Celebrating its 9th year on November 2
The Mushroom Cap Half Marathon: The race with no finish line
By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer
In 2015, Karen DiMascola and Sarah Nurry – the mothers of two lacrosse-playing sons – met on the sidelines during a game, fresh off the respective courses of the long-distance runs they had competed in that morning.
DiMascola had just finished a half marathon in Rehoboth, Del. and Nurry had just arrived from the Broad Street Run in Philadelphia, a distance of ten miles.
“Karen and I began talking about the beauty of where we live and how gorgeous the roads we train on are, and that was when we thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be great to have a half marathon that illuminates the beauty of Chester County instead of having competitors hop on major highways to get to a race and then navigating along city streets?’” Nurry said.
From that initial discussion came the idea to create a road race that would serve two purposes: as a 13.1-mile-long postcard of life in southern Chester County that flowed like a river stream past neighborhoods and farms, and as a fundraising event whose profits would be directed toward area non-profit organizations. Over the course of the next several months, DiMascola, Nurry and Kara
Gibbons formed Run2Shine, the fundraising wing of their brand-new venture, and on Sept. 15, 2016, the first Mushroom Cap Half Marathon took off from the track at Kennett High School with more than 700 runners in tow.
“I was a bundle of nerves that morning,” Nurry said. “It was our very first race and we didn’t have a playbook, but seeing over 700 runners come through the gates to Kennett Stadium and line up at the start of the race was incredible. All I remember thinking and hoping for was that I wanted everyone to have the experience of what the Mushroom Cap has become.”
They did, and over the past eight years, they have continued to lace up their running shoes and participate in a race whose impact is felt far beyond the winding roads of race day. In short, it has become a
Courtesy photo
The Mushroom Cap Half Marathon will be held on Nov. 2 that will take hundreds of runners through Kennett Square. Continued on Page 8
A
race with no finish line
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race with no finish line, and on November 2, what began as an idea between two runners will celebrate its ninth year, with over 800 competitors expected to take off from Birch Street in Kennett Square in either a half marathon or a five-mile run. Since 2016, Gibbons has played a major role in helping to define – and refine – the profile of the Mushroom Cap Half Marathon, from marketing the event to meeting with donors and sponsoring businesses to coordinating the race’s more than 250 volunteers, including the more than 100 who will be patrolling aid stations along the course route. This year, she will be overseeing a team of volunteers from The Mighty Writers, the softball team from Lincoln University, the Kennett High School Marching Band, the Kennett Middle School’s Af-
ter-the-Bell program, as well as members of local robotics, cheerleading, baseball and football teams.
“As we continue to grow this race, our theme for 2024 is to continue to put Kennett Square on the map as a half marathon destination – to include our hotels and restaurants and highlight our sponsors, as a way to bring people to Kennett Square,” Gibbons said. “We are the mushroom capital of the world, and we have an amazing festival to celebrate that, but we also have a half marathon that further promotes who we are as a community.
“We already have runners registered from California, Texas, Vermont and New York for this year’s race, and as a person who lives in Kennett Borough, I love the fact that we’re playing a small role in promoting a community that has meant so much to me.”
As in past events, this year’s Mushroom Cap Half Marathon will not end when the last runner crosses the finish line. Rather, it will serve as the
kick-off to the stunning “other side” of the race’s mission: to make a better community. Since its conception, Run2Shine has donated more than $78,000 to local non-profit organizations.
“From the beginning, Run2Shine’s mission has been about promoting healthy lifestyles and giving back to the community,” Nurry said. “The primary focus of our efforts has been to explore a possible end to food insecurity, helping to overcome homelessness and providing educational support that is needed in our communities,” Nurry said. “We also have given back to non-profits that assist cancer patients, especially for children at the Nemours Children’s Hospital in Wilmington.
“For such a small community of organizers and volunteers and runners, we have truly made a difference in so many people’s lives.”
Photo by Richard L. Gaw Mushroom Cap co-Director Kara Gibbons, right, with long-time race participant and “Shroomie” Betty Olmstead.
Photo by Richard L. Gaw
Mushroom Cap Half Marathon co-founders Sarah Nurry, left, and Karen DiMascola founded the race in 2015.
Q & A: Becky O’Loughlin and Laura Grant of Chatham Financial
By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer
Since the Mushroom Cap Half Marathon’s beginning in 2016, several companies have consistently been at the forefront of support. Among them has been Chatham Financial, who has not only served as a sponsor of the event, but many of its team members also serve as volunteers and competitors. Recently, I met with Chief People Officer Becky O’Loughlin and President Laura Grant to talk about the continuing partnership between two entities whose mission is to better the lives of the people and the communities they both serve.
Chatham Financial’s impact on the Mushroom Cap Half Marathon over the past eight years has been huge, and it is felt not just with its sponsorship but with staff involvement in the race. There are likely several reasons why your partnership is so strong, but what is it about this race that keeps the company lacing its up its running shoes and lending support, year after year?
Laura: From my perspective, it’s a great combination of giving back to the community and engaging our employees in the community. The participation has been growing over the years. At last year’s race, we had 80 runners participate as well as several volunteers who helped along the race route. It’s a fun activity for us as a team to be a part of; it connects us outside of work in a way that gives back to the community.
Becky: I ran the Mushroom Cap in 2023, and it seemed that on every corner throughout the course, I saw members of the Chatham team, whether they were runners or volunteers. We also encourage our many families to come out to the race to cheer on their moms, dads and family members.
The imprint that Chatham Financial continues to make on the Kennett Square and Chester County communities is written in its core mission: “To have a positive impact on everyone we serve, internally and externally, and around the world.” Chatham Financial supports its communi-
ties by giving 1 percent of its profits to charitable organizations and encouraging every employee to give 1 percent of their paid company time to community initiatives. What are the factors and philosophy that helps to drive that mission?
Laura: It’s been a part of Chatham’s DNA from the beginning and a foundation that [Chatham Financial Founder] Michael Bontrager really laid down when he founded the company and established multiple purposes, and one of those was to impact the communities and the world. We want to do something bigger and more meaningful as a forprofit company than just making money. A big part of our engagement in the community is to build that ecosystem that attracts people to that community – to create a community where people can thrive.
For Chatham Financial, it allows us to attract not only top talent but members who want to give back to the communities they live in.
Becky: It comes down to our purpose. We know that we do important work for our clients and how we do that is through the brilliant and smart team and the create solutions that they offer, but what it produces and serves is much bigger than that. People want to feel like they are a part of something bigger, and to come in and see and feel what this company actually does is most significant. This race
Photo by Richard L. Gaw
Chatham Financial President Laura Grant, left, with Chatham’s Chief People Officer Becky O’Loughlin.
is one small piece of what has become something so much bigger and has a ripple effect not just in Kennett Square but at our offices all over the world.
In order to live an enriching life, you need to do more and serve more, so we support encouraging our members to serve their community in a way that makes sense to them.
How many team members will we expect to see and what will they be doing on the morning of Nov. 2?
Becky: We have 58 runners signed up as of late September, and we’re still encouraging registration and hoping that others join in. I think we’ll see another year of large Chatham participation in any role they choose to play. There are some very competitive people at Cha-
tham, so there might be some innercompany competition happening.
Will we see the two of you on the course?
Laura: I plan to run the five-miler.
Becky: I will unfortunately miss the race, as I will be in Arizona that weekend, but I will be sending some serious Becky vibes to all our team members and their families.
For those readers of this supplement who have not yet entered or attended the Mushroom Cap 13.1 half marathon, what do you wish to tell them about the race and the entire atmosphere of what has taken place since 2016?
Becky: I run a couple half marathons a year, and I very purposely choose flat
courses, so knowing the rolling hills of Kennett Square, I was a little intimidated by the course. I ran by myself, but I felt like I was running in my neighborhood with my friends. It was more challenging, but it was beautiful, and it was the most community-based run I have ever participated in. I am used to big city runs where I feel like I am being herded like cattle up to the starting gate, but at the Mushroom Cap, we all started the race together and people were all along the course cheering us on.
Laura: This will be my third Mushroom Cap race. It’s fun to see so many familiar faces that day. I grew up in the area, so I have gotten to know a lot of people in Kennett Square, and it’s so encouraging to see those familiar faces along the course.
RACE INFORMATION
HALF MARATHON
Time: 8:00 a.m.
Start Line: Birch Street and Church Alley
Time Limit: 3.5 hours from participants start time
FUNGI 5 MILER
Time: 8:00 a.m.
Start Line: Birch Street and Church Alley
Time Limit: 3.5 Hours from participants start time
Runners will receive a finisher medal, premium runner swag, complimentary finisher beer, a post-race nosh, live music and an invitation to enjoy the Community Post Race Festival
PACKET PICK-UP
1. Wednesday, October 30, from 3-6 p.m.
Join us at Philadelphia Runner in Glen Mills, Pa. for packet pick up, 10 percent discount on store purchases, complimentary GU Energy Gels, and hydration samples. Location: 505 Glen Eagle Square, Glen Mills Pa. 19342
2. Friday, November 1, from 5-7 p.m.
Join us at The Square to pick up your bib, shirt, pins and then head to Victory Tap Room for a complimentary beer when
you show your beer ticket. Location: The Square @ The Race Zone (The New Borough Municipality Parking Lot) 600 South Broad Street, Kennett Square Pa. 19348
3. Saturday, November 2 (prerace) from 6:30-7:35 a.m. sharp
Race Day packet pickup is limited to out-of-town runners ONLY.
If you are a local runner and you pick up your packet on the morning of the race between 7:00 a.m. to 7:45 a.m sharp, there will be a required $10 donation to the Kennett Square Police Department.
RUNNING AS A TEAM
Have a large group? Interested in starting a Shroomie Team?
Having the support of your shroomies during your training and race is priceless. Regardless of when your teammates register, the entire group will get a $10 refund once your team reaches 10 or more members. The refund will go directly back to the card used to pay for registration. PLUS there’s potential for teams to win extra prizes and deals.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
When registering you will have
the option to Join a Group/ Team. All Members of a TEAM are linked by their team name and password. As your team grows, everyone benefits, even those who register first! The system will automatically refund everyone on the team who has already registered and charge the new team members the new rate. Once
you hit 10 shroomies, the first 9 to register will automatically receive a $10 refund to their card, and the 10th member (and anyone else who registers after that!) will get the discounted rate automatically. Registrants that do not initially register with their group may not be eligible for refunds or discounts.
Kennett Running Club: First comes friends, then comes running
By Gabbie Burton Contributing Writer
Over the past summer, it seemed sports and athletics clubs were popping up everywhere. While the pickleball and pilates hype ever continued, it seemed there was a new “it” exercise club taking over: running clubs. From articles in The New York Times and Wall Street Journal to TikToks explaining the phenomenon, it seemed like a running club was the hotter place to be
than an actual nightclub this summer. However, for Josh Aversa and his fellow members at Kennett Running Club, the hype for this hobby is nothing new and just as hot as ever, because after all, the club began eight years ago at the Kennett Brewing Company, and Aversa has been a member for seven of those years.
“We started at a brewery which indicates the social aspect of Kennett Running Club,” Aversa said. “We’re more social than a traditional running club.”
Now that the Kennett Brewing Company
has closed, the club’s weekly runs start and finish at Braeloch Brewing on Birch Street Kennett Square. On every Thursday beginning at 6:30 p.m., club members meet at the brewery before embarking on their runs. While most embark on distances generally the same length of a 5K, they reunite back at Braeloch to socialize, eat, have a few beverages and talk about each other’s runs.
Putting the social aspect above the physical allows the club to be welcoming
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Run2Shine: Who we are and what we do
Run2Shine, a non-profit 501(c)(3), was started in 2015 by local avid runners, Karen DiMascola, Kara Gibbons and Sarah Nurry. Runners who love running as much as they love giving. Together with the help of their community, Run2Shine produces The Mushroom Cap Half Marathon, an annual racing event that brings over 3,000 people into Kennett Square celebrating all things running, mushrooms,
health, community and giving. To date, Run2Shine has donated nearly $80,000 to local charitable partners that support members of local Chester County communities through advocacy, education, health, and aid to families in need. Run2Shine is excited to offer the opportunity for non-profit organizations to utilize our event for your fundraising purposes. Visit us at www.mushroomcaphalf.com.
OUR OFFICIAL SPONSORS
Run2Shine wishes to send a generous thanks to all of the sponsors and partners of this year’s Mushroom Cap Half Marathon and Fungi 5 Miler.
Action Potential
Artelo
Baily’s Dairy
Calabrese Arts
Casale Events
Chatham Financial
Chester County PRESS
Constellation
These relationships and the enthusiasm of the Kennett Square’s community and participants make this event possible!
The Law Office of David B. Myers, LLC
Del Auto Group
Dr. Katherine Ellis, sex therapist
Girls on the Run
Herr’s
Kennett Square Apartments
Knox Equipment Rental
KSquared Health Coaching
Launch Design Collective
The Market at Liberty Place
Natalie’s Fine Foods
Noland Painting
NRP Heating & Cooling
Paiya
Philadelphia Runner
Pollock Music Lessons, LLC
The Produce Place
Right Hand Glam
A Special Partnership
By joining forces with Hiccup Earth, The Mushroom Cap Half Marathon is taking a crucial step towards reducing our carbon footprint and minimizing our impact of plastic cups on the environment. Hiccup Earth is a pioneering reusable cup service that aims to eliminate the need for single-use plastic cups in landfills and recycling plants.
Rory Burkhart Team
Sovana Bistro
Verde Fresh Market Cafe
Victory Brewing Company
Waywood Beverage, Inc.
Wegmans
Wolf Disposal
Wyncote Golf Club
Calabrese Arts
Dr. Katherine Ellis, sex therapist Girls on the Run
Paiya
THE 2023 MUSHROOM CA
AP HALF MAR ATHON
IN PHOTOS
On Nov. 4, 2023, backed by the support of corporate sponsor Chatham Financial, more than one dozen area businesses and 130 volunteers, the Mushroom Cap Half Marathon and Fungi 5-miler drew 671 entries for races that wove their way through Kennett Square Borough and parts of Unionville and dotted by nutrition stations along the routes.
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5-Miler were Otto Cao of Oxford (30:51); Theo Penders of West Chester (31:31): and Tim Beatson of
Amy Peloquin of Kennett Square (36:32); Lara Costa of West Grove (37:59); and Acacia Schelp of Kennett Square (39:18).
The Mushroom Cap Half Marathon drew 447 entrants, and was won by Charlie Schuetz of Mendham, N.J. with a time of 1:15:55. Elaine Estes of
included Elizabeth Doherty of Lancaster (1:28:27); Emily O’Neill of Chester Springs (1:34:04); and Sandy Howe of Philadelphia (1:34:21).
Kennett Running Club
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to everyone, no matter their background or prior run experience. The point of Kennett Running Club is to socialize, make friends and enjoy the sport.
This emphasis on the social feature of run clubs seems to be popular outside of Kennett as well. Just this past June, The New York Times published an article about how run clubs are the “new dating apps,” and an explosion of social media activity on this phenomenon quickly filled phones everywhere. Some run clubs even go so far as to instruct singles to wear different colors if they are looking for a new relationship.
While Kennett Running Club has tak-
en no such steps for the dating scene, Aversa did confirm there may have been
a time or two of runners finding a date at the club, though it’s been nothing quite to
Courtesy photo
Members of Kennett Running Club are regular participants in the Mushroom Cap Half Marathon and are seen here preparing for the 2023 run.
the extent that social media has shown. The fostering of friendship is instead the focus of this particular run club.
“People find and make friends that they continue to have outside of the club, so there is a social aspect outside of the Thursday nights that people end up doing with each other,” Aversa said.
The club’s camaraderie fosters a “positive peer pressure,” which according to Aversa keeps the runners motivated on their athletic goals as well as their social.
“If you take a step fast, you’re a runner,” Aversa said. “Our emphasis is on being active and getting out there and if you do that, chances are that you will find encouraging friends.”
It is through this encouragement that many members of the club participate in races outside of the club together,
including the upcoming Mushroom Cap Half Marathon, where they make up one of the largest contingents in the annual race.
“Along with the Kennett Run in May, the Mushroom Cap Half Marathon is one of our favorite races in the area and together, they form our anchoring runs,” Aversa said. “They’re both a beautiful countryside run and a challenging run with plenty of hills.”
Although the Mushroom Cap Half Marathon course is paved with challenges for runners, Aversa said that the club continues to place less emphasis on managing steep hills and more attention on building connections and participating in community.
“Being able to run in your community and being able to do it from town out to
the countryside, north of Kennett Square is really fun for the entire group,” he said.
To learn more about Kennett Running Club, visit it on its Facebook page.
Courtesy photo
Kennett Running members meet once a week for running sessions in the Kennett Square area, followed by socializing at the Braeloch Brewing Company.
Sept. 15, 2016: Looking back at the first Mushroom Cap 13.1 Half Marathon
By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer
WhenI first walked into Kennett Stadium at 5:30 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 15, 2016, the sun had not yet emerged over the water tower beyond the east goal of the Kennett High School football field and everything and everyone there seemed cloaked in the hazy pantone of cobalt blue.
The peculiar time of my arrival – when most residents of southern Chester County were still fast asleep – was in connection with what would be my Press coverage of the first Mushroom Cap Half Marathon, then sponsored by Victory Brewing Company. Ahead in the distant darkness, I began to make out dozens and dozens of runners stretching and running through the gray fog and the kaleidoscope of portable flashlights fixed atop their heads. The temperature had not yet cracked 50 degrees, and several runners – some of whom had begun arriving at 4 a.m. – exhaled foggy pockets of mist that floated above them like small clouds.
Some ran sprints on the rust-colored track. Some sipped on sports drinks. Some guzzled down coffee and protein bars, while a few decided that the best pre-race activity was lying motionless on the dew-soaked stadium turf.
In near darkness, 700 runners comprising every body type and wearing the running attire that took up the entirety of the world’s known patinas were gathering at the start of a race that had never
been run before – lab animals in running shoes who were about to burst through the starting gate and enter the streets of Kennett Square and beyond as part of a large experiment and colossal dream that was created in 2015 by local runners Sarah Nurry and Karen DiMascola to raise funding for local organizations.
Nurry and DiMascola – supported by coorganizer Kara Gibbons – had worked side-byside with hundreds of volunteers to make the dream a realized one, and now, at a few moments before 7 a.m., hundreds of runners approached the starting line, standing behind a contingent from the Oxford chapter of The Weekly Fight, a national organization made up of veterans to provide assistance and services to other veterans struggling with post-traumatic syndrome through physical fitness and camaraderie. From the stadium’s press box, Nurry’s daughter Hailey sang The National Anthem, and the race was off
The 13.1-mile race wound its way through the streets of Kennett Square and entered Willowdale, along North Mill Road, Poplar Tree Road and Wollaston Road and back to Kennett High School.
As I watched the start of the race from
the Kennett side of the stadium, I admired how the sun, just beginning to pop over the horizon, illuminated off of the runners’ backs as they disappeared into the borough’s streets. No one knew at that moment – not Nurry or DiMascola or Gibbons or the hundreds of volunteers or any of the 700 runners – what the future of the Mushroom Cap Half Marathon would look like, or even if there would be a second race. No one knew that in December of that year, the race’s fundraising organization Run2Shine, Inc. would distribute the first of its efforts to three community organizations, as well as the Grayson Saves Foundation, to help fund research for pediatric brain tumors.
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Photo by Richard L. Gaw
The inaugural run of the Mushroom Cap Half Marathon on Sept. 15, 2016.
Sept. 15, 2016
Continued from page 28
As the start of this race was being run, no one knew that over the course of its eight events – its ninth will take place on Nov. 2. – Run2Shine, Inc. would distribute nearly $80,000 to more than two dozen local non-profit agencies, and that it would become one of the premiere running events of its kind in the Mid-Atlantic region and draw runners from across the country and Europe.
And of course, no one knew at the time nor could predict the lasting impact this race would have on the thousands of people who would become its truest
beneficiaries – those whose lives are enriched by the funding non-profit agencies receive from Run2Shine, Inc.
There is an undefined beauty to what is not yet known but nonetheless pursued. On Nov. 2, at about that same early time the first Mushroom Cap Half Marathon saw 700 runners compete, the race that has written its own chapter in the book of Kennett Square’s generous spirit will take off for the ninth time and its runners will continue to do as they have done from the beginning, to find their way to a glorious finish at a race that has just begun.
MUSHROOM CAP HALF MARATHON
Steven Hoffman ...........Managing Editor
Richard L. Gaw .............Associate Editor
Brenda Butt ...................Office Manager
Alan E. Turns ................Advertising Director
Helen E. Warren ...........Advertising Executive
Teri Turns .......................Advertising Executive
Tricia Hoadley ...............Art Director
Sherry Hutchinson ......Graphic Design
