Nasuti Novans 5K set for fifth annual run
WOONSOCKET – The high school’s athletic department will get another round of funding support when the fifth annual edition of George Nasuti 5K Walk Run sets out from The Gym LLC on Diamond Hill Road on Memorial Day, May 28.
The race walk is held in memory of George Nasuti – the school department’s late athletic director, school administrator and coach who died in February of 2014 – to raise funding for items sup- plementing Woonsocket school department athletic resources.
Judy Sullivan, owner of The Gym LLC at 2168 Diamond Hill Road, said this week that everything is coming together for another great edition of the Nasuti walk run.
“We had over 400 people register last year and we are hoping to do at least the same number of registrations this year,” Sullivan said.
The race was started as a fundraiser for Villa Novan sports programs by
Nasuti and many of the same volunteers putting on the annual event today.
The first Villa Novan 5K was held in September of 2013 and Nasuti was among those heading out on the course for the inaugural edition, Sullivan noted.
The organizers had been talking about moving the race to Memorial Day, a good date before school lets out, and when Nasuti died in February that plan was put in place with the race being dedicated in his memory, Sullivan explained.
The race brings together many of the people who knew Nasuti and his wife, Carol, his sons, Chris and Sean, and sister, Debra Moylan, and they work to put on a special event that not only benefits local school athletes but is lots of fun too.
Of course, those wishing to run the 5K competitively will have to handle the hill going up Diamond Hill from The Gym, but then there is a nice downhill section after Bound Road on Elder Ballou, and the race course wraps up with a turn onto Mendon Road and then again onto Diamond Hill Road before returning to the start. Local runners shouldn’t mind the initial hill, according to Sullivan. “No matter where you run in Woonsocket you are going to go up a hill,” she explained.
Sullivan said the race will be held rain or shine and the past editions have included both nice days and some rainy ones that didn’t scare away the race’s annual participants.
“It is a nice tribute to George and it is a nice way to give back to the community,” Sullivan said.
The high school’s Villa Novan community will be out in force again this year as High School Principal Carnell Henderson makes sure the newest batch of athletes and scholars at the school do their part in putting on the annual event.
“Students from the high school’s honor society volunteer every year and do a lot of the data entry,” Sullivan said.
The Savini Family and Matt Moylan will once again be providing the post race snacks from Ciro’s and CVS Health is supplying bottled water for the race/walkers at the finish line.
There will also be activities for kids including a bounce house, face painting, and a shorter course, kids fun color run before the main race/ walk sets out. The kids race goes off at 8 a.m. and the 5K at 8:30.
Retired Cumberland running coach Tom Kenwood, organizer of the Arnold Mills Fourth of July Race, will once again manage the professional timing of the 5K race on a certified course and awards will be given top finishers for men, women, and kids.
The race water-stop at the end of Elder Ballou will once again by manned by state Sen. Roger Picard and his family at their driveway entrance.
Mike Debroisse, of the city’s Engineering Department, is once again handling registrations for the race which can be completed online at runsignup.com by searching NovansPride5K.
The race fee is $20 for adults and $15 for students for the 5K before May 25. The kids run fee is $5 for ages 5-9.
Registrations on the day of the event are $10 for the kids for color fun run, and $20 for students and $25 for adults for the 5K race.
A family discount of $2 per registrant is available for 3-7 family members. Teams of between 5 and 30 registrants can also get a $2 discount per registrant.
The George Nasuti Novans Pride 5k technical cloth, long sleeve, race shirt can be ordered for $20 by May 18.
Proceeds of the event go to the George Nasuti Foundation and are earmarked for the high school’s athletic program. The Foundation also benefits from the annual Ciro’s George Nasuti Charitable Golf Tournament at New England Country Club, this year on Saturday, May 26, which raises funding for its scholarship program.
Although plenty of people will be taking on the 5K race/walk as their contribution to the foundation, Sullivan said some contributors to the annual event just choose to make a donation and not actually set out on the course. On the other hand, are the student competitors who sign up from their schools as teams and run the course in race mode for school pride.
“It’s great for all these kids showing up to be able to enjoy morning and it is a nice event for the city,” Sullivan said.