Piece of the past
If you combine all of the gifts we’ve received, travel souvenirs we’ve collected and event swag we’ve been given, we have about 26.2 million t-shirts at our house. Though I have some favorites that I refuse to give up, older shirts eventually become painting garb, then rags before outlasting their usefulness and being thrown away altogether.
The other day, though, I was surprised to find a survivor that I hadn’t seen in eons. Though obviously my husband had added it to his workshop wear of late, it had gone unnoticed by me for 17 years - that is until it became the first t-shirt I grabbed from the dryer to go running that day. When I saw the logo on it, I realized that I had donned a piece of history.
The shirt is from the Inaugural Adirondack Marathon, which was held in 1997 in Schroon Lake. Seeing it brought me back at least 18 years to a meeting that I attended with about 6 other people one evening. Someone in the group had circumnavigated Schroon Lake itself in a car and noticed that the drive was almost a full marathon distance.
Thus began a community’s quest to create an annual event - the Adirondack Marathon, with the tagline: “The most beautiful 26 miles 385 yards you’ll ever run.”
Evolution of Race
The first year, I was one of the many volunteers who supported the sanctioned event. My t-shirt categorized me as “emergency personnel”, and my post was to help with traffic detours. Though I wasn’t issued a flashing light or anything, I’m sure the bright red shirt that has more recently been used as a painting smock helped to identify me as a person of great importance and top-notch emergency services caliber.
In 1997, 421 runners finished the Adirondack Marathon. Last year, over 1,500 runners registered for the weekend’s events, supported by over 700 volunteers.
Participation numbers continued to increase following that first successful event. Hand cycle and wheelchair divisions were added, and in 2001, a half-marathon was added, too.
In 2003, 5k and 10k races were added to the Festival weekend, and in 2009 a 2-person relay was added. A 4-person relay was added in 2012.
Right now, over 400 runners are registered for the 2014 marathon (the cutoff is at 500), and 650 are registered for the half marathon. 36 states are represented, and a number of countries from around the world, including Mexico, Brazil, Sweden, Germany and Canada.
Those beautiful miles and yards
That marathon begins with an exciting mass start on Main Street in Schroon Lake. The Half marathon starts at 10am at the 13.1 mile marker, so that both races finish at the scenic Schroon Lake Town Beach on Leland Avenue.
The course begins heading north on Route 9 to a right onto Alder Meadow Road, (which is also the road to Crane Pond and some of the Pharaoh Lake Wilderness hikes I’ve enjoyed.) Runners take a right off Alder Meadow Road to East Shore Drive along the eastern shore of the lake. The course stays relatively flat for the first three and a half miles but quickly gains elevation to 1,100 feet by the six mile mark.
Miles 4-12 feature some short, challenging climbs - this is the hardest part of the race. The good news is that they are very SCENIC challenging climbs, with nice views of Schroon Lake. The course eventually goes through the town of Adirondack and around the southern end of the lake back to Route 9 and rolling terrain that goes north again to the town of Schroon Lake and the finish line at the scenic town beach.
Festival
The race has become a full weekend of activity, earning its moniker as a “Festival”, with the 5k and 10k and Kids Fun Run on Saturday, followed by the Full and Half Marathons on Sunday.
One of the great features of the marathon itself is the Pace Bears. These are leaders who will support runners who want to meet their finish time goals. For instance, if a runner is aiming to finish in 4 hours and 15 minutes, there is a Pace Bear at the race start assigned to that finish time with whom they can run the race. The Pace Bear keeps people on pace to meet their goals, provides support and encouragement, and can be a great social aspect to the race.
There has always been a fundraising aspect to the Adirondack Marathon. This year, event organizers are pleased to offer the “Racing for Good” fundraising campaign, which supports organizations that serve individuals and families who face catastrophic circumstances. Donations via the online Crowdrise site will benefit 6 carefully selected organizations in the region. Learn more (and donate!) on the Adirondack Marathon Distance Festival “Racing for Good” page.
In addition to the races, the Festival features a Race Expo on both Saturday and Sunday that features running retailers, clubs, events, and health and fitness specialists, and is open to the public.
Here’s the full schedule:
Friday, September 26
6-8 p.m. - 5K/10K packet pickup
Saturday, September 27
7-8:30 a.m. - 5K/10K registration
9:30 a.m. - 5K/10K start
10 a.m. - 5 p.m. - Race Expo & Packet Pickup
2 p.m. - 1K Children's Fun Run
3 p.m. - Strategy Session with former Runner's World shoes & gear editor Jeff Dengate, a 6-time finisher of the Adirondack Marathon.
4:45-6:30 p.m. - Pasta Dinner
Sunday, September 28
6:45-8:15 a.m. - Packet pickup
7 a.m. - Early Bird marathon start
8:40-9:05 a.m. - Half-marathon and relay buses depart
9 a.m. - Marathon and relays start
1 p.m. - Half-Marathon awards ceremony
2 p.m. - Marathon awards ceremony
2:30 p.m. - Course closes
4 p.m. - Postrace party at Witherbee's
Race or Ride
The 18th Annual Adirondack Distance Festival is set for September 27-28, 2014. Visit the Adirondack Marathon Distance Festival website for more information and to register for any of the races!
And/or, like me, perhaps you’d like to review the course map and try this route via bicycle. I plan to wear my newly-found old but bright-colored t-shirt for the occasion!
Kim Rielly is the director of communications for the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism
