The Gorham Knights of Columbus held their annual 5K Walk or Run on Saturday, Oct. 11 at Shaw Cherry Hill Farm in Gorham. They usually hold this 5K fundraiser at St. Anne’s Church and end there, but in the third year of this annual event, they wanted to make a bigger impact. So they held the race at Cherry Hill, and this year 100% of the proceeds goes to four local food pantries: Gorham Food Pantry, Buxton Food Cupboard, Standish Food Pantry, and Buxton Community Food Pantry. 

Winning for the men was Brian Way, 28, from Scarborough with a finishing time of 17:48, and for the women, Diana Sefransky, 23, also from Scarborough, with a finishing time of 26:17. 2025 being the best year yet, the race raised $8,000 in total for our local food pantries with 68 runners/walkers crossing the finish line, 21 men and 47 women. 

Overall, the race drew 25 from Gorham, 7 from Standish, 5 from Porter, 4 from South Portland, 3 from Brunswick and Scarborough, 2 From Casco, Cumberland, Portland, and Windham, 1 from Alfred, Falmouth, New Gloucester, Saco, Springvale, and Yarmouth. The race also drew folks from out of state, 3 from Quincy, MA, 2 from Mendon, MA, 1 from Charleston, SC, and 1 from Fairpoint, NY. Ages of the participants ranged from 9 to 71.

Awards were given in 9 different age groups. Winners of these awards were Owen Rosavic, 11, of Gorham; Izzy Waters, 15, of Porter; Adam Auricchio, 16 of Gorham; Emily Way, 28, of Scarborough; Andrew Thomas, 28, of Charleston, SC; Erin Westphal, 31, of South Portland; Russell Farchione, 33, of Gorham; Amy Anderson, 42, of Gorham; John Cuneo, 41, Fairpoint, NY; Dawn Mugford, 55, of Gorham; Jason Maribito, 52, of Gorham; Dara Wagner, 62, of Fairpoint, NY; Rolf Westphal, 61, of Cumberland; and Dale Rines, 73, of Gorham.

Photo credit: Mike Doiron