The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Road race ready for 42nd annual run
Nearly 1,000 runners sign up for Sunday
LITCHFIELD — Sunday’s weather report looks promising for a road race — temperatures in the mid-70s, some sun and clouds, but no rain and not much humidity.
For the nearly 1,000 runners who registered online to take part in the 42nd annual Litchfield Hills Road Race, it’s welcome news.
Past race days have been greeted by searing heat, stifling humidity or pouring rain, but sunny Sundays have prevailed.
The 7.2-mile run offers athletes a challenging course through some of the prettiest areas of town and ending with the grueling trek up the dreaded Gallows Hill before runners push through to the finish line.
When asked if the race had ever been canceled because of bad weather, race committee member Beth Murphy said, “I had an email on that already earlier in the week when the forecast was a bit more dire. I told this guy that we only cancel the race due to a hurricane, a tornado, earthquake, or if we run out of beer. Fortunately none of that has ever happened to date.”
Race committee members say offers something for everyone. Before the adults take to the main course, fun runs for teens and children draw a crowd to West Street.
A competitive 2.3-mile race is followed by a non-competitive 1-mile run, and 200-yard dashes for ages 4 and up. Children can sign up for these races on Sunday morning.
The Litchfield Green will be active by 10 a.m. with massage tables for runners, live music, ongoing commentary by road race member Brett “Hawk” Hawkins — who likely will be dressed in his bright stripes and polka dots — and plenty of time for spectators to line the course and cheer on the runners. A cannon is fired at 1 p.m. to start the main race.
Murphy said Thursday 957 people registered online for the race. “Weather depending, we’ll have 200 to 400 sign up on race day,” she said.
The only change to the course this year is at the end, Murphy said — a slight shift in the runner finish area — because of a sidewalk project at the United Methodist Church on that end of the green.
Online registration is closed, but latecomers can register on race day on the green starting at 10 a.m.
The Litchfield Hills Road Race was established in 1977 by the nowlate Joe Concannon, along with Bill Neller, Hawkins and others who enjoyed running together in town. “Joe wanted a vehicle to bring his out-of-town running friends together with his hometown friends, and thus the Litchfield Hills Road Race was born,” Hawkins wrote at www.lhrr.com. “Based on the famous race in Falmouth, Mass., the Litchfield Hills Road Race course was plotted, runners were invited, volunteers were recruited, beer was put on ice, and in 1977, the first race was underway.”
In the years that followed, Hawkins said, the race got bigger, more volunteers were needed, more planning was necessary, more Litchfield families opened their homes to runners, and deep, long-lasting friendships were forged between people who, if not for Joe, would never have met, he said.
Participants have include runners from around the world representing Ireland, New Zealand, Kenya, Great Britain, Belgium, Tanzania, Canada, Yugoslavia, Morocco, Poland and more, “keeping pace with some more famous American runners, including Bill Rodgers, Joan Benoit, Dave Dunham, Randy Thomas, Patti Catalano and Vin Fleming — as well as ‘infamous Litchfield runners, such as Rick Evangelisti, David Driscoll, Father Tucker, the Hound, Paula Brunetto, The Hawk, Bill Sivhra, always several McKennas; the list is endless,’ ” Hawkins wrote. “The race is rich with traditions … the firing of the cannon by the First Litchfield Artillery, the ‘Hill’, the barricade brigade, the infamous line from Bill Rodgers, ‘I had to go into ninth gear’ referring to his trek up Gallows Lane, Dave Skoneiczny calling the runners to post, the Surviving Souls (those who have run every race), our town constable leading the pack of runners down Meadow Street, the Village, the bands that line the course, the flags hanging uptown that represent the countries of past winners, the welcoming encouragement from marshals, the pink flamingos of our dearly departed marshals George Dwan and Roberta Coffill-Healy at Road Race Park, and of course the wonderful spectators, encouraging the runners every step of the way.”
To learn more about the race, visit www.lhrr.com.