With 23 years behind them, this year the organizers of the Delmar Dash are looking to the past.
Marcia Adams and her husband Tom have only been directing the race for six years, so they said this year’s run will be in homage to races past.
“Next year will be the 25th anniversary and we want to reflect upon that,” said Co-Race Director Marcia Adams. “It started in 1988 and has always been one where we try to keep a sense of community. It’s one of the town’s main events.”
As part of the event, organizers are asking runners to bring in Delmar Dash T-shirts from past races to be put on display. The person who brings in the oldest shirt will win a $25 gift certificate to Fleet Feet in Colonie, but the shirt must have a date on it.
“We actually need people to bring them in because we don’t have them,” said Adams. She said no one kept the official shirts over the years, so she’s hoping runners will have them stashed away somewhere.
For the past five years, Delmar Dash T-shirts have featured a robot created by local graphic artist Tom Kracker.
“I’d been running the race for years and eventually I asked how I could be of help,” he said. Kracker soon volunteered to design the new race shirts.
Adams said they were looking for a character to put on the shirts that represented Delmar, but they couldn’t think of anything. That’s when Kracker’s son told him how many people in Delmar refer to themselves as “Delmartians.”
“Though at first I started out drawing Martians, I kept thinking of space and eventually it turned into this robot,” he said. “I drew something and just kind of ran with it, no pun intended. So now, we feature a running robot.”
Adams said this year, the robot will be featured more prominently than in years past. The shirts will once again feature a robot and winners of the children’s race will be given a USB drive in the shape of the robot.
“We look for prizes that are fun, but useful,” she said.
According to Adams, about 650 people run the race each year on average. Last year’s race had a record number of people signed up at 803 runners, and 713 finished the race. There will be one last opportunity to register for the 24th running of the Delmar Dash on the morning of Saturday, April 14, at Fleet Feet on Wolf Road in Colonie.
At press time, about 520 had signed up for the 5-mile race and by Saturday an additional 100 are expected to enter.
“We know a lot of people don’t make up their mind until the last minute because of work or they want to know what the weather is going to be like,” Adams said.
This year’s race will feature a Kid’s Corner sponsored by The Spotlight, which provides supervision for children while mom and dad are running. The children’s race is also sponsored by the newspaper, while the main event is sponsored by Bryant Asset Protection in Delmar.
This year spectators as well as those participating in the race can donate an old or new pair of sneakers to provide footwear to those in lower-income areas around the world. The shoes will benefit the Hope Seven Community Center, which “provides daycare for low-income families, activities for kids and maintains a food pantry for the community.” For every pound of shoes collected for the Green Sneakers program, 50 cents will be donated back by the program to support the community center. Hope Seven started the initiative in hopes of collecting 1,000 pairs of shoes by June.
Nancy Fopeano of Bryant Asset Protection said the drive is the perfect reason for residents to clean out their closets. For children who donate sneakers, the $2 registration fee for the children’s race will be waived.
Adams said the race not only promotes a healthy lifestyle but also brings together the Bethlehem community.
“It’s tradition,” she said. “Bethlehem has a large population of runners and since (the race) began I think there has been a consistency in the quality of the race. Because of that, since someone runs it they come back. We have a high percentage of repeats and we pride ourselves that those people want to come back and participate in our tradition.”
The 24th Annual Delmar Dash is a 5-mile race presented by the Hudson Mohawk Road Runners Club. It will be held on Sunday, April 15, starting at the Bethlehem Middle School at 9 a.m. Registration is $20 for HMRRC members and $25 for non-HMRRC members. The deadline for online registration is Friday, April 13, with the in-person last chance on Saturday, April 14, at Fleet Feet on Wolf Road in Colonie.
To learn more visit www.hmrrc.com.
