The Eastwood 5 Mile race is the last event in the Syrathon competition. The race starts at Henniger High School and winds its way through the Eastwood neighborhood. The promoters advertise the race as having “several challenging (but not too tough) hills.” This is a fair assessment of the course; the hills and five mile…
The Empire State Marathon, Half Marathon, and 10K is a large, polished local event usually staged out of NBT stadium, though construction shifted the start/finish area to the parking lot in 2019. I opted for the 10K as part of my preparation for the Syracuse Half Marathon the following month. The 10K was the last scheduled…
The Inner Harbor 5K, benefitting It’s About Childhood and Family, is another part of the Syrathon series. The race sets off from the brand new Iron Pier apartments and shops immediately adjacent to the Creekwalk. The race started on Van Rensselaer Street, weaved around Leavenworth Park, headed to Franklin Square, and finished on West Kirkpatrick,…
The venue shifted from one of Syracuse’s gems to Emerson Park, the pride of Auburn. The Superhero Run/Walk, in its second year, is a fundraiser for the Cayuga Centers and sponsored by a host of regional businesses. I’d tased in Auburn in 1989, so this was my second competitive event held in the city. Emerson…
Located in the picturesque Strathmore neighborhood, the Parks Run is part of Syracuse’s Syrathon series and run by the Greater Strathmore Neighborhood Association. As with most local races, portions of the race proceeds go to local charities. Hiawatha Lake, a gem of the park, afforded us a scenic backdrop as we warmed up, with a…
The Harvest 5K, held at Emmi’s Farm in Baldwinsville, is part of the Dick’s Sporting Goods Family Fit Series run by the folks at Willow Fitness. In 2019, the race was part of the Lysander Festravaganza; the atmosphere and vendors reminded me of the old Wayland Potato Festival and Bath Christmas in July bike races.…
I was an active, modestly competitive cyclist in the 1980s. I ventured back into the sport with less success in the early 2000s. The citizens’ bike races were to the 80s what 5Ks are today: local events drawing participants of every level into the sport. Seven dollars got you a tee-shirt, a post-race banana, and a shot…
The one mile run was the only event I excelled at in gym class, which meant I was in the top tier of my classmates one class a year—the day we ran as part of the Presidential Fitness Award. Any satisfaction I took from beating the varsity athletes on the track or lapping around the…