PORT HADLOCK — The annual Deer Run at Naval Magazine Indian Island saw the most runners ever with 225 finishing the event Saturday, the Navy said Tuesday.
Shawn Ellison, fitness specialist for Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR), kicked off the Deer Run festivities by singing the National Anthem for the crowd.
Many made the event a family outing. Paige and Andrew Clark, for instance, brought along their children, Kingston and Colton, in a two-seat stroller.
“We had great weather, a great turnout and great fun,” said Cmdr. Nick Vande Griend, commending officer of Naval Magazine Indian Island.
“We are already looking forward to next year’s Deer Run.”
The 2016 Deer Run coincided with the 75th anniversary of operation for the facility.
“The Navy began delivering ordnance for weapons storage right here 75 years ago,” Vande Griend said in a news release.
“It was just months before the attack on Pearl Harbor that the Navy set up shop here at Indian Island.”
Sixty-seven people participated in the 1-mile fun-run and 158 runners were in the 5K event, according to Phillip Guerrero, spokesman for Naval Magazine Indian Island.
Naval Base Kitsap MWR had fitness specialists from Naval Base Bremerton and Naval Base Bangor supporting the Deer Run this year.
“Our overriding concern has always been ‘how do we get the local civilian community involved in the Deer Run?’ ” said Julia McLaughlin, sports fitness aquatics director for Naval Base Kitsap.
“The Deer Run seems to grow annually and this year we saw more participants than ever before.”
Top finishers
Dylan Diras finished in first place overall in the 5K race with a time of 20 minutes, 18 seconds.
Angie McCormick was the first-place woman runner in the 5K race, finishing in a time of 21:45.
Isaiah Vande Griend finished in first place in the 1-mile fun-run with a time of 11:35, while Lia Crecelius was the first-place woman in the 1-mile run with a time of 11:49.
For more extensive race results and photos from Deer Run 2016 see the U.S. Navy Fleet and Family Readiness-Kitsap Facebook page.
