In-Person Races Return to the Hudson Valley
After a delay of nearly a year, the village of Millbrook hosted the first annual Millbrook Marathon on Sunday April 11, 2021. Originally scheduled to be run in June 2020, challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic made hosting the event as planned last year essentially impossible.
Not only was the event the first ever Millbrook Marathon, it was also one of the first races to return to the traditional in-person format here in the Hudson Valley. Due to COVID-19, many of the region’s races converted to a virtual format, or simply did not happen at all. Local runner Aaron June welcomed the return to a less socially-isolated format, “Of course, traditionally, running is a solo sport, so it adapted well to the pandemic, but part of what makes it fun for myself is being around others.”
Organized by the Eastern Dutchess Road Runners Club (EDRRC), the event route was modified to avoid crowds gathering at Millbrook High School, as originally planned. “Unfortunately due to COVID we had to make some changes to our original course to avoid the Village of Millbrook. We felt it would be a good idea to avoid an area where crowds could possibly gather. We worked with the town over the last couple months and came up with an updated course for 2021,” said race organizers in a statement released on the race’s Facebook page.
In addition the event was capped at 130 participants to ensure that social-distancing protocols could be maintained. The event sold out approximately two months prior to race day, suggesting high demand for a return to normal.
To keep runners safe, the race didn’t utilize a traditional mass-start, but rather runners went off in 10-minute increments. “Everyone must wear a mask before and after the race unless you are far from anyone else. Wearing of a mask when running is up to you. Everyone must stay at least 6ft away from other runners and non runners before and after the race! No standing in groups,” were just a few of the rules listed on the race’s website.
With rain in the forecast and temperatures in the low fifties, turnout for the race was a little lower than originally expected. However, of the 78 runners who started the race, all 78 successfully completed the 26.2 mile run.
Reid McGrath of Pawling and Caitlin Sorriento of Millbrook were the winners of the race with times of 3:03:23 and 3:52:50 respectively
With newly announced regulations by the CDC regarding masks outdoors, fully-vaccinated individuals can now gather outdoors without masks, which bodes well for more in-person races this summer.
