In what promises to become a Memorial Day Weekend tradition in Ocean City, hundreds of competitors and spectators converged on the beach Saturday morning for the second annual StandUp4SEALS Beach Challenge.
The event consists of three simultaneous races, including a beach obstacle course, a stand-up paddleboard race and a kids’ run. Sponsored by sponsored by Xfiniti (Comcast) and others, the event raises money for the families of fallen Navy SEALS and other charities.
The obstacle course race over sand mounds and into sand pits and other hazards — and a stand-up paddleboard course that takes racers in and out of the surf — provided a spectacle for crowds on the Ocean City Boardwalk enjoying a sunny start to the holiday weekend.
Joe Switzer, a 36-year-old Somers Point police officer who worked a shift until midnight Friday, won the beach race in 28:37. Switzer, a former runner for Egg Harbor Township High School and The College of New Jersey, won the race by a wide margin.
He said he has completed “Tough Mudder” races, but Saturday’s event was “a little more explosive” with the soft sand and sand hills “burning you up.”
Switzer, like all the competitors, volunteers and spectators, said he was happy to support a “fantastic cause.”
StandUp4SEALS benefits the 31 Heroes Project, the Travis Manion Foundation and the Navy SEAL Foundation through their One Team One Fight partnership. Last year, it raised more than $35,000 for the causes.
Sven Peltonen repeated as individual winner of the stand-up paddleboard race.
Other sponsors of the event include Substructure, Inc; United Communities/First Montgomery Group; Dietz & Watson; Halliday-Leonard General Contractors; ShopRite and Fox Real Estate.
