By Richard L. Gaw

Staff Writer

At 8 a.m., an hour when most of Kennett Square was still asleep, and beneath a cobalt gray sky that emptied a persistent soft rain, 755 half marathon and relay runners poured through the start of the third annual Mushroom Cap 13.1 half marathon early Saturday morning, and onto a matrix of local streets, roads and neighborhoods.

By race's end, however, runners finished in the same spot where they began, as the skies cleared and the Mushroom Cap Finish Line Festival began. For the first time, the race was moved to Birch Street, beside the nearly re-opened Kennett Creamery, where they enjoyed beer from Braeloch Brewing, food trucks, live bands, and a kids fun zone.

In addition, 40 participants also entered Mushroom Cap's Charity 1-mile event, that took runners and walkers alike along Birch, Broad, East South and South Walnut streets. All net proceeds from this all-ages race were donated to Unite For Her, a local organization that assists breast cancer patients before, during and after therapy.

The top overall finisher of the race was Darryl Brown of Exton, who finished the 13.-mile race with a tag time of 1:15:30; while Abigail Cember of Ardmore was the top overall female runner with a time of 1:28:29.

In the Masters Male division, Kevin Beugless of Media finished first with a time of 1:21:29, while Jaime Torchiana of Downingtown came in first as the top overall Masters Female division with a time of 1:36:45.

In the relay team results, Shawn Gillspie and Michael Harlan won with a time of 1:30:28, while in the Coed Siblings division, Millicent and Emmett Hughes finished first with a time of 2:02:01. Christine and Tyler Pachuda finished first in the Family division with a time of 1:43:38; Megan Genkin and Jenny Lofaro won with a time of 1:44:55 in the Female Relay division; and Rebecca Santole and Jillian Gannon took the top finish in the Female Siblings division with a time of 1:51:46.

In the Hitched Relay division, Charlotte and Drew Eberts won with a time of 1:47:23; Brian and Michael Welsh finished first in the Male Siblings relay with a time of 1:23:24; Brandon Weiner and Danielle Hopko finished first in the Coed Siblings division, with a time of 1:33:54; and Margaret and Paul Eberts finished first in the Grammys Relay division, finishing with a time of 2:00:46.

The Mushroom Cap 13.1 is the event arm of Run2Shine, Inc., a charitable foundation that has used proceeds from the race to award $33,000 in grants to the following beneficiaries in its first two years: Family Promise of Southern Chester County, the Garage Community & Youth Center, the Genesis Employee Foundation, the Kennett Education Foundation and The Weekly Fight.

To email Staff Writer Richard L. Gaw, email [email protected].