Thousands of people congregated at Regency Furniture Stadium in Waldorf on Saturday for the St. Charles Running Festival and the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs Fan Fest. The morning started with a foot race, which filled the parking lots at the stadium to capacity.

Hundreds of people participated in the event, which included a five kilometer foot race and a 10 mile foot race through the streets of Waldorf and La Plata.

In the ten mile race, Christopher Nowakowski clocked the fastest time all men at 57 minutes and 11 seconds. Jesse Stump also completed the course in 57 minutes and Larry Hutchinson finished the course in 59 minutes.

Rebecca Scott was the fastest female, clocking in at one hour, 10 minutes and 29 seconds. Teresa Murphy was a little over a minute behind Scott and Kate Dochelli clocked in at an hour and 14 minutes.

Christina Burbach was the fastest female and Ryan Newsted was the fastest male in the 5K run.

St. Charles Vice President of Public Affairs and Community Relations Craig Renner said this was the most successful event in the three years it's been held and said more people showed up this year than in years past. Renner also said the event will continue to grow.

After the race, the grownups took their children out to the ballpark as the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs held their fifth annual Fan Fest. The club, which is co-owned by Baltimore Orioles’ Hall of Fame third baseman Brooks Robinson, welcomed the patrons to Regency Furniture Stadium.

The event featured activities for children and live music. Regency Furniture Stadium has 4,200 reserved seats. The Blue Crabs play in the Liberty Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.

The Blue Crabs’ home opener is Thursday, April 26 against the Lancaster Barnstormers. In addition to post-game fireworks, opening night will feature the Washington Nationals’ “Racing Presidents.”