Fall Racing is the Best

By Mona Kulkarni Caron

With cooler temperatures, lower humidity, and vibrant foliage, fall running and walking is the best! You can reap the benefits from your fitness, and the race calendar is full of events suited for all ages and fitness levels. These highlighted events include 5Ks, community walks, half marathons and marathons. Learn more and sign up today.

October kicks off with a unique, family-friendly walk on Saturday, Oct. 3, it’s the Dan’s Derby and Walk, a 1.25-mile walk and derby car building and racing at Gavin Park in Saratoga Springs. Here’s your chance to build the car of your dreams and race it on the derby track. The memorial walk is in remembrance of those lives lost to substance use, recovery, and remembrance – and was formerly known as the Dan Provost Memorial Walk. Other activities include games, silent auction, food, and community resource fair. All funds raised benefit The Prevention Council of Saratoga County, including the Healing Springs Recovery Center. Sign up for the walk, stay for the derby and activities: preventioncouncil.org. 

Also on Oct. 3, is the 19th annual CCRC Pat Glover 5K Run/Walk & BBQ. Held in May for many years, this low-key community run/walk is now named for its founder, Pat Glover – a prolific lifelong runner, volunteer, and a good human. The USATF-sanctioned 5K starts at 3pm at the Christ Community Reformed Church in Clifton Park and is entirely run on neighborhood roads, safe from traffic, and walkers are encouraged. There’s also fun family team competition with six divisions. It’s followed by a fun Kids 1K at 4pm with a medal and ice cream certificate. Finally, there’s a delicious BBQ dinner at 4:15pm –included in your 5K and 1K entry. Dinner is served under a tent and includes a great drawing for everyone! If desired, you can also order additional BBQ meals and take your dinner to go. All net proceeds go to Camp Under the Woods: itsyourrace.com.

On Sunday, Oct. 4, it’s the I Pink I Can! 5K Race/Walk, now held at Mohawk Harbor in Schenectady. Proceeds benefit To Life!, providing breast cancer support and education. Gather your loved ones for this family-friendly 5K that brings together competitive runners, casual walkers, and passionate supporters in a vibrant celebration of strength, survivorship, and breast cancer awareness.​ To Life! provides support groups, peer mentoring, education and wellness programs, and full-service boutiques for mastectomy products, wigs and other hair coverings. Started in 1998 as an independent charitable organization, To Life! serves the needs of those currently in treatment and post-treatment. A complimentary beverage from nearby Druthers is included for each participant: zippyreg.com.

On Saturday, Oct. 10 is the Run to Remember 5K Run & Walk, a family-friendly, community-wide event, organized by the RPI AFROTC Detachment 550, to support local veterans and current college students. The race/walk starts at the East Campus Athletic Village at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy – and all are welcome. There’s also a virtual option for those who would like to support the cause but can’t participate in person. There’s also a student discount of $15. Sixty percent of profits will be donated to Mission 22, a nonprofit dedicated to offering free mental health, wellness, and community support programs for veterans and their families. Their programs provide immediate help, eliminating the wait that veterans often face. They are also partnered with 15 other organizations to help veteran families with finances, mental health, and rehabilitation. Mission 22 was named after a statistic that estimates 22 veterans die by suicide each day. Their goal is to combat this statistic by providing support and resources and raising awareness: runsignup.com.

The 10th annual Summer Smith 5K Addiction Awareness Memorial Run/Walk is back this fall on Saturday, Oct. 24. Run or walk the race and help stop the stigma. It’s held in memory of Summer Smith, a loving mother of three boys who died in 2015 after a 12-year struggle with addiction. Summer’s mom Kristin established this race in her memory and to honor her desire to live a life in recovery and to overcome the disease of addiction. Held at Guilderland High School in Guilderland Center, the race is open to walkers, children and strollers, and dogs. The race will be preceded by a Memory Ceremony and a free Kids Fun Run for ages 1-8. Proceeds benefit the Summer Smith Guilderland High School Scholarship Fund, Zachary Morrissey Scholarship Fund, Schenectady YWCA Women’s Housing Program, and the Addiction Care Center of Albany. The race brings attention to the disease of addiction, so if one person is saved, or one conversation is started between a parent and a child, then the goal will have been reached: summersmith5k.org.

Get your costumes ready for these Halloween-themed races! The Albany Trick or Trot Pumpkin Run 5K is a fun, spooky race for all ages, featuring a beautiful Halloween decorated course through Washington Park in on Saturday, Oct. 24. You can run or walk the course and costumes are encouraged. All registered will receive a wicking race shirt. The 5K starts at 3:45pm for runners who expect to finish in under 35 minutes and 4:30pm for Fun Run and Walkers who expect to finish in 35+ minutes. Before the race, enjoy the pre-party event from 12-4pm featuring free family-friendly entertainment, including free pumpkins, candy, vendors, decorations, and a DJ. Following the race, stay for the awards ceremony, which includes best costume prizes for participants: albanyevents.org.

On Halloween Day, Saturday, Oct. 31, join the 33rd Goblin Gallop 5K Run/Walk at Abraham Wing School in Glens Falls. The Goblin is a fun and uplifting community-based run with a Halloween theme and costumes are encouraged. The event is on a well-marked two-loop course in downtown Glens Falls – “So fast it’s scary!” The free Halloween Hop Kids1K Run follows the 5K with Halloween treat bag to all finishers. Sign up by Oct. 10 for a commemorative race shirt. It’s a fundraiser for the Adirondack Runners Scholarship Fund and a wonderful Nepal Village Schools Project. Proceeds have helped build a new three-story Regional Secondary School building in a remote hill village in Nepal. Race director Lee Pollock spent two years in this village as a Peace Corps teacher in the 1970s, and goals include improved sanitation and clean water for the school, a library, and increased computer and internet access: zippyreg.com. 

Fall also means it’s marathon and half-marathon season. Check out these races that also offer shorter options so that everyone in your training group can participate. 

On Saturday, Oct. 10, get ready to race in the Lake Placid Classic Half Marathon, 10K and 5K, celebrating 55 years! Races start and finish at the North Elba Horse Show Grounds surrounded by nature and the beauty of the High Peaks during peak fall foliage. The route for the Half Marathon and 10K includes two moderate hills, one at the start and one at the end. The start time is at 8am and the course closes at noon. Last year they introduced the 5K, with walkers welcome, so you can enjoy the scenery on a shorter course. If you need last-minute running gear, stop by race sponsor the Fallen Arch in Lake Placid. The nonprofit event races raise funds to support a community-wide wellness initiatives and local youth programming: lakeplacidclassic.com.

On Sunday, Oct. 11, join the Mohawk Hudson River Marathon and Half Marathon – the Capital Region’s premier long-distance event. Both races are point-to-point, fast, flat and have an elevation decline, so your PR or Boston Marathon qualifier race awaits. Runner’s World magazine describes the course as “simple, understated and stunning.” The marathon starts in Schenectady and makes its way to the Mohawk Hudson Bike Hike Trail at mile four. For 14 miles, you can enjoy the scenic river and foliage views along the Mohawk and Hudson rivers. There’re 3.5 miles of Cohoes and Watervliet city streets and pathway, before you’re back onto the bike path for the final five miles for a strong finish and cheering crowds as you approach Corning Preserve in Albany. The marathon attracts some of the top runners in the Northeast, and there are race pacers, so there’s no better place to test your mental and physical strength than this course. The half marathon starts at the Colonie Town Park and proceeds to the bike path – it’s the second half of the full marathon. The Hudson-Mohawk Road Runners Club organizes these well-run races with super volunteer and community support – perfect for all distance runners: mohawkhudsonmarathon.com.

The following weekend, head to Vermont for the Middlebury Maple Run Half Marathon, 10K and 5K, on Saturday, Oct. 18. Vermont’s “sweetest races” are a mix of trail, paved and dirt roads for each distance amidst colorful foliage in and around Middlebury. Enjoy the beautiful, scenic routes with views of the Green Mountains and Adirondacks. The races are well-organized with great swag, inspiring music on course, and a complimentary post-race breakfast. On course you’re well supported by five water/aid stations. Top finishers win Vermont maple syrup. Complimentary race pacing services are available for the half marathon with goal times of 1:40, 1:50, 2:00, 2:15, 2:30 and 2:45. No sign up is necessary, just find your pace group at the starting line. With so many perks and support on race day, it’s worth a trip: middleburymaplerun.com.

Support these races and their worthy causes by signing up. Keep your training going this fall and see how far it takes you!

Mona Kulkarni Caron (mona@adksports.com) enjoys running, biking, paddling and the outdoors. She’s a volunteer mentor for the Run for Women Training Challenge, past race director of the Good Karma 5K Run/Walk, and Director of Trails & Stewardship at the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor.