By Mary O’KEEFE

Stephen Sullivan, Crescenta Valley High School graduate, Class of 2000, not only was the first person to cross the finish line at the CV Chamber of Commerce 5K Run on Saturday; he also set the record for the fastest time in the history of the organization’s event.

He ran the 5K in 18 minutes, 31 seconds.

He began running when his wife was pregnant with their second child.

“I realized I needed to get into shape,” he said.

He did run track and cross country at CVHS but hadn’t run in awhile. It took a little training, but he got back into running shape. He ran his first Los Angeles Marathon last year and finished with a time of 3.5. He now runs every morning, so the early morning start on Saturday for the chamber run didn’t faze him.

“It was good,” he said. “The course was challenging.”

The course began at Two Strike Park, across Orange/Santa Carlotta avenue to Frederick then back to Two Strike.

Linda Taix of Extreme Bootcamp started things off by warming up the runners with a series of exercises then it was time to take to the streets.

Participants received a T-shirt for their $20 donation.

The chamber run not only promotes a healthy lifestyle but also helps raise money for the organization to support its programs including distributing high school scholarships. It also allows those who run to share donations with other organizations, like Rosemont Middle School who students came out in force to support their school.

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  Mary Okeefe