Sunday, November 13th marked a record-breaking day in Princeton, New Jersey. The 10th Annual HiTOPS Princeton Half Marathon welcomed over 1,300 runners across the finish line at Paul Robeson Place after completing their 13.1 mile run on the beautiful, challenging course throughout historic Princeton.
A community of runners, spectators, partners, sponsors, and volunteers gathered on this cool fall morning to go the distance for all youth. Princeton Mayor, Mark Freda helped start the race, setting runners off on the course that traversed throughout historic Princeton, highlighting the landmarks of Princeton Battlefield, the Institute for Advanced Study (the home of Einstein), Princeton University, the Princeton Boathouse, Westminster Choir College, and more. The beauty of this USATF Certified Grand Prix course is not lost on these runners, nor on the enthusiastic race spectators that cheer runners along the roads and trails of historic Princeton. The course can be viewed here.
The female course record of 1:24:55 set in 2018 was broken by the top four female finishers. The new female course record holder is now Valentyna Veretska with a time of 1:18:06 (5:57 pace).
The HiTOPS Princeton Half Marathon was proud to welcome Valentyna to the race after her arrival from Ukraine just last week. She is an accomplished runner and is ranked 444th in the world of female runners. One of her many accomplishments in the sport include winning the Jerusalem Marathon one month to the day after fleeing Ukraine, wearing borrowed gear and without her coach (and husband). Her husband and daughter were on the sidelines in Princeton to cheer her on.
After the race, Valentyna posted on her social media, “Finally My first steps in sports life in USA are made. It’s a cold rainy day today, but that didn’t stop it… HiTOPS Princeton Half Marathon. The competition was great! Friendly almost family atmosphere, support throughout the race track, many new acquaintances and a lot of kind words in support of Ukraine. Princeton you will forever be in my heart. First place with a record of race for not an easy track .”
The nonbinary course record of 2:24:28 set in 2019 was broken by the top two nonbinary finishers. Amy Reed is the nonbinary course record holder with a time of 1:52:43 (8:33 pace).
While each race finisher was awarded a victory medal and cheers from spectators, a formal ceremony in the race’s Victory Village, recognized the top three overall male, female and nonbinary finishers and the top three finishers in designated age groups from 14 and under, to 85 and over. Top finishers included:
- Top Male Finishers: Kanato Goto 1:11:07, Jack Anderson 1:17:30, Vadim Aksenov 1:18:15
- Top Female Finishers: Valentyna Veretska 1:18:06, Caroline Kellner 1:20:00, Sarah Walker 1:23:40
- Top Nonbinary Finishers: Amy Reed 1:52:43, Mark Hinchliffe 2:08:42, Britt Lang 2:32:1
- A complete list of age group top finishers can be found here.
While we’ve highlighted nine specific accomplishments, there were so many more on race morning. Special thanks to the incredible pace team provided by Fleet Feet Princeton who helped so many reach their goals.
Race organizers would like to thank all our repeat participants. As of November 4th, data showed 2,722 people have run the race more than once, 602 people have run it four times, 55 people have run it eight times and 17 people have run it all TEN times! Congrats to our 10 Petes – Alexei Wedmid, Alison Lockman, Andrew Gow, Daniel Dart, Eric Hamblet, Ferran Valldosera, Gareth Funka-Lea, Gillian Cannon, Jonathan Daly, Larry Kanter, Leslie Rowley, Leticia Fraga, Mark Boulding, Matias Zaldarriaga, Ned Weiss, Rick Herwig, and Veronica Monroy. The full list of repeat participants can be found here. Jonathan Daly led this group as our top 10-Pete finisher in 2022.
The event drew runners from 36 states and participants from Canada, Germany, Sweden, Belgium & Mexico. The local Princeton community played a large role in the event’s success; The Municipality of Princeton and Mayor Mark Freda, Princeton Police, Princeton Health Department, Princeton University, The Princeton Clergy Association, Princeton Public Works, Princeton First Aid & Rescue Squad, Princeton Fire & Police, Mercer County Sheriff’s Office, Fire Police Officers, Westminster Choir College Security, Medcycle, Volunteer Coordinator Clare Millington, all our volunteers, and of course our Race Director, Courtney Newman, who make this event possible.
The 2022 race also made strides in reducing its environmental impact. In a partnership with Trees Not Tees, 100 participants opted to plant a tree instead of taking a race shirt to contribute to Trees Not Tees’ goal of planting 1 million trees. Each participant will be awarded a certificate for their contribution to the project. Plus, 300 pounds of race food was recovered and donated to the Rescue Mission of Trenton in partnership with Share My Meals.
As tradition dictates, a celebratory Kegs and Eggs after-party was held at Princeton’s Alchemist & Barrister, where runners, sponsors, organizers, spectators, and volunteers cheered the day’s accomplishments.
RACE HISTORY & FACTS
- Celebrating its 10th year, the HiTOPS Princeton Half Marathon is Princeton’s largest annual USATF Certified Grand Prix running event
Race website: HiTOPSPrincetonHalf.com - Proceeds from sponsorships, registration fees, fundraising efforts, and donations benefit HITOPS programs and services. Since its inception, the event has generated over $1,000,000!
RACE SPONSORS
- Presenting Sponsor, NRG Energy
- Trojan; Bristol Myers Squibb; 94.5 PST; Princeton Online; Princeton Family YMCA; Fleet Feet Princeton; Bracco Diagnostics, Inc.; Bryn Mawr Trust; JAG-ONE; Bee Fit With Tracy; The Alchemist & Barrister; Wegmans; Atheltifreak; Share My Meals; First Bank; Penn Medicine; Siemens Healthineers; People Management, Inc.; Hamilton Jewelers; Holman; Bank of Princeton; Max Bussel & Company; Princeton Medical Institute; Meagher Emanuel Laks Goldberg & Liao, LLP; Princeton Record Exchange; University Radiology; and McCaffrey’s.