CONTACT: Jay Purdy, Legislative Information Office, 717-787-7895

HARRISBURG, Apr. 23 - Readshaw's Raiders are back in camp after staging a successful raid in Gettysburg in the form of the second annual Monument Challenge Run/Walk, which went off Saturday without a hitch at the Daniel Lady Farm in Gettysburg.

More than 180 runners and walkers, more than double last year's total, were at the starting line. They were led by state Rep. Harry Readshaw, D-Allegheny, founder of the Pennsylvania Gettysburg Monuments Project to preserve the monuments on the historic battlefield that note the accomplishments and sacrifices of Pennsylvanians in the epic engagement.

Readshaw said he expects that when the final figures are in, the race and associated events will have brought in at least as much as the $40,000 collected last year. "The volunteers learned a lot last year and with that experience, things went far smoother this time around, even with the jump in entrants, spectators cars and Civil War reenactors," Readshaw said. "The grounds of the Lady farm had also been improved a lot since last year." The farm is owned by the Gettysburg Battlefield Preservation Association.

This year's milder temperatures and nearly rain-free conditions allowed reenactors, including cavalry, infantry, artillery and medical portrayals, to exercise their full potential to educate and entertain the public.

As expected, the torchlight vignettes were a hit with everyone who saw them," Readshaw said. "It was a perfect spring evening and the atmosphere in the encampments made one feel like you had stepped back in time. "All in all, the event was big enough to be successful, but still small enough to be cordial."

With the good weather and the crowd cheering him on, Readshaw, an ex-Marine, reached down deep and called forth enough "semper fi" spirit to propel himself over the finish line in 36 minutes, 23 seconds, about three minutes faster than his time last year. Way up in front, the winning male runner was 44-year old Dan Essler of Nunda, New York, at 17:27. Garret Griffin, 16, of Moon Township, Pennsylvania, was second at 19:01.

The ladies winner was 25-year old Amy Debor of Shepardstown, West Virginia, at 19:02. Last year's lady's winner, 32-year-old Cyndie Winkleman of Gettysburg, finished second at 20:41.

Readshaw added that the weekend's success was such that his raiders already are talking about staging a third annual Monument Challenge next year.