Big turnout for Sequim’s annual bridge run

More than 350 runners, walkers and baby carriage pushers enjoyed a near-perfect start to the fifth annual Sequim Railroad Bridge 5k/10k run on April 22.

The men’s 5k winner was Justin Strait with a time of 19 minutes, 15 seconds. The 5k women’s winner was Alexis Neal with a time of 23:04.

The men’s 10k winner was Travis Boltjes with a time of 34:50, winning by a huge margin of more than four minutes. The women’s 10k winner was Allison Adamich with a time of 50:48.

As always, youngsters did well in the 5k; five out of the top 10 runners in the men’s 5k were in the 13-19 age range.

Race organizer Victoria Jones said about 350 people registered to run. There were 151 5k finishers posted online and 139 10k finishers. Often times, Port Angeles, East Jefferson and Sequim high school track runners compete in Run the Peninsula races, but local schools were at the Li’l Norway Invitational in Poulsbo on Saturday.

The Sequim Railroad Bridge run is the second of five Run the Peninsula races put on by the Port Angeles Marathon Association, the organization that manages the North Olympic Discovery Marathon coming up in June. Run the Peninsula’s season began in February with the Elwha Bridge run.

This race is made possible by title sponsors, the Sequim Gazette and Peninsula Daily News, and presenting sponsors Olympic Medical Center and Sound Community Bank. Proceeds from the event goes to several local organizations, including the Peninsula Trails Coalition which builds and maintains the trail.

The Railroad Bridge run consisted of 5k and 10k races along the Olympic Discovery Trail from the Sequim Railroad Bridge park west to Robin Hall County Farm and back.

Find full results and look up finishers at tinyurl.com/SequimRRresults2023.

The next Run the Peninsula race is the North Olympic Discovery Marathon, which is expected to bring thousands of people onto the Olympic Peninsula on June 3 and 4.

The Run the Peninsula series also includes the Larry Scott Trail run in Port Townsend on Oct. 14 and the Jamestown S’Klallam Glow Run on Dec. 3.

For more information, visit runthepeninsula.com/railroad-bridge.

Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell / Allison Adamich is all smiles near the finish line as she races to a women’s division win in the 2023 Railroad Bridge Run 10k, held April 22, at Railroad Bridge Park. Adamich finished in 50 minutes, 48 seconds, good for 10th overall.

Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell / Justin Strait nears the finish line as he races to a 5k victory at the 2023 Railroad Bridge Run on April 22. Strait finished in 19:15, with runner-up C.J. Daniels finishing 24 seconds back.

Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell / Alexis Neal races to a women’s division 5k victory at the 2023 Railroad Bridge Run on April 22. Neal finished in 23 minutes, 4 seconds — good for 10th overall.

Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell / Connor Goff of Sequim grimaces as he nears the finish line at the Railroad Bridge Run 5k at Railroad Bridge Park on April 22. Goff finished in 19:51.