Mystic's Barres Wins 2011 Citizens Bank Newport Pell Bridge Run

Spyros Barres of Mystic, Conn., captured the 2011 Citizens Bank Newport Pell Bridge Run under crisp temperatures and bright sunny skies this morning. The 48 year-old Barres finished the 4.2-mile race in 22:32.

“This was a beautiful race. The sun was rising and the moon was at our back. No wind. It was just beautiful,” said Barres.

Barres ran with a small pack in front of the field and then broke free just before he reached the top of the Newport Pell Bridge. He kept a commanding lead the rest of the way en route to victory.

“You have to expend yourself going up the bridge to the top because you know you can recover in the half,” he said. “That’s what was going through my mind the way to the top.”

Trailing Barres was Warren Angell. The 48 year-old from Chepachet was clocked at 23:08. Brendan Akins, 26, of Old Lyme, Conn., finished third (23:36).

Portsmouth native Molly McCarthy, 29, was the top female overall with a winning time of 25:19.

“It was a perfect day,” said McCarthy. “My game plan was to crawl if it got too windy. But there was no wind. It was perfect. Running over the bridge was an amazing experience.”

Jacqueline Shakar, 52, was the runner-up among the women. She finished in 25:46. Middletown’s Kellie Tabor-Hann, 42, placed third (26:27)

Nearly 2,500 runners came from near and far to participate in today’s unique race that allowed runners to experience the scenic view while crossing over the Newport Pell Bridge.  The 4-mile run began in Jamestown, next to the RI Turnpike and Bridge Authority headquarters. Runners headed over the Newport Pell Bridge and then towards downtown Newport and finished at the Citizens Bank Washington Square Branch.

Eident Sports Marketing produced the race in partnership with Citizens Bank and the

 Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority.

The Citizens Bank Newport Pell Bridge Run, held in conjunction with Veterans Day weekend, benefits several local charities, including Operation Stand Down RI, Meeting Street, March of Dimes, The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center and Special Olympics Rhode Island.

About Citizens Bank

Citizens Bank is a division of RBS Citizens, N.A., operating its seven-state branch network in Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont. It has 82 branches and 195 ATMs in Rhode Island.

RBS Citizens, N.A. is a subsidiary of Citizens Financial Group, Inc., a $130 billion commercial bank holding company headquartered in Providence, R.I. CFG’s two bank subsidiaries are RBS Citizens, N.A. and Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania. They operate a 12-state branch network under the Citizens Bank brand in Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont, and the Charter One brand in Illinois, Michigan and Ohio. CFG has non-branch retail and commercial offices in about 40 states. CFG is owned by RBS (The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc). CFG’s website is citizensbank.com.  

About Eident Sports Marketing

Eident Sports is a full-service event management and sports marketing company based in Providence, RI.  Eident has several properties in the region, ranging from turnkey sporting events to sponsorship sales alliances with key partners. For more information on Eident’s events and offerings, please visit www.eidentsports.com

Information provided in a press release.