Seneca 7 Relay Race Plans to Hit the Ground Running

and stewardship.”

Each year, Seneca 7 race organizers put together a course guide that highlights points of ecological advocacy regarding lake and watershed health.

“[Seneca Lake] has been subject to many threats and challenges in recent years. [For example], there was a huge Bitcoin mining operation on Seneca Lake,” Augustine said. “We just want people to see the area not just for beauty, but [to] understand how critically important it is ecologically and to have a sense of ownership

In a statement to The Sun, Rebecca Barr, a sophomore at Hobart and William Smith Colleges and president of the school’s running club, reflected on Seneca Lake’s year-round importance to local students.

“[Seneca Lake is] a place where students can gather and spend time during the summer, a time for relaxation and fun,” Barr wrote.

This year, Augustine said Seneca 7 is partnering with twenty-five charitable organizations and local businesses, including Habitat for Humanity, Family Counseling of the Finger

Lakes and the Geneva Family YMCA. These charities volunteer at the relay’s 20 exchange points, serving water and cheering on runners. The race’s proceeds, which usually reach approximately $20,000, are then equitably donated to the partner organizations.

“[Henderson and Augustine] are always very community-minded and think about supporting the local organizations that serve our shared community,” said Mary Bakogiannis, executive director of Geneva Family YMCA, which has worked with Seneca 7 since its inaugural year. “All donations that we get are very very important to our annual operations here. They help support the programs and services that we offer to the people that we serve in the community — children and seniors.”

In just a few weeks, teams will travel from as far as Canada and Colorado to complete the 77.7-mile race course. Cornell Running Club plans to send three teams this year. Julia Allen ’23, the club’s co-president, woke up early on last year’s Halloween morning to secure 21 race spots.

Cornell Running Club has participated in Seneca 7 for the last several years, including in 2020 when the race was made virtual. Co-president Jack Lynch ’23 recounted his participating in the virtual race from his hometown of Evanston, Illinois.

Between their respective race legs, he and his teammates conversed over a Zoom call. As soon as the runner preceding him re-appeared on screen, Lynch immediately stepped outside to run his leg through his hometown neighborhood. Even across a laptop screen, Lynch said, the Seneca 7’s community building persisted.

Now, the race is back in full swing for its second year in person after COVID-19. Augustine, who now works as the executive director of the non-profit Blueprint Geneva, said she felt the Seneca 7 would benefit from a fresh perspective, leading her to seek out a new organizer for the race. She and Henderson recently handed the leadership baton off to Ian Golden, an Ithaca local and owner of Finger Lakes Running Company.

“I really wanted to make sure that [the race] was going to be in the hands of someone who shared those core values of commitment to the community, sustainability, and appreciation of natural resources,” Augustine said. “Ian … really impressed me with his spirit of service and his personal values … I felt like I was really leaving [the race] in good hands.”

Seneca 7 continues to champion environmentally friendly practices. Race T-shirts are domestically produced with ecologically sensitive inks by Ithaca resident Kaya Donaj-Keys. Seneca 7 also encourages teams to sign up with biking groups, in which racers bike as a team to and from their relay legs, rather than using a team car. Biking teams save parking space at exchange zones and help reduce the race’s carbon footprint.

Yet, team cars, decorated with window markers and race-day spirit, remain a special part of Seneca 7 for many runners.

To continue reading this article, please visit www.cornellsun.com.