Peter Harley, of Bristol, was the overall race winner of the third annual "I'd Rather Be Indoors" 5K race held Sunday, Dec. 8.

The event benefits the Mt. Hope High School indoor track and field program and is contested over much of the same Bristol Town Beach Park course the Huskies run during the cross country season. The race was initially started to help fund the return of the MHHS boys' indoor team, which had gone dormant due to lack of participation.

Harley, 54, covered the distance in a time of 19 minutes, 32.39 seconds, under brisk, but rather balmy conditions for a run along Narragansett Bay as Christmas approaches.

Harley finished comfortably ahead of the second place finisher Jackson Cicchinelli, also of Bristol and Mt. Hope High cross country/track athlete who clocked a 20:55.9.

The next three finishers were a trio of Huskies: Tyler Scarborough in a time of 21:06.21, Jacob Lopes in 21:27.39 and Dylan Shaw in 21:33.46.

Chase Aiksnoras led the rest of the top 10 in sixth with a time of 21:50.87. Mt. Hope runner Gavin Stegall was seventh 22:17.32, followed by Bristol resident Robert Hamcock in 22:42.04, Warren youngster Ben Fallon in 22:54.46 and yet another Husky Jackson Lopes in 23:42.51.

Jourdan Cicchinelli, a Mt. Hope freshman, was the top female finisher and 11th overall in a time of 23:48.98. The next woman to cross was Warren resident Katelyn Pisano in 22nd with a time of 26:09.69.

"It was great. The last two years we had this event the weather was awful. When I woke up this morning to preview the course, I was bundled up because all week long it's been freezing at that time," MHHS track coach Renae Cicchinelli said of the race conditions.

She continued, "I looked weather and it said 40 degrees with a feel-like 26. But went out there to run the course and I was shedding layers. I was thinking this a great day for a 5k. I was really excited that we were going to have great weather."

Some 60 runners paid to enter the event, which Cicchinelli said was slightly down from previous years. The total, however, was nearly double the number who had signed up as of earlier in the week.

"We ended up having a great turnout...It was awesome," Cicchinelli added. "It was a great day and everybody ran a great race. It was a win. Everybody did an excellent job. It was a good time."

Cicchinelli thanked the community at-large and donors to the event for their continued support. She also made special mention of Molly Scarborough and Susan Lopes, who assisted in preparing the event, as well as the scorers from Wilbur Racing and the day's top donor, The Movement Laboratory physical therapy and rehabilitation center.

View complete results from the 2024 "I'd Rather Be Indoors" 5K at https://www.wilburracesystems.com/schedule_2024.

— East Bay Media Group and eastbayri.com contributing photographer Julie Furtado shot the accompanying gallery of photos.

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