Local road race schedule on hold due to COVID-19
Races on hold due to COVID-19; Kelley race fate not yet determined
Way Hedding has all the dates in his head. There are the road races Hedding was supposed to run, including a trip to the Mt. Hood Marathon in Portland, Oregon, scheduled for June 27. That's canceled. There is the celebrated event for which Niantic's Hedding has been race director since 1989, the 58th Annual Ocean Beach/John & Jessie Kelley Half-Marathon on Aug. 1. Hedding is still waiting to see how that unfolds, pending permission from the towns through which it passes.
And there is a list of races usually presided over by SNERRO, a timing organization which is co-owned by Hedding, his wife Melinda and their partner Pete Volkmar. The SNERRO calendar is good for 60-70 races annually. So far because of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been two.
"All the cancellations rolled in," Hedding said Wednesday morning. "SNERRO has had 21 local races either postponed, gone virtual or canceled all together and there's more coming all the time.
"Ocean Beach is going into its 58th year. We've been through all kinds of stuff, floods, snowstorms, hurricanes, the EEE virus; by far coronavirus is the most severe so far. You knew we were in serious trouble when the Boston Marathon was postponed. This is serious stuff. And we think it's serious, definitely."
The Kelley Race, originally the Schaefer Race, was run for the first time in 1963 and won by Mystic legend John Kelley, the 1957 Boston Marathon champion and two-time member of the U.S. Olympic marathon team. The race was renamed in Kelley's honor in 1974.
There is no fee to enter the Kelley Race and it has been honored many times over as one of New England Runner Magazine's "best of the best." The publication chose the Kelley Race as its 2012 Race of the Year.
The race is a source of pride for Hedding, a self-described Kelley groupie prior to Kelley's death.
Hedding said the race will take place in some form, whether it has to be a virtual race or can be run live. In virtual racing, which has become common during the pandemic, runners complete the course — or any course of that length — on their own schedule and submit a time. Times are then compiled.
"Hopefully we work something out. We're open to anything," said Hedding, who started out as a water boy at the event, timed by SNERRO, before working his way to race director. "We're going to try to keep it going. ... At Ocean Beach it's totally unique to all of those (other races). All we ask is a donation for the Gemma E. Moran food center. Other races have collected entry fees and they're trying to think of other alternatives. At least we're not up against that."
It's also a unique part of SNERRO. No members of the timing organization receive a paycheck. Any funds they receive as payment for their services are put into timing equipment, such as chip timing, clocks and timing mats.
“Ocean Beach is going into its 58th year. We've been through all kinds of stuff, floods, snowstorms, hurricanes, the EEE virus; by far coronavirus is the most severe so far. You knew we were in serious trouble when the Boston Marathon was postponed. This is serious stuff. And we think it's serious, definitely.”
WAY HEDDING, KELLEY HALF-MARATHON RACE DIRECTOR
Another expenditure is the maintenance of the timing van/bus, which Hedding jokes gets about seven miles to the gallon.
Beer as payment
"It's a hole in the highway we put money into," Hedding said with a laugh, speaking of the van. "The wheels fall off, the transmission goes. We have to keep it running. But we're non-profit. We lose money every year. It's a labor of love. The camaraderie. Nobody's paid; nobody at SNERRO is paid. Maybe a six-pack of beer and the helpers' shirts, but we don't have any salaries to meet.
"We put a lot of money into equipment to keep up with the new technology. We want to be attractive enough for races to hire us."
Still places to run
Hedding said there are still a number of local runners gathering most weeknights for socially distant fun runs throughout the region. On Tuesday nights the runners, including Hedding, meet at East Lyme High School to run the track. Wednesdays they meet at Hole-in-the-Wall Beach in Niantic, Thursdays at Sneekers Cafe in Groton and Fridays mark the Jogger Joe Fun Run series at Esker Point Beach.
"Jogger Joe is a 5K virtual race. Everyone reports the time in and Steve Fagin and Amby (Burfoot), they compile all the times," Hedding said. "Even though we didn't run against each other, they stack 'em all up. We started that from the day the virus started and we got the stay-athome order.
"We've gone and done our thing, alone or with somebody. It's loose knit. People can start whenever they want and it gives us some kind of commonality. We can maintain some training and have some fun."
Said Hedding: "We're still two months out from Ocean Beach. We're getting emails and phone calls every day. 'Is the event on? Is the event on?' There's a million and one questions . ... I don't know what we can really do but hope." v.fulkerson@theday.com