WILKES-BARRE — Jonathan Renfer won top honors in the Max Fine Memorial 5K Run April 28 over the flat and fast downtown course, finishing in 19 minutes and 19 seconds.
Renfer, a 15-year-old from Pittston Township who is a freshman and runs on the Holy Redeemer junior high track and cross country teams, outdistanced second-place finisher, Bryan Herbst, 37, of Mountain Top, by 10 seconds. George Dunbar, 55, of Old Forge, finished third-overall, 1:09 behind Herbst.
“I started out at race pace,” Renfer, who is a middle-distance and sprint specialist, told the Times Leader. “At one mile, I picked up the pace, and by mile 2, I had increased my lead. Then I kept pushing, because I felt someone was coming up on me.”
Renfer finished second in last year’s race, 2:07 behind last year’s winner, John Martino, of Dallas, who clocked in at 17:30. This year, he topped a field of 33 runners.
The Max Fine Memorial 5K Run raises funds for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Fine died from the disease in 2011 at age 61.
