‘Cape Cops 5K’ Run/Walk raises money for scholarship fund
Familiar faces and new ones turned out Saturday morning for the fifth annual “Cape Cops” 5K Run/Walk, despite the heat and sandy finish to the race.
Held at the Cape Coral Yacht Club, the event started at 7:30 a.m. with runners and walkers hitting the beach during the last tenth of the route for a tougher, sandier race. The event officially kicks off National Police Memorial Week, which is May 9-15 and honors those law enforcement officers who lost their lives serving in the line of duty.
Officer Jamie Bungard, a motorcycle officer with the Cape Coral Police Department, said Saturday was the fourth time he has participated in the annual event. Since joining the local police department in 2006, he has only missed one race because he was sick.
“It’s just fun to participate,” Bungard said. “It keeps me in shape and it’s for a good cause.”
This year, he finished the race in about 23 minutes and 30 seconds, not his fastest time but also not his slowest. Bungard was able to make up some time on the last tenth of the race when he passed a few participants on the sand of the Cape Coral Yacht Club Beach.
“That’s why this is unique,” he said the of event’s finish.
Bungard added that the morning heat can be a problem, but that a lot of people show.
“We usually have a good turnout, especially for how hot it is,” he said, noting that it is always a fun event overall. “It doesn’t matter if you run it or walk it, it’s a good time.”
For Stephanie Burnsed and Kathleen Barfield, both of Moore Haven in Glades County, the hourlong drive was well worth it. This was the first time that they had participated in the event, and they said they have every intention of making the drive again next year.
“Beautiful scenery,” Burnsed said. “It was an easy route.”
Minus the final stretch, they both added with a laugh.
“I never ran in sand like that before,” Burnsed, who has been running 5Ks for about eight years, said. “It was like running through mud.”
Barfield, 13, who has been running since age 7, called it her “hardest race.”
“It was very hot,” she said, adding that finishing the 5K on the beach did have at least one perk to it. “Because of the water. After the race, I just went and jumped right in.”
Burnsed finished the race in about 23 minutes and 42 seconds, an average time for her, while Barfield completed in about 29 minutes. Her slowest time, Barfield cited the heat.
Burnsed’s husband works for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, so she and Barfield take part in a lot of 5Ks, especially ones with law enforcement ties.
For the first time this year, the proceeds from the 5K will go toward a scholarship fund for the families of local, injured officers. According to Cindy Naumann, the community outreach program coordinator for the CCPD, about 300 people signed up to participate in Saturday’s 5K including 25-30 officers. There were also a lot of walk-ins, she added.
“Everybody had a chance to come out today and try to outrun a cop,” Naumann said.
She estimated that the event raised a “couple of thousand dollars” for the scholarship, and she said the participants “put everything they had into that last tenth” of the race.
“It went very smoothly,” Naumann said. “It was maybe a little warm, but it was fine.”
Awards were given in various categories and age groups. The fastest overall male was Erick Montoya of Fort Myers, and the fastest overall female was Tera Lynn of Naples.
The overall master winners were Manuel Montoya and Lori Fisher, both of Fort Myers; the overall grand master winners were Andi Boehm of Cape Coral and Carol Simonds of Fort Myers; and the overall senior grand master winners were Malcolm Miller of Fort Myers and Anke Stimpson of North Fort Myers.
An award was also handed out to the fastest Cape officer, who was Clint Atkinson.
The Cape Coral Yacht Club is located at 5819 Driftwood Parkway.
National Police Memorial Week was established in 1962 by President John F. Kennedy to recognize the service and sacrifice of law enforcement officers, according to officials.