The fourth annual Pathways Include Me 5K race featured wheelchair races for the first time this year, a reflection of the race goal to include everyone, with and without disabilities.

Chelsea Crytzer of Parsippany and Phillip Bramwell of Boonton competed in push rim wheelchairs as members of Lightning Wheels, a wheelchair racing team based in the Children’s Specialized Hospital in Mountainside. Crytzer took first place in that division with a time of 19:47.

Elliot Frieder, 40, of Montville, finished first out of 292 runners in 17:01.

Cassandra Harsts, 13, of Pine Brook, 17^th overall, was the first female finisher in 20:32.

Melinda Jennis, president of Pathways for Exceptional Children, said 322 runners were registered, making this the biggest race since the organization took over the annual Montville 5K race four years ago. The run normally raises between $5,000 and $6,000 for programs for special needs children run by Pathways, and Jennis estimates this run brought in the usual amount.

The organization runs 35 after-school programs every year.

 “We serve about 300 special needs kids from 15 surrounding areas and Montville, she said, describing the wide scope of the programs. “We have about 300 members that are actively involved as mentors. This last year we did 3,300 hours of community service with the kids.”

This year, the Include Me cause evolved from the inclusion of people with disabilities to the inclusion of all people.

“What we have found is, the more you include everybody, the more the disabled are included,” Jennis said. “When you include everybody, it just works, and it’s great.”

The unique cause certainly drew Crytzer, who suffers from spina bifida, a birth defect involving incomplete development of the spinal cord, to the competition, but she was there to mostly to have fun and compete.

“It was my first time on this race, but I’ve been racing in general for 10 years,” she said. “I really like it. I think it went well for my first time doing this [race]. I had a lot of fun.”

Frieder, who recently resumed running after training for the New York City marathon left him with a broken foot, said he almost did not run the race because he is competing in the USATF Master’s 5K Championship Lager Run tomorrow.

“I wasn’t sure if I was going to run, but it’s a good cause, I love the town, and I figured this was my hometown race,” he said. “I’m happier now that I’ve actually had the chance to meet some of the kids and the organization, because I think Pathways is a worthy cause.”

For others, such as second-place finisher Ted Mussano, a Wayne resident, the run is simply on a regular race circuit. Mussano competes every weekend and has been running the Pathways 5K for four years. However, he said, the cause is certainly notable.

“That’s the main thing, competition and good causes,” he said.

Harasts, an eighth grader in Robert R. Lazar Middle School, said she has been involved in Pathways previously through a mentoring class.

“They teach you how to deal with certain kids if you want to meet them or hang out with them,” she said. “It seemed like it was a good thing to do.”

 Some competitors made the race a family event. Charles Griffin of Morris Plains and his wife Lucia, daughter Nicole, and son Paul, all ran the 5K in support of their brother C.J., who partakes in the Pathways programs and was volunteering at the event.

“Everyone that can, should get involved and support Pathways,” Lucia said. “It’s fantastic. Melinda is a gem."