks and Recreation’s Exit 4 Boot Camp has had a group entry in the road race for the past three years. Exit 4 Boot Camp offers affordable and varied ways to exercise from yoga to circuit training. Most classes are held at the Recreation Center, but the weather continues to improve, we’ll hold some Saturday sessions at the Wesley Bishop Turf Fields.
Kathleen Mininno has been organizing the Exit 4 Boot Camp race team for Scott Coffee 8k for the past three years.
“Anyone can be on our team – not just Exit 4 members – friends, family, anyone who wants to join in,” Mininno said. “We’ll have a sizable turnout this year about 60, 70 people. We try, as does Rich, to be very inclusive to any one who has any interest, because it encourages good health, friendship and camaraderie.”
Register for her team, “Your Pace or Mine?” at the Scott Coffee Rotary Run registration page.
Mininno feels it’s a great way to experience Moorestown.
“It is a big event and it’s a really wonderful way to showcase the town because it starts off Moorestown Day as well,” Mininno said. “By the time you get through the run, the booths are open and there’s music playing. You run through the neighborhoods and see people you know and they’re so supportive. These are your people and they’re excited for you.”
To register for Boot Camp go to the Moorestownrec.com under Community Pass and 2019 Boot Camp.
