Fourth of July Road Race Brought in Staggering Haul

Remember that Fourth of July Road Race a couple weeks ago that brought out hundreds of runners in the scorching heat?

It turns out the effort was well worth it. The race raised more than $24,000 for the Friends of the North Andover Senior Center.

"We're pleased to say that every penny of it is going to go to the North Andover Senior Center," Chris Marshall of the Borderline Runners Club said.

Marshall especially thanked Selectman Bill Gordon, saying the fundraising collaboration was Gordon's "brainchild" when Gordon approached him about it last November. Marshall also thanked the North Andover Merchants Association and various individual businesses for contributing.

The race and Fun Run were pretty big this year, with about 1,000 runners (including adults and kids). Almost 800 people registered for the race itself and about half of them registered in the couple weeks leading up to the race. And 719 people actually finished the race.

Martha Cashions, president of Friends of North Andover Senior Center, was elated. She was joined by other members of that group to show their appreciation (and their amazement when they heard the amount of money raised).

"I just want to thank you for all that you've done for us," Cashions said. "It was just a wonderful event. I was there, I brought my grandkids and it was a wonderful community event. We don't have an exact destination for that money but don't worry we're working on that."