County hosts family orientated community event
Get ready to hop on your bike, navigate across a lake and hustle down the street during a friendly competition with local residents.
Schenectady County’s inaugural Pedal-Paddle-Run hopes to include residents in a triathlon around Collins Park in Scotia, followed by a celebration including food, music and family activities.
It is not your traditional triathlon, so it can be a little more family friendly, said Joe McQueen, Schenectady County spokesman. `We really want it to be a family friendly event. It is not timed, so it is not a competitive event. We just want people to come out and enjoy the outdoors and get together as a community, and there will be fun afterwards.`
The race begins at 8:30 a.m. in Collins Park followed by the celebration from noon to 2 p.m. Participants, ages 10 and up, can form a two- to four-member team, or those looking for a challenge can compete alone as an Ironman competitor if they are at least 15 years old.
The biking section starts off the race, going through Scotia and Glenville, followed by the running portion through historic and scenic roads in Scotia, ending at Collins Lake where participants do two laps around the lake in a canoe or kayak.
Adults over 18 or mixed-age teams have a $45 registration fee for Team Captains or Ironman competitor and an additional $10 fee for each additional team member. Youth teams have a $25 fee for Team Captains or Ironman competitors and $8 for each additional member.
Joe McQueen, Schenectady County spokesman, said Susan Savage, D-Niskayuna, chairwoman of the Schenectady County Legislature, came up with the event and had been talking about it for a while. She thought it would be a good if there could be an event to bring the community together around wellness.
`It is another community-building event, and it gives people an opportunity to participate in and compete in a friendly manner with friends and family,` said Savage. `It just makes for a fun day of friendly competition. Events like this are things that continue to bring us together as a community.`
When participants register for the triathlon, they get a ticket to the barbecue hosted by LT’s Grill in Niskayuna, a commemorative T-shirt and a goodie bag with some items and coupons for local businesses. Even though the event is not competitive, Wendy Voelker, Schenectady County special events coordinator, said she hopes to have some special prizes for the winners.
Voelker said it would be `terrific` if businesses would sponsor under-18-year-old teams, because she is looking to get more kids involved, and some can’t easily afford the registration fee. The kids could then wear T-shirts with the sponsor’s name/logo like a professional athlete.
A lot of people are registering to be an Ironman in the race, said Voelker.
`It is a popular feature of a lot of triathlons around the area and county because they like to test themselves,` said Voelker. `It is not a real difficult course. If you are in good shape, it is a very difficult course to do on your own.`
McQueen said even if residents don’t plan to participate, they should come down to support and cheer on others in the race. Also, Voelker said, athletes could use the race as training for future events.
`Collins Park in Scotia is a great place to have an event of this type. It is a beautiful venue and it can highlight what a great community Scotia is for people all around the county and the region,` said Savage.
The band Filming Ohio, made up of Schenectady High School graduates will be the entertainment during the celebration after the race. Besides food, there will also be a bounce house, face-painting by the Boys and Girls Club of Schenectady and other activities hosted by the YMCA.
`Our goal really is to grow this into a great event for the county,` said McQueen. `We hope to have a lot of people come down and grow every year to have a really great community event.`
Proceeds from the event are going toward Schenectady County youth programs. All participants are responsible for bringing their own gear to the event. Also, no tickets will be sold on the day of the event.
For information on the event, such as detailed maps for each stretch of the race and canoe or kayak rental locations, visit the county’s
website
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