Responding to , seven members of Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire & Rescue Company joined 16 firefighters from Washington, Kent, and other regional companies for the 2015 Sandy Hook 5K. The firefighters walked the 5-kilometer/3.1-mile course on Saturday, March 28, wearing full turnout gear. Many also carried air packs, and some even walked much of the course while on air.a challenge/invitation from Washington (CT) Fire Department Firefighter Jeff Kozo

Plattsys Timing, the company that handled timing and posting results for the race, noted “snow — breezy — 31 degrees” on its final notes for the day. Nevertheless, firefighters were all smiles when they crossed the finish line, as a group, in less than an hour.

Sean Donnelly, one of the Sandy Hook firefighters at Saturday’s road race, said he felt “a sense of accomplishment” when he crossed the finish line.

Firefighter Rob Sibley, also from Sandy Hook, said the 5K “was not easy, but it was exhilarating.” Mr Sibley and fellow Sandy Hook member Pete Barresi walked the final 200 feet of the walk side by side, their gloved hands up over their heads in a show of accomplishment. The crowd cheered as they, and others, reached the end of their walk.

“I was happier than I was physically tired,” Mr Sibley said of crossing the finish line.

Mr Barresi said this week he felt “euphoric.”

“The entire day went much better than expected,” he said. “I couldn’t anticipate how we would be received, but we were very well received. It was very satisfying,” he said of finishing the challenge.

Jeff Kozo had begun, at the beginning of the year, coordinating a team of firefighters and EMTs who were interested in participating in the annual event that raises funds for the Newtown Memorial Fund. In January he contacted Sandy Hook with an invitation that any interested members of the local fire company join him and his friends for the special event.

Last Saturday morning, a combined group of 23 first responders from Washington, Sandy Hook, Kent, Pleasant Valley, and East Litchfield stepped off within a field of nearly 1,200 runners of all ages and athletic levels, who were participating in the third annual race to raise funds for the Newtown Memorial Fund.

The race began at 9 am

Kent Firefighter Tim Limbos ran and walked the race. Mr Limbos had reportedly been training to do a 5K when he heard about Mr Kozo’s proposal to walk as a group. Mr Limbos, Mr Kozo told The Newtown Bee last month, decided to continue with his plan to run the 5K last weekend. He finished 507th overall, with a time of 33:03, before putting on his gear and an airpack and backtracking to catch up with the firefighters.

It took 27 minutes for the group to reach the halfway point of the course, which was just north of the entrance to Garner Correctional Institute. The race started on 1st Street at Fairfield Hills, heading south to Simpson Street, then northwest on Simpson, south on Keating Farms Avenue, east on Mile Hill Road South, and then east on Nunnawauk Road out the entrance to Garner, before returning via the same roads.

The first firefighter who would have crossed the line, Mr Kozo, reached the gate around the 52:00 mark, but he did not cross finish his walk then.

Instead, as firefighters continued to reach the gate they stood together until the final firefighter arrived ... and then all crossed the finish line together, averaging a 55-minute walk. They received a huge round of applause from the crowd, which by that time included spectators as well as many of the runners who had already completed the course.

“To have such a show of unity from organizations that we would typically only have time with during an emergency, who took time out of their lives, is just very reassuring,” Mr Sibley said. “It’s very heartening.”

Brian Engelke was able to participate on Saturday after fellow Sandy Hook Firefighters Mike McDonald, who had signed up for the event, had to drop out. With the field of 1,200 runners filled in less than 24 hours when race registration opened in January, the race’s organizers were able to accommodate only a limited number of firefighters. After Mr McDonald stepped down less than two weeks before the race, Mr Engelke stepped up to take his place.

“It felt awesome to finish with everybody, instead of finishing individually,” he said this week. He decided to join his fellow firefighters, he said, because he thought the day was for a good cause, “and that it would be fun to do with all of the firefighters. I saw it as a bonding experience.”

With snow still falling and winds continuing to gust into late morning, the firefighters piled into vehicles and returned to Sandy Hook’s main station for an early lunch and some time together.

Out of the miserable weather, conversations started and laughter soon filled a few rooms of the firehouse. Over sandwiches and Girl Scout cookies, talk kept returning to “next year.” And while most would have laughed that thought off at the beginning of the day when they were facing less than perfect weather, by noon, when most firefighters were departing the firehouse, there was already talk of 2016.

Mr Kozo confirmed that feeling when reached on Monday.

“We all had a blast,” he said, “and I cannot wait until next year.

“Not only are we going to make this an annual event, we are going to expand and increase our presence,” he added. “I am so proud to have been able to join this event, and to support Sandy Hook. On top of that I am even more proud to have been able to walk/compete side by side not only with my fellow brothers and sisters in the fire departments from surrounding towns, but to complete with everyone else that came out to support this cause.”

Sandy Hook Firefighter Rob Sibley enjoyed Saturday’s event, calling it “extraordinary,” but also said it will most likely be a one-time thing for him.

“I’ll definitely participate in the race, but I think this was a special occasion for me, to be able to walk in my turnout gear,” said Mr Sibley.

Sean Donnelly, who said this week he had no hesitations signing on for this year’s event, is already looking forward to the fourth annual Sandy Hook 5K, however.

“I’d be the first one to sign up,” said the Sandy Hook firefighter, “if we do this next year.”

(See this week’s Sports section, in print and online, for complete coverage of the road race.)

This story has been updated to reflect the correct number of participating firefighters.