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Early Finish For Utica's Boilermaker

Boilermaker
Facebook: Boilermaker Road Race
The 43rd annual Boilermaker in Utica is transitioning to a "virtual" format in light of COVID-19. Runners will be able to complete the 15k and 5k on their own time.

Citing concerns over the coronavirus pandemic, organizers of the annual Boilermaker in Utica, New York have canceled the race for the first time in its 43-year history. 

The 15k road race was originally set for its usual second Sunday in July. Then, COVID-19 had organizers tentatively planning for September 13. By Tuesday, Race President Mark Donovan made it official: there will not be a traditional Boilermaker in 2020.

“Every race out there is very different," says Donovan. "But at least in the case of the Boilermaker, we just could not adequately protect our runners, our volunteers, or our community.”

The decision also halts a number of other “Boilermaker Weekend” events, including the smaller 5k, wheelchair race, and post-race party at Saranac Brewery, which in and of itself draws up to 40,000 people a year, according to Donovan. Given Utica’s narrow streets and the race’s registration cap of 19,000 people, Spokesperson Jordan Peters says maintaining social distancing just didn’t look possible.  

“Everything was on the table – they talked about staggering start times, or creating a start line where everybody could exercise 6 feet of social distancing," Peters adds. "We’re a major, 'big-city' event in a small city with relatively small infrastructure. And our start line simply would not allow for that kind of activity to happen.”

Peters says the roughly 10,000 people who remain registered for the race have a number of options. They can donate their registration fee to the race, ask for a refund, roll over their registration to next year’s event – or they can run. Following the likes of the Boston Marathon and other road races brought down by COVID-19, Peters says the Boilermaker is transitioning to a “virtual” format wherein runners can tackle the 15k and 5k on their own time.  

“Runners will have a two-week period of time from September 1 to the original postponement date of September 13," he explains. "They can run their race on any course that they would like, they can use our RaceJoy mobile app to track the run, which we highly, highly encourage. And then you submit your result back to the Boilermaker through your RunSignUp account.”

Peters says the virtual race operates on an honor system, so there’s no prize money being offered to the top three runners. Those who complete the challenge, however, will receive a commemorative pint glass, bib, and finisher’s pin. Participants in the 15k will see a Boilermaker first: a finisher’s medal.

“For 42 years, the Boilermaker has not given a finisher’s medal. So that’s going to be quite a memorable and historic keepsake for those runners," says Peters. 

Peters is optimistic about next year’s event – with thousands of runners choosing to carry their registration into 2021, the 44th Boilermaker is likely to fill up quickly. Still, the race reportedly brings $2 million to the Mohawk Valley each year, and its absence marks another blow for Utica businesses after a devastating spring. Peters says the race itself is also feeling the squeeze, and he hopes participants choose to keep the tradition alive this September.  

“You know, the Boilermaker is a small nonprofit at the end of the day. We depend exclusively on Boilermaker Weekend events for our funding, so the inability to host traditional Boilermaker Weekend events…it hurts, and it certainly casts a bit of uncertainty on the future of the Boilermaker," he notes. "It would be huge for the organization if we saw a high level of participation in the virtual race.”

Runners have until noon on June 30 to determine what they’d like to do with their registration. 

Jesse King is the host of WAMC's national program on women's issues, "51%," and the station's bureau chief in the Hudson Valley. She has also produced episodes of the WAMC podcast "A New York Minute In History."
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