The forecast for Saturday morning in Salisbury called for another round of significant rain. The 2nd Annual Veterans Administration Employees Association Hero 5K and Fun Run both beat that rain by minutes as a lively crowd of runners took to the streets on the VA campus at 9am. The VA police and volunteers, along with City of Salisbury staff, made sure that the course was safe for the runners as they ran and walked the two loop course.

Spencer’s Anthony Nero was the overall winner with a time of 18 minutes and 5 seconds. Patricia Dickenson clocked 25 minutes and 36 seconds to lead the women. The fun run was led by Ryan Moatman with a time of 3 minutes and 27 seconds. Grace Goldstein led the girls with her finish of 4 minutes and 25 seconds.

Salisbury’s Scott Weant, winner of the 50-54 age group, said, “I just want to thank all of the veterans for making this morning possible. My dad and several others are veterans and I appreciate what they have done. God bless the USA!”

Race director Michael Day added, “I want to thank our veterans, many of whom we serve every day at this facility, for making the sacrifice so that we can have events like this. I also want to thank our Medical Center Director, Kaye Green, our sponsors and our volunteers who came out today. We all worked extremely hard to make sure the safety concerns from last year’s race were addressed and that we could make this year’s event as enjoyable as possible for everyone. We are already looking forward to planning for next year.”

Title sponsor for the VAEA 5K and Fun Run was Premier Credit Union. Other major sponsors include Odell International, Carroll Fisher Construction, Tar Heel Communication, Party Rentals Plus, Curiosities Gifts and Summersett Funeral Home and Cremation Center.

Complete results are available at www.salisburyrowanrunners.org