Timing, as they say, is everything.

At Sunday's 19th running of the Little Silver Classic, held at Red Bank Regional High School, over 500 runners competed for the best time in the 5K portion of the event and kids of all ages competed in the 1-Mile Fun Run and Kiddie Dash.

While grey skies and chilly temperatures greeted runners at the starting line, the rain that had been forecast for Sunday held off until all races had been completed with drops beginning to fall as cars pulled away.

Pete Forgach, 24, of Long Branch crossed the finish line first with a time of 16:11. Fair Haven's Cate Robbie, 31, was not far behind, finishing first for women in 16:59.

Race director Dawn Wilcox, who has organized the PTO-sponsored event for three years, said that this year's race had attracted more runners and business sponsors than in years past. Last year the race earned about $20,000 for the PTO to use to fund various programs and equipment for the district's two schools, according to Wilcox.

She said 375 runners pre-registered online for the race, with a total of about 540 runners in total for the 5K.

Wilcox said she likes working on the race because it offers something for all members of the community. "The event touches everyone," she said following Sunday's 5K.

This year's race also had the highest percentage of runners -- about half -- coming from outside of Little Silver, said Wilcox, with racers coming from New York City and Pennsylvania, as well as from nearby towns.

The fun continued at the Little Silver Firehouse for a post-race party with food provided by Molinari's Italian Restaurant.

Cue the rain.

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