By Andrew Firestone

The Ninth Annual Mary O’Brien Memorial (M.O.M.) 5k roared through Davis Square, Sunday, May 8, 2011. The turnout of 350 brought an intense yield, but ended in a victory by 39-year-old Sean McClain, with a time of 17:10.

“It’s great, not much wind, not too warm,” said McClain.

The brainchild of O’Brien’s son, Gordon Pilotte of Winchester, the race brought out many of the Mothers’ Day crowd, and proved to be a festive time for all. The day included diversions for young and old alike, and more than a few moms and dads pushed carriages along the Somerville course. Retiring to the Dilboy VFW post, the racers were met with a party and a delicious meal, including many members of the Somerville Road Runners.

Aside from glorious prizes there was an open buffet serving Redbones pork, chicken and beef sandwiches and free beer supplied by Harpoon. All proceeds are sent to the Dana Farber Institute for Cancer research.

“It’s a case where there’s people like myself who don’t have moms to visit on mothers day, and this is kind of like a family event for us, as well as the moms who come and spend the day with us,” said Pilotte. Pilotte did not run the race, but continues to run marathons in honor of his mom, including the Boston marathon this year, and the Ottawa, Chicago and New York marathons in the coming months.

Helping out with the food was Pilotte’s daughter Cara, who said that she thought the event gave fitting tribute to her “awesome” grandmother. “She was a great role model for sure and very involved in my upbringing, through my Dad, which was cool.”

Pilotte’s niece, Micho, of Londerry, NH, agreed: “through and through even when she was sick, she was a vibrant, lively person and I think that this race really does a great job of encompassing who she is as a person.”

The event concluded with a raffle that included many prizes, including Red Sox-Yankees tickets and Dragon Naturally Speaking software.