West Deptford Park Summer Series 5K Races Start July 15

Strap on your running shoes and start hydrating—West Deptford’s annual Summer Series 5K races start next week.

The five-race series, which benefits the West Deptford High School cross-country program, takes runners in and around West Deptford Park, with a combination of road and trail races through the middle of August.

It’s strictly no-frills competition—just you, your fellow runners and the clock, with no commemorative T-shirts or medals.

But racing won’t ding your wallet, either—each race is $6 for adults, or $25 for the series, and $4 for anyone under 18, or $15 for the entire series.

The series is bookended by races on the high school’s cross-country course, a challenging track that cuts through the woods and fields around West Deptford Park, including plenty of hills, a handful of bridges and twisted trails.

And if the daily storms keep up, be prepared for mud—potentially lots of it.

The other three races are all on a road course that takes a jog into the neighboring industrial park, then finishes back inside the park. The first of those three is a regular 5K race, but the other two take a slightly different tack—one is a prediction run, where the runner who comes closest to predicting his or her time is the winner, and the other is a special format still to be announced.

All races, regardless of format, use computerized timing.

Registration for each race opens at 6:15 p.m., with the start gun at 7 p.m.

The series lineup:

July 15—cross-country course

July 22—road course

July 29—road course (special race, TBA)

Aug. 5—road course (prediction run)

Aug. 12—cross-country course