OCEAN CITY- With the weather cooperating despite a dismal forecast, the 3rd Annual St. Patrick’s Day Boardwalk 5K last Saturday was once again a huge success with several hundred runners turning out for the annual event.

Sponsored by OC Tri-Running, the St. Patrick’s Day Boardwalk 5K last Saturday drew over 700 runners from all over the country for the third annual race held the same day as Ocean City’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade for the benefit of Diakonia. The course started on the Boardwalk in the area of 3rd Street not far from the event’s main sponsor, Shenanigans. From there, the runners headed south on the Boardwalk around the Inlet pier and the Inlet parking lot to the tram station. From there, the course headed north again on the Boardwalk to the area of 16th Street, where runners turned around and head south again to the finish line at 3rd Street.

For the record, Alex Love of Pasadena, Md. was the top finisher, coming in at 17:53.3. Tom Yinger of Westminster, Md. was second, finishing in 17:46.7, while Scott Nolt of Lancaster, Pa., was third, finishing in 17:56.8. The top female finisher was Sarah Mandes, who completed the course in 19:46.2.

The top 10 local finishers included Nathan Croyle, Salisbury (7th); Nate Gregory, Ocean City (13th); Brook Hamrock, Berlin (14th); Peter Mohammadioun, Bishopville (18th); Brody Shockley, Ocean City (19th); Don Parana, Berlin (20th); John Moody, Salisbury (22nd); Rolfe Gudelsky, Ocean City (26th); Lap Nguyen, Pocomoke (28th) and Samuel Woodley, Ocean City (33rd).