The 23rd Delmar Dash will step off on Sunday, April 10
Runners, walkers and spectators are gearing up for what in Bethlehem is an unofficial welcome to spring. That’s right, the 23rd Annual Delmar Dash is right around the corner.
The race will step off at 9 a.m. on Sunday, April 10, from the Bethlehem Central Middle School on Kenwood Avenue, and organizers are expecting a banner year.
Over 700 people finished in last year’s Dash on a beautiful spring morning, a record turnout for the annual race. Registration thus far has been strong enough that it’s hoped this year will eclipse even that hearty turnout, though, assuming the weather cooperates.
Everything is full speed ahead, I think we are going to have a near record crowd again, said race organizer Marcia Adams, who has been heading up the Dash with her husband, Tom, for the last few years.
Registration for the race is still open. Members of the Hudson Mohawk Road Runners Club will receive a discount on registration, set at $15. Non-members will pay $18. Online registration is available through www.hmrrc.com until April 4.
The absolute last chance to register will be on Saturday, April 9, at Fleet Feet on Wolf Road, from 2 to 6 p.m. The fee at that time will be $20. The race is sponsored by Bryant Asset Protection, Inc.
Like last year, there will be no day-of-race registration. Dealing with the flood of late registrants always turned out to be a great difficulty for volunteers, and nixing the option apparently didn’t hurt last year’s record turnout. It’s also better for the runners, said Adams, who have time to warm up and socialize instead of worrying about getting their registration in order.
`It tended to take away from the fun or the relaxing, so we basically said no day-of-race so we could eliminate the hassle,` Adams said. `I think it worked…there was almost a festival atmosphere instead of a tension.`
Runners who have registered up to this point have been guaranteed a T-shirt, but this late in the game orders are no longer being taken. Instead, organizers have dropped the registration fee.
There will be plenty happening for non-runners, as well. The Bethlehem Food Pantry will be set up in the Middle School gymnasium to take donations. In addition to canned food items, the pantry is always in need of toiletries, coffee and tea, condiments and laundry detergents.
After the race, coffee, tea and the famous post-race vegetarian soup will be available. Awards will be handed out in age categories.
Once again, kids 12 and under will be able to participate in the Spotlight on Youth Race in 1/4-, 1/2-, and 1-mile lengths. Registration for these races is day-of-race only, from 8:30 to 9:45 a.m. in the middle school gym, with the races starting to step off at 10 a.m. Around 200 kids participated last year, so an early registration is advisable.
The Youth Race registration fee is $2. Instead of the traditional T-shirt, kids will instead receive a backpack that looks like a shirt. That should not only be more useful, said Adams, but will ensure kids don’t get stuck with a T-shirt that’s not their size.
`What would happen is a little kid would come up, and we’re already out of small T-shits, and they’re stuck with this monster shirt they can’t wear,` Adams said.
Participants for both races will likely come from all over the area. Alyssa Lotmore, a social worker at Albany Preparatory Charter School, will be bringing a busload of kids from the school’s newly-formed running club down to the race. The club was made possible largely through a grant from the HMRRC’s Just Run program, which helps to introduce inner city youth to running.
`We have about 35 to 40 kids, all urban, inner city youth who have never ran,` said Lotmore. `We’re starting out slow…but we’re definitely building up and they really like it.`
Lotmore plans to bring the team to as many events as possible this spring and summer, but the Dash will be the first event for the kids. Road running is something of a foreign concept to many of the students, so she hopes they’ll be encouraged by seeing there’s a whole group of people behind the activity.
`I thought it would be a fun one to open with,` she said. `I know they get T-shirts and that it’s really a community event.`
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