85-year-old John Burke hustles to the finish line || Quinn Hitchcock Two young runners sprint toward the finish line || Quinn Hitchcock 3-year-old Fiona Nichols is presented with her 1st place medal || Quinn Hitchcock Select board member Danielle Leonard joined by family and friends || Quinn Hitchcock Scenes from Blocksidge Field pre-races || Quinn Hitchcock 4-year-old Remi running with her 2nd place medal || Quinn Hitchcock A group of young boys bursts off the starting line || Quinn Hitchcock All smiles in the men’s 35-59 age group || Quinn Hitchcock
Swampscott residents laced up their sneakers and brought their best energy to Blocksidge Field at Phillips Park on the morning of July 4 for the town’s annual Independence Day races. The beloved community tradition kicked off with registration at 10 a.m., followed by 28 races spanning all ages, from toddlers to seniors.
For the little ones, races were split by individual age, with separate heats for 2-year-olds and younger, 3-year-olds, 4-year-olds, and 5-year-olds. From there, students entering grades kindergarten through eight each ran in their own grade-specific race. The adult divisions followed, broken into age groups: 14 to 34, 35 to 59, and 60 and older. Each race was also divided by gender, with separate runs for boys and girls in every category.
Race distances ranged from 15 yards for the youngest runners to 50 yards for adults. The only “cost of entry” was a donation to the Anchor Food Pantry, with suggested items including cereal, granola bars, macaroni and cheese, and juice boxes. Before the races began, many runners grabbed breakfast from the popular Grab-a-Bagel food truck.
Select Board Member Danielle Leonard, the event’s organizer, shared the inspiration behind reviving the tradition.
“I brought it back because of my wife, Katelyn, who is the middle school physical education teacher,” Leonard said. “She grew up here and always remembered these races as a kid.”
After the races had been paused for several years, Leonard and her team relaunched them two years ago, and attendance has grown since.
Leonard credited the event’s success to the help of volunteers from the National Honor Society and various school sports teams.
“It’s a community effort for sure,” she said. “I think by the number of people that turn out, I would define it as a successful event. It’s our opportunity to increase community morale and just do a nice fun thing to get everybody outside.”
The men’s 60-and-older division wrapped up the event with a memorable finish from 85-year-old John Burke.
“I’m just glad that I made it,” he said, grinning. “My family had a great time laughing at me.”
