The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Boilermaker gauntlet to begin today
The 9.3 gauntlet of a race will welcome thousands of runner to run through the streets, a tradition dating back to 1970.
Thousands of people are expected to flock to Utica today for one of the region’s staple athletic events.
The Boilermaker, a 9.3 mile gauntlet of a race through the City of Utica, welcomes thousands of runners each year to partake in a tradition dating back to the 1970s.
The origins of the race, as documented by organizers, trace back to Earle C. Reed in 1978. Reed wanted to give back to the local community for its support of Reed’s family business, Utica Companies (ECR International). After convincing his father Bob Reed, the President of Utica Radiator, and company treasurer Jim Benson to get behind the idea of a road race, which Earle dubbed the “Boilermaker”, the men enlisted cofounder F.X. Matt II, president of F.X. Matt Brewing Company, for further assistance. With their
combined efforts, the first Boilermaker was run on July 16, 1978.
In that first running, 782 runners finished the 15K out of a field of 930 registrants. Now in its 42nd running, organizers expect a more than 19,000 competitors, with more than $1000,000 available in total prize money.
The 15K race takes runners from the start line at ECR International along the Utica Parkway. After a quick jaunt up through Valley View Golf Club and Golf Course, participants return to the Parkway before heading along upper Genesee Street, turning onto Shepherd Place, Sunset Avenue and then onto Burrstone Road past the Utica College campus. Then, the course continues down Champlin Avenue, Whitesboro and Court Streets before concluding at the F.X. Matt Brewery.
The Boilermaker begins today, at 8 a.m.