Berwick Run for the Diamonds
Encyclopedia
Berwick Run for The Diamonds is a nine-mile race
starting and ending on Market Street in downtown Berwick, Pennsylvania
.
It is held every year on Thanksgiving Day and has been since 1908.
The first race had only 13 participants. The course has remained essentially unchanged since 1908, running up a very challenging hill and through the countryside of Summerhill. No women competed officially until 1972 when two women ran. The one hundredth running of the annual event was held in 2009. It was canceled twice due to World War I
in 1918 and 1919.
The race was for years called the "Berwick Marathon
". But since the race is too short to qualify as a marathon, and winners receive diamonds as part of their prize, the name was changed to "Run for the Diamonds".
The number of participants has grown dramatically, from about 100 runners in 1973 to 1,985 runners in 2009. The course record is 43:21 set in 1980 by Pete Plitzger.
Racing
A sport race is a competition of speed, against an objective criterion, usually a clock or to a specific point. The competitors in a race try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time...
starting and ending on Market Street in downtown Berwick, Pennsylvania
Berwick, Pennsylvania
Berwick is a borough in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, 22.6 miles southwest of Wilkes Barre. Berwick is one of two principal cities of the Bloomsburg–Berwick Micropolitan Statistical Area, a micropolitan area that covers Columbia and Montour counties and had a combined population of 82,387...
.
It is held every year on Thanksgiving Day and has been since 1908.
The first race had only 13 participants. The course has remained essentially unchanged since 1908, running up a very challenging hill and through the countryside of Summerhill. No women competed officially until 1972 when two women ran. The one hundredth running of the annual event was held in 2009. It was canceled twice due to World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
in 1918 and 1919.
The race was for years called the "Berwick Marathon
Marathon
The marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres , that is usually run as a road race...
". But since the race is too short to qualify as a marathon, and winners receive diamonds as part of their prize, the name was changed to "Run for the Diamonds".
The number of participants has grown dramatically, from about 100 runners in 1973 to 1,985 runners in 2009. The course record is 43:21 set in 1980 by Pete Plitzger.