Stop Sign by Jim Cunningham
“Is
of it had changed. About 1,200 runners line up at the start. It is the Eastern 15K Championship and all the local fast runners are in attendance. The start is narrow; everyone is talking; no one is listening to the announcer. The race
he in yet?” I ask my manager about
my self. We are at
the Stockade-athon, a 15K
starts; the chatter ends; everyone is thinking of their race plan.
Canoeing friends are here.
race in Schenectady, starting at Central Park,
One of them, on the way to the start explained
dropping down to the Stockade section and
his plan, looking at the race in terms of 3,
returning back to Central Park.
5Ks. My canoeing friends are also fast runners.
Returning to
the park, the course goes around the park and lake and my manager is waiting at the stop
The paces picks up as we make our way
sign at the park entrance. I am “in” and early,
through the park, circling past the finish line
and my manager missed me.
and, surprisingly, up a hill just past the one
The Stockade is next. It is a five block section that parallels the Mohawk. A few years ago, it was flooded, with a heavy summer storm producing high water in the river. A canoe race was cancelled that day. There is no water today, but plenty of spectators watching us as we invade their sanctuary. Thoughts turn to the uphill section that starts upon leaving the Stockade. At about 5.5 miles the hill starts. We are on State Street. No traffic to deal with. I run on Continued
mile mark. At the top of the hill, the descent The race is put on by the combined efforts
begins to the river and the Stockade. I had re-
of the Hudson Mohawk Road Runners and the
membered the descent as being fast and steep,
Albany Running Exchange. The last time I had
but it was not, but gradual with some uphill
run the race was a few years ago, well, a few
sections. The 5K mark arrives at just over the
decades ago, and the course and my memory
25 minute mark.
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