BUSQUE BREAKS RECORD, CHMIEL REPEATS ON 4TH
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » On a beautiful sunny day on the fourth of July, a record was broken by a male runner and a repeat happened on the female side in the 11th annual Firecracker 4, a four mile race.
The race starts at the front of the city center on Broad Street and runs through Saratoga Springs, finishing at the back of the city center.
The race began at 9 a.m. with the mayor greeting everyone, the national anthem being sung and the horn being sounded to start the race. All the racers started together with vigor in their step and in some of their minds, first place as the end goal.
The first person to reach the finish line was John Busque from Manchester, Connecticut, who crossed with the hopes of beating the course record of 19:19. And he did. Busque said that he was happy to be the top finisher and set the record, finishing with a time of 19:13, a six second improvement of the record.
“It was definitely cool,” Busque said. “I had an idea the course record was around 19:19 and if I ran a decent race I thought it was achievable and I had a good group of guys pushing me, which made it a lot easier than if I was out there alone.”
Busque said running in the race again was something he wanted to do after finishing so well last season.
“Last year, I was coming off an injury and my girlfriend lives
close by, so we came up,” Busque said. “I wasn’t really in great shape then, but I really enjoyed the race and I knew I wanted to come back this year. I had a healthy training block, so I definitely came in this year in better shape and it was beautiful weather, easy to run, a good pack to run with and a good group of guys to run with, so it was fun.”
Busque said he was happy with how the crowd reacted and is looking forward to coming back next season. He will have a chance to come back next season and go for the repeat, a feat accomplished on the female side.
On the female side, Saratoga Springs high school track runner Kelsey Chmiel managed to finish at the top of the pack. Chmiel finished with a time of 22:04, getting her second straight victory at the Firecracker 4.
Chmiel kept her pace throughout the race, runner to about a five minute mile time. Chmiel beat out the next closest female by a sizable margin. Chmiel left after the race and was not at the award ceremony to receive her trophy, so she was unavailable for comment.
The Firecracker 4 gives runners of all ages the chance to show what they can do and run in a race that is competitive while also being a fun event to be at.
Next year, will mark its 12th season and the race, which has seen more and more competitors each year it has run, is likely to continue to grow and continue to be a competitive and fun part of the Fourth of July festivities.