Article Contributed by
National Comedy Center, Inc.
The National Comedy Center has announced that more than 700 runners participated in the third annual Lucy Town Half Marathon, 5K & Univera Kids 2K, including runners from 24 different states. Additionally, stand-up up comedian Joy Behar performed in front of a packed house at the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts during the weekend.
Greg Selke, 25, of North Chili and Trisha Byler, 31, of Rochester were the top male and female runners for the 13.1-mile half marathon that took place Sunday morning. For full results, photos, and information on next year’s event, visit www.lucyrace.com.
“I decided I needed to come, but wanted to come when there was something fun to do,” said Donna Sheehan who traveled from Winter Haven, FL. “I follow what’s happening in Jamestown via Facebook and thought ‘this is it, this is what I need to do’.”
The 2015 Lucy Town Half Marathon took place on October 11, and the Lucy Town 5K and Univera Kids 2K will each took place on October 10. The race weekend is held annually in Lucille Ball’s hometown of Jamestown, NY. For the third consecutive year, Univera Healthcare was the presenting sponsor for the weekend’s events. Local support for the race weekend was also provided by WCA Hospital, Shults Auto Group, The Legend Group, Wegmans, Advanced Manufacturing Technology and Justin’s.
“What brought us to Jamestown is I’m a huge Lucy fan, I’m a soon to be seven-year cancer survivor and I thought ‘why not take the opportunity and do something I’ve never done before’.” said one woman who traveled from Chicago, IL.
The Lucy Town Half Marathon & 5K race weekend has attracted participants from across the country annually since its creation in 2013, including both elite runners and Lucy fans alike. The inaugural year was headlined by Martin Short, and during the 2014 race weekend, Jamestown welcomed comedian Bob Newhart and paid tribute to the iconic I Love Lucy grape stomping scene as 1,232 people set a new world record for most people treading grapes.
California, Oregon, Washington and Arizona were just a few of the states represented by runners during the weekend.
Joy Behar, who performed at the Reg Lenna Center of the Arts on October 10th, is a comedic original and a leading woman both on stage and screen. She received an Emmy award for her performance on “The View”, where she was a member of the cast for sixteen years. She has hosted her own talk shows, “The Joy Behar Show” on CNN’s HLN and “Say Anything” on Current TV, and was a frequent substitute host on “Larry King Live.”
The weekend is a program of the National Comedy Center, Inc., which also produces the Lucille Ball Comedy Festival (www.lucycomedyfest.com) and operates the year-round Lucille Ball Desi Arnaz Museum (www.lucy-desi.com).