Any Sunday morning in the late 1980’s, you would find Hank Steadman, Alan Via and their buddies treading pavement across the Town of Bethlehem. Through rain, sleet or snow, the informal running group of 12 to 15 members would never fail to cover up to 10 miles each Sunday. They called themselves the Sunday Morning Running Group.
“I would look forward all week to get out on Sunday morning running with them,” Via said. “We would run basically two-by-two or three in a row, so you heard stories about their kids and their jobs and all the various things in their life.”
“We probably knew more about their lives than some of their family did,” Via said with a chuckle.
Someone from the group was responsible for placing a jug of water and paper cups at Orchard Hill Road early in the morning before meeting up with the group.
“This was when Fisher was just a town road through the woods,” Via said.
While out one morning on a run, a few of the runners came up with the idea of a town-wide race.
“We thought there was a big gap in the local racing calendar and the Town of Bethlehem is such a wonderful area to run in – and I wanted to show off the town,” Steadman said.
With this idea, the Delmar Dash was born, and the work began. First things first, they needed to come up with the route. Rather than use their feet, the group took to the street with bikes set up with special calibration devices to determine the course. They ended up settling on a five-mile run.
“We wanted a distance that wasn’t a 5K because 80 to 90 percent of the races are five kilometers,” said Steadman. “I wanted something different, but not so much that the novice runner couldn’t do it.”
Applications were printed up and distributed in stores all over the Capital District, T-shirts were designed, sponsors were recruited and volunteers were lined up for a number of jobs, including taking care of the starting and finish lines, handling the awards, manning the course – and setting up water stations.
“It became like a part-time job,” Via said.
In April of 1989, after hard work and determination, 303 runners crossed the finish line in the first Delmar Dash.
Over the years, the number of participants grew and the course changed. In 1989, the race began at the intersection of Elsmere Avenue and Delaware Avenue, and has since it has been moved to the Bethlehem Middle School.
“The basic essence of the race hasn’t changed,” Steadman said. “It has always been seen as a real grassroots community event and a kind of ‘come out in the springtime’ type of event.”
“People come out on their front lawns waving with the kids, holding up signs, ‘Go Charlie’ or ‘Way to go Ann’ or yelling ‘Hey, you’re looking strong there!” Via laughed. “It’s very much a community event.
Held in April, the race has seen its share of soggy weather, so much so that Via said for a few years the logo on the race T-shirt had an umbrella on it.
“The very first race was a spectacular spring, and then a front came through,” said Via. “The temperature was in the high 20s and windy – it was brutally cold.”
Steadman said clearly the most memorable race was in 2000.
“It was scheduled for April 9, and on that day we got 13 inches of snow. We had to postpone the race until April 30,” he said.
After a number of years, the job of organizing the race was passed on to a new group of people.
“It was a really hard thing to let go,” said Via. “But with everything else going on in our lives, it was time to hand it over to someone else.”
Via and Steadman plan to man the sidelines at this year’s race.
“The Delmar Dash is going to be 25 years old,” Via said. “My baby is all grown up and an adult now.”
The Delmar Dash will run for the 25th time on April 14, at 9 a.m. at the Bethlehem Middle School. Organizers Aaron and Diana Knobloch, plan to recognize Steadman, Via and the other original organizers at the event.
Via said he is looking forward to being there.
“I have even asked them if I could do the announcement and shoot the gun,” said Via with a laugh.
Registration is available online until Thursday, April 11, at noon, at www.hmrrc.com. There will be no day-of-race registration. Last chance registration is $30 and will be held at Fleet Feet Sports at 155 Wolf Road in Colonie, on Saturday, April 13, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information, visit www.hmrrc.com.