Correspondent photos / Sean Barron A large crowd of all ages fills West Federal Street in downtown Youngstown on Sunday for the 2-mile walk and run that was part of the 51st annual Youngstown Peace Race through much of the city.

YOUNGSTOWN — Cindy McBurney enjoyed walking her dog, Aspen, though one particular stroll was anything but casual, leisurely or routine.

“She loves it; she takes off like a maniac and is the head of the pack,” McBurney, 57, of Boardman, said about her labradoodle, which she got in Denver.

Neither McBurney nor Aspen walked 1,400 miles together, however, but they put a few miles on their legs via having taken part in the 2-mile walk and run portion of the 51st annual Youngstown Peace Race on Sunday morning through much of the downtown corridor.

The event, founded in 1975, also featured 25K and 10K races, as well as a 400-meter kids’ fun run, all of which ended near Central Square, downtown. The 10K began at Kirkmere Elementary School near Schenley Avenue and Kirk Road on the West Side and proceeded through Mill Creek Park.

Title sponsors were Second Sole, J.J. Cafaro Investment Trust LLC and The Carousel Center.

The Peace Race’s primary mission is to promote and support peace throughout the Mahoning Valley via athletic competitions and the sport of running. In addition, the race also results in thousands of dollars being donated to local agencies and charities such as Akron Children’s, the Rescue Mission of the Mahoning Valley, the Warren Family Mission, Fairhaven Special Olympics and Beatitude House, according to its website.

About 1,100 children, teens and adults took part in Sunday’s event amid ideal weather conditions. The figure slightly exceeded that of last year’s 50th annual event, Sandy Manley, a Youngstown Peace Race board member, noted.

McBurney recalled having participated in her first Peace Race in 1997, as well as placing third in her age group last year and taking home a first-place finish two years ago. More than the impressive finishes, though, McBurney is grateful for being in the mix of people and community spirit that accompany each annual race, she said.

As for Aspen?

“She loves the Peace Race,” McBurney added.

Lincoln Wytko, 14, traveled with his father, Adam Wytko, about 300 miles for his opportunity to run, and the teen will be returning to his Columbia, Maryland, home with a first-place ribbon for his age group.

“My dad has run this race every year for the past 30 years or something,” Lincoln said, adding that his father took part in Sunday’s 10K run.

Lincoln, who also is on his high school’s cross-country team, hopes to follow in his father’s footsteps by being in a future 10K run, he added.

For Tom Warg and his wife, Monica Warg, getting a bit sweaty and being in the 2-mile walk and run truly was a family affair. That’s because they also took their 9-month-old son, Otto Warg, along in his stroller.

Sunday marked the first Peace Race for Monica Warg, though that doesn’t mean she’s a stranger to the art of running.

“I was a pregnant runner,” she said, referring to having taken part in a full marathon in Cleveland while four months pregnant.

In addition, the Peace Race extended to his workplace, because several of Tom Warg’s co-workers at Boardman-based Akeso Home Care and Hospice also ran in various races, he said.

Crystal Siembida-Boggs, 45, of Leetonia, was all smiles after finishing third in the 40-to-49 age group in the 2-mile walk and run, but after having pounded the pavement through the city and taking in a few moments of reflection, it was the intangible aspects of the race that she felt most acutely.

“At this event, you can take away all of the politics, with everyone coming together and celebrating each other, and for a good cause,” Siembida-Boggs, the track and cross-country coach at Columbiana Middle and High School, said. “You’re able to celebrate what we’ve accomplished as a whole. The Peace Race is about bringing people together.”

Echoing her sentiments was Manley, who called the event “a local, hometown race,” and added that another allure of running in the Peace Race was being able to see Mill Creek Park’s early fall foliage, along with other scenic spots.

The 10K’s first-, second- and third-place overall male and female finishers received $500, $300 and $100 in prize money, respectively.