The Evolution of Runnin' of the Green in the Capital Region

by Brian Northan

Runnin' of the Green is one of the Capital Region's older road races having been held at various locations and distances since 1978. A summary of the race distances, locations and winners can be found here https://www.hmrrc.com/View/PDFs/EventHistorys/greenhis.htm.

Many runners associate the race with the 4 mile course held at Green Island from 2000 to 2014. Unfortunately HMRRC was not able to obtain a permit to hold the race at Green Island in 2015, so it was moved to Schalmont High School. The 4 mile distance was kept at this new location until last year when it was changed to a 5k.

In 2022 a new access road was built that connected the high school to the neighborhood behind it. Schalmont Cross Country coach, Rich Kranick, suggested that the race should use that road, as it was much safer than running on Route 7. I worked with Patrick Lynskey and Jim Gilmore to design and certify a new course. Unfortunately, the new route into the neighborhood would cut off almost 1 mile. We played with a few ideas to get the extra distance, but none were ideal. Thus, a 5k course was logistically much better for both runners and traffic and was what we decided upon.

Runners make their way along the course of the 2023 Runnin’ of the Green 5k in Schalmont.

Since 2016 the race has featured a unique team competition. The competition is designed to encourage teams of different ages and genders. The teams consist of an open male, an open female, and two age/gender graded participants (male or female). This year the race has $1400 of prizes which is an amazing amount for a relatively small race. I encourage everyone to formulate a team for this event and reach out to other club members to register together.

The Runnin’ of the Green does not use chip timing. Instead, the race uses the plunger and 'time machine' system. Up until 2010 all club races were timed this way and the system is known to be reliable. Unfortunately last year I had a computer crash resulting in a 30 or 40 minute delay in getting the results out. I felt bad about this, but none of the race times for participants were affected. Unfortunately people had begun to leave by the time results were posted. We will self-time again this year and do not anticipate any problems. It is a lot of work on my part, to time the race, but this keeps costs down and allows us to offer a larger amount of prize money.

We also need volunteers. Sign up here if you can volunteer. https://membercommunications-hmrrc.wildapricot.org/event-5561106/Registration

Hope to see you in some capacity on March 16th!

Brian Northan is a runner and longtime HMRRC member who is the Race Director for Runnin’ of the Green.

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Pace Setter : March 2024