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Bruce wins Firecracker Run

Justin St. Ours | Daily Press Gladstone’s Adam Bruce leads runners by several minutes around the halfway mark of the Fran Cannon Firecracker Run in Gladstone Thursday.

GLADSTONE — On a day when you couldn’t ask for better weather, two legacies took the top spots in the 5-mile Fran Cannon Firecracker Run here Thursday.

Adam Bruce of Gladstone, the overall winner last year at 27 minutes and 32 seconds, finished first in 26:30.

“I wanted to stay consistent with my training, and getting under 26:30 was my goal,” Bruce said. “I had the whole crowd pushing me in at the finish line, and I was able to sprint for it. I wanted to go a little harder today since I’ve been getting around 60 miles a week. I went out hard and fell back on my later miles, but my strategy paid off, I think. That was pretty much my goal, and I was happy to do that today.

“With the community and getting everyone together today, it’s been great. I definitely want to say thank you to the community for everything they do. We had some great racing today, and I can’t do it without their support, especially my family’s. It’s been huge.”

Bruce was followed by Giovanni Mathews of Gladstone at 29:25 and Drew Hughes of Gladstone at 30:56.

Abigail Petr of Grand Rapids, the second place finisher last year and younger sister of last year’s female winner Anna Petr, led the female division in 34:34.

“I realized I only had a couple women in front of me,” Abigail Petr said. “It was a fun thing, so I pushed myself to get first place. I just got faster as the race went. The fourth and fifth mile were very sunny, but my sister was cheering me on and I had runners to look ahead to. It was really good.

“(Winning) was super fun. My sister didn’t run this year, so I was kind of hoping to take her place.”

She was followed by Brittany Richard of Garden in 34:57 and Brianna Grimm of Gladstone in 35:55.

The temperature remained approximately 69 degrees for the run that drew 232 participants.

The summary:

Male age division winners

12 & under — Charley McInerney, 42:58; 13-14 — Drew Hughes, Gladstone, 30:56; 15-16 — Giovanni Mathews, Gladstone, 29:25; 17-19 — Adam Bruce, Gladstone, 26:30; 20-29 — Dan Becker, 33:55; 30-39 — Paul Demay, Iron Mountain, 32:50; 40-49 — Zachary Truitt, 34:11; 50-59 — Guy Leffel, 34:08; 60-69 — Rob Cavalieri, Norway, 32:59; 70 & over — Larry Morse, Marquette, 47:27.

Female age division winners

12 & under — Hannah Salbilla, Lindenhurst, Ill., 54:23; 13-14 — Abigail Petr, Grand Rapids, 34:34; 15-16 — Jadyn Bovin, Gladstone, 41:49; 17-19 — Lauren Cousineau, 49:02; 20-29 — Brittany Richard, Garden, 34:57; 30-39 — Danielle Artley, Wells, 38:48; 40-49 — Jennifer Burdette,, 37:03; 50-59 — Laurie Alworden, Gladstone, 41:21; 60-69 — Donna Thackwray, 44:21; 70 & over — Kathleen Morse, Marquette, 57:13.

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