By Bill Burk
The start of the inaugural Chautauqua Striders Winter 5K Series was staggered, sending the slower runners out first, the faster at the back. If all went according to plan, the hundred or so runners would converge on the finish line at the same time, a competitive sprint for the tape. It was an exciting, novel idea, giving everyone in the race a chance to cross the finish line first.
The Running in the USA web site shows 24 road races scheduled for Chautauqua County this coming year, all in the Spring and summer. Full-fledged road races in the winter around here are rare, getting runners out in the cold, the logistics of keeping sweaty people warm and safe is a significant challenge. But that’s exactly where the Chautauqua Striders Athletic Club found their niche, creating the Winter 5K Race Series. The races, run on five Saturdays throughout the winter is the foremost event for the premier running club in Chautauqua County. Mike Engdahl, an original organizer of the race series says, “We decided on five races in the winter months, when there were no other races. We use age-grading, to decide the best runners by age-group and gender, like a golf handicap. Gives everyone a chance to compete for a title of best runner.”
A little over ten years ago it was decided that Jamestown needed a running club; every decent sized city has one. Enter Engdahl and Dave Reinhardt (local track enthusiast and legend). They started The Striders Athletics Club, and tied it to the Chautauqua Striders, a natural union of clubs dedicated to running. They opened it to anyone who wanted run, “from walkers to Boston Marathoners” as Mike says, “the club has about 200 members.”
Chautauqua Striders came about in 1979, its mission to train young track athletes and help them earn college scholarships. They hosted local meets and sent runners and fielders to national events. Strider track athletes have gone on to compete at national age-group championships all over the country. Striders evolved from a track-only venture into a “multifaceted community organization, proudly offering diversified programs that incorporate its mission to mentor and guide youth through education, advocacy and athletics”, per its mission statement. It’s a place where a kid can go to find a friend, mentor, tutor, or teacher to prepare them for college and/or career experience, serving over 1,200 youth annually in Chautauqua County.
The organizers of that first race some ten years ago, took precautions for their ambitious leap into winter races; roads were plowed and secure, plenty of volunteers along the course, emergency personnel on site, plenty of places to get warm. “That first race”, Mike Engdahl remembers, “we wanted to do something special, so we staggered the runners, loosely based on age and gender, we started the older participants first, the younger, faster runners last. The idea was that would give everyone a chance to be first across the finish line.”
Great idea!
Races use radio chips for timing. All runners pass a transponder, and their time starts. At the finish, they have to pass, almost single file, another transponder that stops their clock and registers their time. Roads in Chautauqua County in January are notoriously, stubbornly, icy, and surfaces get even more slick when hundreds of shoes and boots trample them, snow gets compressed into ice, ice turns to…well, more ice.
Mike Engdahl remembers that first race, “So here we had about a hundred runners scheduled to finish at the same time, funneled into a single file, coned, tapered slippery chute in the road.”
Bad idea!
“Luckily, Dave and I didn’t handicap the race very well at all, and the finish was staggered. We dodged one there.” Mike laughs about it now.
That was the end of the Winter Run 5K Race staggered start.
But the race series still goes on, as popular as ever.
For more information, go to: runsignup.com and search Chautauqua Striders Winter 5k Race
All races start at 10am, with registration from 9-9:454am. The cost is $80 for the entire series (plus registration fees), or $20 per race until 12pm the day before the race. Day of registration is $25.
Continuation Caption: Chautauqua Striders came about in 1979, its mission to train young track athletes and help them earn college scholarships. They hosted local meets and sent runners and fielders to national events. Strider track athletes have gone on to compete at national age-group championships all over the country. Striders evolved from a track-only venture into a “multifaceted community organization, proudly offering diversified programs that incorporate its mission to mentor and guide youth through education, advocacy and athletics”, per its mission statement. It’s a place where a kid can go to find a friend, mentor, tutor, or teacher to prepare them for college and/or career experience, serving over 1,200 youth annually in Chautauqua County.