The 2015 Polar Plunge Winter Fest in Virginia Beach last weekend drew thousands to help raise money for Special Olympics Virginia, and the Polar Plunge 5K, with 716 finishers, ended with Suffolk runners taking first and second.

Thirty-three-year-old Billy Chorey Jr. claimed a commanding win with a time of 16:24, while Lakeland High School senior Jacob Crowell was runner-up, finishing in 18 minutes and eight seconds.

Chorey has been running competitively for about 10 years, and though his finishing time last Saturday was nowhere near a personal record, he was pleased with it.

“I was happy because I hadn’t run a 5K in a while, so that was a pretty good time for not having run it,” he said. “My faster times are like 15:40s, but I’ve been injured, and I’ve got some arthritis and a kid,” and a variety of other things have come up lately.

The injury Chorey has been struggling with is plantar fasciitis, which refers to inflamed tendons in the foot.

“A lot of runners get it, so a lot of people can relate,” Chorey said.

He said the Polar Plunge 5K was more of a test of his level of fitness. He went out fast in the first mile, just to see what his legs could do.

“I looked back and no one was there,” he said. “After the first mile, I kind of turned it into a workout.”

The weather supported the name of the event, as it was cold.

“I couldn’t imagine actually getting in the water like some of the people did later,” he said, referring to the titular event of the winter fest.

Chorey got into running as a result of being diagnosed with arthritis.

“I’d been having aches and pains,” he said, later noting that simple movements like rolling over in bed and getting in the car were painful.

Aside from medication, exercise, in general, was encouraged in response.

“I’m just thankful for the chance to run,” he said.

And Chorey has gotten progressively more competitive as a runner.

“I got a coach, and he gives me workouts,” he said.

Jacob Crowell, whose 5K personal record right now is 16:51, was not gunning for a new record last Saturday and had not run in a while. Rather, he was just aiming for a fun run while contributing money to Special Olympics Virginia.

“I signed up to do the Polar Plunge anyway,” he said, so he figured he would do the 5K, as well.

The 2015 Polar Plunge Winter Fest raised more than $1,180,000 for SOA.

A standout for Lakeland’s cross country team, Crowell has multiple colleges interested in him, and he is currently visiting schools.