Runners line up behind the starting line, waiting for the run to begin.
Margaret Roarty | Times Leader
Wyoming Valley Striders celebrate anniversary with annual Cherry Blossom run
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Overall winner Chris Wadas, 43, of Plains, takes a breather after finshing the run.
Margaret Roarty | Times Leader
Nearly 200 participants signed up for the run Sunday. Aside from the 2021 post-COVID running boom, that’s the most sign-ups the club has had in 33 years.
Margaret Roarty | Times Leader
Runners take off at 9 a.m. Sunday for the Wyoming Valley Striders annual Cherry Blossom 5 Mile Run.
Margaret Roarty | Times Leader
Robert Moulton (left), 32, of Kingston, finshes the run as overall runner-up, 8 seconds behind winner Chris Wadas.
Margaret Roarty | Times Leader
WVS Secretary and Informal Run Coordinator Linda Wojnar-Krasnavage speaks into a microphone, attempting to coral the runners before the race begins.
Margaret Roarty | Times Leader
Past winners, from 1989 to 2024, pose for a photo before the start of the race.
Margaret Roarty | Times Leader
Donald Bird, 36, of Clarks Summit, who placed third-overall in the run, is inches from the finish line.
Margaret Roarty | Times Leader
Stephanie Curto, 31, of Moscow, the top female finisher, crosses the finish line at 34 minutes, 37 seconds.
Courtesy of the Wyoming Valley Striders
WILKES-BARRE — The Wyoming Valley Striders continued its 50th anniversary year Sunday with the run that started it all — the Cherry Blossom 5 Mile Run in Kirby Park.
200 runners signed up to participate in the milestone event. Aside from the 2021 post-COVID running boom, that’s the most sign-ups the club has had in 33 years, according Race Director Traci Strungis.
More than a dozen of those runners were past winners, dating back to 1989.
“It’s a very special day because its part of our history,” Strungis said. “We’re very pleased with the turnout.”
The first Cherry Blossom race took place on May 4, 1975, behind the Luzerne County Courthouse and became the first ever road race held in the Valley.
On Sunday, runners took off in the meadow of Kirby Park, near the tennis courts, and ran across the dike to the end of the levee in Kingston and back.
Participants began spilling into the park as early as 7:30 a.m., with the first 180 runners receiving a commemorative 50th anniversary umbrella to mark the milestone run.
Amanda Zigler, 37, of Berwick, participated in the race for the first time Sunday.
“I was looking for a local race this weekend and this one fit my schedule perfectly,” she said. “I signed up kind of on a whim.”
Zigler’s, who’s been running for nearly a decade, said her favorite part is pushing herself to get better every year.
“I love the challenge,” she said.
Theresa Conrad, of Bloomsburg, was another first-time runner Sunday, who said she was eager to finally check out the event after years of seeing the Wyoming Valley Striders post about it on social media.
“The whole thing just drew me in,” Conrad said. “I’m excited to check it out.”
She also said she loves getting to run new courses, although the weather was less than desirable.
“It’s a little chilly and windy,” she said while laughing. “But I’m sure once we get going, I’ll be good.”
Top honors
Chris Wadas, 43, of Plains Township, was the top finisher of the race overall, crossing the finish line at 28 minutes, 8 seconds.
Wadas, who won previously in 2006 and 2012, is the head cross country and track & field coach at Misericordia University.
Wadas finished 8 seconds ahead of runner-up Robert Moulton, 32, of Kingston.
Moulton, a 4-time past winner, is the head cross country and track coach at Crestwood High School.
Rounding out the overall top three was Donald Bird, 36, of Clarks Summit, who finished the run with a posted time of 29 minutes, 27 seconds.
Stephanie Curto, 31, of Moscow, was the top female finisher, crossing the finish line in 34 minutes, 37 seconds. Curto, making her Cherry Blossom debut, finished 23rd overall.
Josey Acosta, 32, of Stem, North Carolina, came in second with a posted time of 34 minutes, 53 seconds, followed by Julie Piazza, 39, of Tunkhannack, who finished the race in 35 minutes, 1 second.
Upon finishing the run, Wadas collapsed to the ground, exhausted.
“It feels good,” Wadas said, once he got his barrings. “I’m happy to be out here 20 years after I ran in this for the first time.”
Something the cross country coach was not happy about? The wind.
“You hit any kind of wind on that levee and it is absolutely brutal. It was blasting me in the face,” he said.
Wadas, who began running at 19 while in college, said he met most of his best friends from participating in the sport.
“First off, running doesn’t owe you anything. But most of the time, when you put the work in, you get something out of it,” he said.
Bird, who participated in the race back in 2021, was excited to be back for the 50th anniversary.
“It’s an excellent race and a really good tune up for some of the races I have coming up,” he said.
The Cherry Blossom 5 Mile Run is part of the Wyoming Valley Striders 6th annual Vince Wojnar Triple Crown, along with the Winter’s End 4.5 Mile Run held March 23 and the upcoming 20k Run on Nov. 9.
The Striders next race is thr Spring Trail 5.3 Mile Run/Jen Stec Memorial on May 18 at Frances Slocum State Park in Wyoming. Registration ends at noon on May 16.
As part of the Striders’ 50th anniversary celebrations, past race winners were invited to run the race they previously won.
Race winners for any remaining races of 2025 should email [email protected] to claim their entry for the race they won.
For complete race results, visit athlink.com