by Sarah Parks, Liz Chauhan, Nathan Laing and Brina Seguine
5 Favorite Races This Year
Sarah Parks
Hangover Half Marathon. This is one my favorite races because it’s a great way to start the New Year. You can check off your list that you’ve done your half marathon on the first day of the year!
Runnin’ of the Green. For me, this race was a good test early in the year for figuring out my pace for shorter distance races.
Delmar Dash 5 miler. While this course isn’t anything too exciting, it is nice and flat. I was happy with this, as my plan for a running progressive race worked out well!
Bill Robinson 10K. I had low expectations for this race, as everyone talked about how difficult the course was! But I was pleasantly surprised. The hills weren’t as overwhelming as I had imagined, as the course had more rolling hills rather than long steep hills. It was a quiet and beautiful morning run with perfect weather for racing.
Freihofer’s Run for Women 5K. This was actually my first time running this race, so it was exciting to be a part of such a big race with such amazing female runners! I was happy with my time and was surprised that I somehow managed to place in my age category among all the great master’s runners. And that downhill finish is a great way to end a race!
Liz Chauhan – Top Three
Boston, Boilermaker, the Miles on the Mohawk 10 miler.
Boston Marathon: I haven’t raced much this year so those are it. Boston is a race that I have had on my brain since 1997 when I started XC. My coach would refer to Heartbreak Hill and tell us the passion runners had that went to Boston. It’s always so emotional to finish that one because you work so hard to qualify! I love that the city and people support it and this year was really special because I missed it last year due to a torn plantar fascia.
Boilermaker: It is one of the first races I ever did that was over 5k. My first year running it was when I was still 18 in 2003! I have run it many times and in all sorts of physical shape. Again, this year was special because it was back in July in Utica. I love the challenge of mile 4 and the relief of mile 5 and of course the amazing support of the community.
Miles on the Mohawk 10 Miler: Josh has done an amazing job with the Miles on the Mohawk race and I loved the 10. Flat fast and a fun local course so you can sleep in your own bed.
Nathan Laing
A few races I’ve ran this year are the Hangover Half, Electric City 5-Miler, and the Cheap Marathon.
The Hangover Half was memorable as I assisted in pacing a friend in reaching their half marathon PR. It was also a mild 60 degrees for the first day of January so that added to the experience!
Electric City 5-Miler: what a debut for my current pair of trail shoes. The quick coating of snow that blanketed the course was definitely a challenge. Can’t control the weather, but you should control your attitude! Good quiche and muffins post-race.
The Cheap Marathon was a brisk start in the mid 40’s , blue skies above, a great course making use of the Derry rail trail, very manageable with 1.5% inclines. A happy day.
Brina Seguine
One of my favorite races was the Friehofers. It was the first road race that I ever did. The camaraderie between the women is always great.
I also liked the Runnin of the Green 4 Miler. I liked how it was competitive. It was also themed after St.Patrick’s Day.
Another favorite that was my favorite was the Valley Cats Home Run 5K. It’s great to be able to finish on the baseball field. Also the refreshments afterwards were great.
The Delmar Dash was also a great race to run. It was flat and fast. Also, it was a good tune-up run for races happening later in the year.