MEDFORD TO NAME TRACK IN HONOR OF DAVE MCGILLIVRAY
THE PATCH
Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn surprised the legendary race director as part of the inaugural Run Medford event.
As participants prepared to cross the starting line at the Run Medford 5K and 8K on Sept. 18, Medford Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn revealed that the track at Hormel Stadium will be dedicated to race director and former resident Dave McGillivray and named in his honor.
Lungo-Koehn presented McGillivray with the plaque that will soon be installed at the track.
“I am speechless about this kind gesture on behalf of the City of Medford,” McGillivray said in a statement. “As a young teenage boy running the mile and 2-mile on that track for Medford High School, I would never have imagined that someday the City would name the track after me. I am so grateful and I can’t begin to tell you how special this is to me.”
“Dave has a deep and personal connection to the community and our School District,” Lungo-Koehn said. “For everything he’s done for our City hrough the work of his company and his passion for running, naming the track at Hormel Stadium is a fitting tribute to a person who has left such an indelible mark on Medford.”
The dedication ceremony for the track is expected to take place in Spring 2023.
Run Medford, hosted and presented by the Dave McGillivray Finish Strong Foundation, offered races for all ages, including a Kids Fun Run, Para/Adaptive Mile, High School Mile, Mayor’s Celebrity Mile, 5K, and 8K.
Medford locals Matthew Coble and Mary Cate Gustafson-Quiett won the 8k event in 22:47 and 26:07, respectively. In the 5k event, Sydney Smith took first for the women with a time of 18:55, and Colin Cernik won in the men’s field with a time of 15:59.
Local students TJ Higgins and Anna Casey were triumphant in the High School Mile with times of 05:21 and 05:57. In the Mayor’s Celebrity Mile, two-time World Marathon Challenge champion Becca Pizzi and WCVB Channel 5 Sports Reporter Josh Brogadir topped the podium with just seconds between them. They finished in 06:18 and 06:12, respectively.
Para/adaptive mile competitors Dante Mason, Jonathan Malerba, and John Young shared a unique moment during the race, waiting for one another at the finish line so they could cross together in unison.
Nearly 750 people turned out for the first edition of the race, which acted as a fundraiser for the Dave McGillivray Finish Strong Foundation. The foundation chose local organizations as beneficiaries, including the Charlotte and William Bloomberg Medford Public Library, Power Kids Summer Enrichment Program, Medford Parks And Recreation Program, Medford Senior Center, and The Center For Citizenship and Social Responsibility at Medford High School.
Run Medford is expected to return in 2023. For more information on Run Medford and to be the first to know when registration opens for next year’s running, visit www.RunMedford.com and follow the race on Instagram and Facebook.