On Sunday, May 23, after a year’s delay, the plan to organize a memorial Lilac 10K team for longtime McQuaid teacher and cross-country coach, Mr. Bob Bradley, finally came together. The team was organized by Mr. Bradley’s son, Rob ’93, who wanted to honor his late father. In addition, he saw it as a way to raise money for the Robert J. Bradley Memorial Scholarship Fund by asking those who signed up to make a small donation. As a thank you, all runners received a “RJB Memorial Bumblebee” shirt.
Poetically, the race was moved to Genesee Valley Park, home of the McQuaid Invitational, to accommodate additional Covid-related physical distancing accommodations. It was the first major road race held in the Rochester area since 2019. The Bradley Memorial Team – both virtual and in-person – tallied 55 runners representing five decades of McQuaid alumni. Runners from 12 states participated. Chris Cusack, ’88 traveled the farthest to participate in-person, coming in from Vermont. There was international representation as well with Pat Bernal, ’95 running virtually from Shenyang, China and Bradley family friend Ravi Patel clocking a strong time from London.
McQuaid cross-country coach and physical education teacher Todd Stewart was the team’s fastest in-person runner finishing 14th in a field of 629 with a time of 38:27 (6:12 mile pace). Rob Smillie, ’85 finished 36th and ran the 2nd fastest time of any runner over age 50. Dan Lesser, ’93 smoked the field in the Virtual 10K with a 34:31 (5:34 mile pace). Perhaps the most important number though is the $19,250 raised for the scholarship fund.
