New Memorial Day Weekend Event a Hit in Ocean City

More than 600 athletes competed Saturday morning (May 25) in a new Memorial Day Weekend athletic competition on the beach in Ocean City.

The StandUP4SEALS Beach Challenge included three separate events: a two-mile beach obstacle course race, a stand-up paddleboard race in the surf and a kids' fun run.

The unique events posed a challenge to participants, put on a good show for spectators on the beach and boardwalk, and helped raise money for the families of Navy SEALS killed in service.

"It's good to see so many people who remember what Memorial Day is truly about," said MacKenzie Tobin, a director of the 31 Heroes Project, named for the SEALS killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan on August 6, 2011. 

In a ceremony after the race, Tobin noted that all funds raised by the race go to support families of the fallen.

The event is a new addition to a busy Ocean City events schedule, but it fills a void on the Saturday of the first big holiday weekend of the season — and both participants and spectators were calling it a success.

With the ocean and air temperatures almost identical at 53 degrees at race time on Saturday morning, the weather provided an extra challenge.

Obstacles in the beach race included a water-filled pit sprayed by a fire hose, an Army crawl under the Ocean City Music Pier, carrying sand-filled sacks, calisthenics, balance beams and walls, as well as a mental challenge.

The SUP course carried individuals and relays through the surf and around a box course. 

The event concluded with a wreath-laying ceremony led by the SUP winner Sven Peltonen of Brigantine.

Race organizer Kristin Gallagher said 587 had registered for the combined events by Friday (May 24), but that figure did not include a wave of Friday evening and race-day registrations.

See complete results of the StandUP4SEALS races at runtheday.com.

Top individual finishers in the stand-up paddleboard (SUP) race incuded: 1) Sven Peltonen; 2) Jason Chew, and 3) Sean Duffey.

Top finishers in the obstacle race were: 1) William Scully, 38, 37:53; 2) Steph Maxwell (top female), 32, 41:53; and 3) Joe Pappano, 39, 42:23.

_________

Get Ocean City headlines and updates in your Facebook news feed: "Like" Ocean City Patch

Subscribe to our free morning newsletter: Ocean City Patch newsletter