15K ‘fall classic’ joins spring Cherry Blossom 10K on Newark’s race calendar

Newark is already the longtime home of the popular Cherry Blossom 10K Run every April at Essex County Branch Brook Park, and the Newark Running Club , the Brick City Run Club and the Newark Striders are just some of the local groups formed to lace up and hit the road together.

Now, Newark will bolster its fleet-footed bona fides with a 15-kilometer road race debuting Oct. 4. The Branch Brook 15K will be run in the same county park as the Cherry Blossom race, though it will take advantage of fall foliage to color the course.

“Branch Brook Park is one of the most beautiful and recognizable running destinations in New Jersey,” said Dave Alfano, a co-founder of Trials of Miles , the California running event company that’s organizing the race. “It offers a combination that is difficult to find elsewhere — a scenic setting, a flat and fast course, substantial space, an established connection to the running community and a location that is easily accessible from across North Jersey and New York City.

“We felt it was the ideal place to build a major fall road race.”

The 9.3-mile road race — a mile equals 1.6K, or kilometers — is open to competitive runners, weekend road warriors, and anybody else who can spare the $75 registration fee and is among the first 2,500 to sign up.

The run is co-sponsored locally by Fleet Feet Montclair , a shop in the Essex County suburb a few miles from the park, and by New Jersey Institute of Technology, located in Newark a few blocks away.

The new race was approved by the Essex County Parks Department, which operates the park and sponsors the Cherry Blossom 10K, which registered its maximum of 3,000 runners in April, its 50th running .

Alfano said the choice of the new event’s location was also due in part to the popularity of the Cherry Blossom 10K — which takes its name from the park’s collection of 5,500 of the pinkish trees , said to be the nation’s largest.

“There is already significant demand for a large, well-organized race in Branch Brook Park,“ Alfano said. ”At the same time, we believe there is room to create a longer distinct fall event with its own identity.”

Alfano said 90% of registrants so far are from New Jersey, including 40% from Essex County, though some are from as far away as Maryland and Virginia.

“Branch Brook Park is an extraordinary public space, and we want the race to introduce more people to everything it offers beyond cherry blossom season,” said Alfano, who hoped the race would also positively showcase its host city. “We hope participants leave excited not only about the race, but also about returning to the park and spending more time in Newark.”

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