Between heat, humidity and running deer, the Boilermaker 15k Road Race on Sunday, July 13 was definitely not a walk in the park, some of the runners said while relaxing at the Saranac Post-Race Party in West Utica said.
Jack Kasperski, of Rochester, has been running what he called the “incomparable” Boilermaker for more than 15 years, only missing it in 2020, when it was virtual because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and in 2021, when it was held in the fall instead of July.
But he was off his best time, he said.
“It was hard today, at least it was for me,” Kasperski said.
And he noticed a lot of people walking for part of the race, he said.
“And they weren’t all old people,” he added.
Weather made race harder
Dylan Peckham, of Madison, thought the weather made the race harder.
“It was very muggy,” he said, adding that hot isn’t as difficult as humid.
But the weather wasn’t the worst of it. His wife, Ana, saw a girl or young woman runner get hit by a deer at the top of the golf course, she said. She was apparently hurt because people were tending to her and medics rushed over, she said.
“You just don’t expect deer to jump out,” Ana Peckham said. “That was crazy.”
She didn’t think the deer expected the collision either. “You could tell,” she said, “that the deer was, like, panicked, too.”
The couple were hanging out with his mom, Meghan Pekham, of Madison, who also ran, and Ana’s mom, Brea DuFore, of Saratoga Springs, who came to watch her second Boilermaker.
‘I just did it for the free beer’
“I just did it for the free beer,” Dylan Peckham quipped, hitting on one of the pieces of Boilermaker this year.
This year the Post-Race Party served Saranac’s newest beer, Weekend Warrior, which is only 3% alcohol by volume.
Peckham said he liked that the beer was free, but found it a bit tart. Last year’s beer was nice and smooth, he said.
Although he might be interested in a beer with less alcohol, this wasn’t the one for him, Peckham said.
His mom agreed that it was a good concept, but perhaps not the right beer for her.
Other runners and party goers disagreed, though.
“It’s very hoppy, surprisingly flavorful,” said Ken Weissman, of New York City.
“I couldn’t tell it was less alcoholic,” he added.
It’s definitely better than the Utica Club that was served a few years ago, his wife Ellen said.
Ken Weissman said he liked it when Saranac used to get served after the race, but people can drink more of the new one so it’s a nice tradeoff, he said.
The Weissmans ran the Boilermaker every year for two or three decades, starting with the 15k and then switching to the 5k. But they stopped running last year and this year they just came to support friends who were running the 5K, Ken Weissman said.
Brothers Pete, of Rochester, and Ryan, of Connecticut, Sullivan, agreed that Weekend Warrior is a good choice for the Boilermaker.
“We love having beer after the race, but you can only have two beers,” Pete said.
Otherwise, you can’t drive home, he said.
But with this year’s beer, both brothers were still feeling completely fine after two beers, they said.
And this year’s beer, Ryan said, is “a little more refreshing on a hot day.”
Best race in the country
The brothers have been run the Boilermaker about 11 or 12 times and they grew up watching it since their grandparents live in Utica. No other race is as generous with refreshments and entertainment, they said.
“It’s the best race in the country,” Pete declared. “It’s really special for any race (not just 15k).
All the runners received swag bags with a small Boilermaker towel, Gatorade, a banana and other snacks. In the brewery parking lot, all guests, runners or watchers, could snag free Chobani smoothies, packages of Lil Muffins, bottles of water, cups of beer or cans of Rehab Monster. Beer was also served in the park across Columbia Street from the parking lot.
That park is also where tents are set up to offer chiropractic care to 5k and 15k runners, and massages to 15k runners. The chiropractic care was offered by chiropractor students from Seneca Falls Health Center.
And the massage tent is staffed by about 11 volunteer massage therapists. It’s been organized every year for decades by Linda Eisenhut, who owns a business in New Hartford, said her daughter Mia Eisenhut, who was filling in for her mom, who couldn’t make it to the race this year, in tent administration.
When Linda Eisenhut first started organizing the tent, in fact, she used to run the 15k and then give massages afterward, Mia said.
There’s usually a long line for massages, which is why they’re not offered to 5k runners, too, Mia Eisenhut said. But a lot of 5k runners do ask for massages and are quite disappointed to be told no, she said.
Zanetta Gary, of Albany, and Pedrick O’Garro, of Utica, a couple running their first 5k Boilermaker, took advantage of the chiropractic tent. It felt good, O’Garro said.
“It was awesome,” Gary raved.
This was Gary’s first 5k and O’Garro’s first that wasn’t a fun run. Garry only did a tiny bit of training so the race went better than expected, she said.
“We had a great time,” O’Garro said.
Race is a family affair
For Christine Schieble, of Floyd, this year’s Boilermaker was a landmark in more than ways than one. It was her 25th consecutive year running either the 15k or the 5k.
And it was the first time all three of her daughters — Andrea Opperman, of Oriskany, Ashley Clark, of Oriskany, and Alicia Duncan, of Rome —joined her to run the 5k as well as her 13-year-old grandson Nolan Opperman.
Schieble has been begging all of them to join her for years (which only one has done in the past) so they decided to do it for her 25th year, Clark said.
Two other local families started handing the running torch on to the next generation this year. Friends Jim and Michelle Parker, of New Hartford, and Heather and Zac Wasielewski ran the 5k this year with their sons, Ben Parker, 10, and Caz Wasielewski, 9, both running for the first time.
Nate Parker, 6, ran his first Kids’ Run on Saturday this year.
“It was fun, but it was hard,” Ben said after the race.
Jewel Elephante isn’t quite ready to try the new Saranac beer or even to do the kids’ run. But at age 2, she was ready to watch the race with her dad Rocco, of Frankfurt, and cheer on her mom, Abby, as she ran the 15k.
Jewel and her dad were watching the runners near the end when her mother ran by. “She loved it,” Rocco Elephante said. “She gave her (mom) a kiss and a high five.”
And then, in the park at the afterparty, Jewel scavenged through her mom’s swag bag and happily munched on her banana.
Her dad, who skipped the race for child care, thinks she’ll be back for more.
“I think she’s a future runner,” he said. “If she takes after her mom and dad, she probably is.”
This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: What participants said about the Boilermaker Road Race: Weather, new beer, an accident
Reporting by Amy Neff Roth, Utica Observer Dispatch / Observer-Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
