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Inaugural Bobby Doyle race is a huge success |
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Monday, 18 August 2008 |
By STEVE MAZZONE
Sports writer
Just a few decades ago, Bobby Doyle was virtually unbeatable in Rhode Island and also garnered his share of success on a national scale.
Thus, it only seemed fitting on Saturday night that the state’s latest “King of the Roads” would win a race in his honor.
Leading from the opening gun, Warwick’s Matt Pelletier went on to capture the individual title at the inaugural Bobby Doyle 5-Mile Summer Classic. Pelletier cruised the Narragansett course in a time of 25 minutes, 11 seconds to easily beat second-place finisher Keven O’Neil.
O’Neil, a high school track and cross-country coach at North Kingstown, edged former Providence College All American Mary Cullen - the overall female titlist – at the line. Both were timed in 26:14.
The first-time event, which was being held to honor the late great distance runner and seven-time Ocean State Marathon winner, who died of a heart attack in December, had nearly 600 finishers.
Jim Doyle, brother of Bobby and one of several committee members that organized the race, was more than happy with the turnout.
“I am extremely pleased,” he said. “It was an unbelievable job that was put together by the committee.”
Pelletier’s victory at the Doyle race certainly was no surprise. Among a long list of races that he has come out on top the last few years, Pelletier recently copped the top prize at the annual Blessing of the Fleet 10-Mile Road Race on July 25. A onetime star at Warwick Veterans, Pelletier also competed in the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in November where he ran a personal best of 2:17:17. That time is one of the fastest ever recorded by a Rhode Islander for the grueling 26.2-mile distance.
“The thing that Matt did was he ran the race just the way that Bobby once did,” Jim Doyle said. “(Bobby) either ran a race until he was out of gas or out of time, but he would usually win the race. Matt just took over (in Saturday’s race). He ran a 4:42 at the mile and the rest of the lead pack was at 4:58. He just took command. He was never challenged the whole way.”
The race, which started and ended at Narragansett Pier School, attracted a field that included numerous runners that were associated with the popular runner, including several that he coached at Woonsocket High. Ed Duhamel, 30, who ran for Doyle when the Villa Novans captured their only cross-country state title in 1996, had the best placement among that contingent, taking ninth overall in 27:10.
Wearing bib No. 1, Doyle’s son, Brian Doyle, a soon-to-be junior and promising harrier at Bishop Hendricken, placed eighth with a 27:04 clocking.
East Providence’s Nick Barao (fourth, 26:23), Cumberland’s Chris Magill (fifth, 26:28), Whitinsville’s Paul Reilly (sixth, 26:35), Narragansett’s Glen Guillemette (seventh, 26:48) and Warwick’s Jacob Sienko (10th, 27:16) rounded out the first 10 finishers.
Legendary distance runner Bill Rodgers, a four-time winner of the Boston and New York City marathons and a former world-record holder for 25 kilometers, was among the notables in attendance at the race.
According to Jim Doyle, the race “probably raised $20,000.” The money will be distributed to various causes including the Bobby Doyle Memorial Scholarship, the Bobby Doyle Youth Running Fund and the Bobby Doyle Cardiac Awareness Fund.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 21 August 2008 )
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