To the Editor:

I am proud to be the honorary chairperson of the 2012 Princeton Half Marathon which will benefit HiTOPS. I know that the race will be a tremendous success, and everyone involved in organizing it is excited that on our first try we were able to reach our registration goal of 1,000 runners so quickly. There’s a lot of work to do between now and November 4, the day of the race, particularly for those, like me, who registered to run the 13.1 mile course and now have to train!

I’d like to thank Town Topics for their coverage of the lead up to the race, but I’d like to correct the record in one important respect. This year’s Princeton Half Marathon is not the “first ever” for our municipality. I can remember as a young boy coming down with my family from our home in Morris County to run the Princeton Half Marathon in the late 1970s. I’ve attached, by way of proof, a picture of my father, Warren Koontz, looking strong as he approaches the Nassau Street finish of the 1979 Princeton Half Marathon. Look closely and you can see that he is wearing the shirt for the 1978 Princeton Half Marathon!

As a runner in that long ago race, I was immensely pleased that HiTOPS set a goal to bring the Half Marathon BACK to Princeton! Best of luck to all of the runners, and we’ll see you at the finish line!

Andrew Koontz

Spruce Street

Editor’s Note: the writer is a Mercer County Freeholder and a member of the HiTOPS Board of Directors.