Mayor: Boilermaker logo will mention Utica

The Boilermaker Road Race logo will feature the name of the city of Utica in 2009 after all. 

Wind, grit challenges at Kabul Boilermaker

Boilermaker results finally were in Tuesday. 

Results from the Boilermaker in Kabul, Afghanistan, that is. 

The winner of the 22-man race braved gusts of wind, dust, grit, 86-degree weather and a monotonous course Sunday to finish in 59 minutes, 8 seconds. 

1st Lt. Justin Hobbs, of Austin, Texas, finished first among the runners, many of whom were there serving in the New York Army National Guard. 

Boilermaker Spectator results not available

The results for the Boilermaker Spectator contest will be available within one week according to Boilermaker Public Relations Director Mary MacEnroe.

The text message voting will end at midnight tonight, she said. Boilermaker staff will then tally the votes and the winner gets a block party on Aug. 13, she said.

Leone searches for timing glitch

Pat Leone was hard at work Monday, attempting to figure out why his starting line systems failed during Sunday’s 31st annual Utica Boilermaker Road Race. 

The 9,773 finishers in the 15-kilometer race received gun times rather than net times – the elapsed time between when they crossed electronic mats at the start of the race and again at the finish line – because the start line electronic equipment failed. 

Hall of Famers have something to tell us

Legendary marathoner Frank Shorter stood at the podium, holding Johnny Hayes’ 1908 Olympic marathon gold medal, about as big as a half dollar, and his own 1972 gold medal, a much more substantial hunk of shiny metal. 

Shorter had a century of sports history cradled right there in his hands: the awards belonging to the only two American men ever to win the iconic event of the Olympics, together for the first time. 

It was a great moment, one that not enough of us witnessed. 

Boilermaker timer: Interference knocked out timing systems at start

The official timer for the Utica Boilermaker Road Race said Monday electronic interference at the start line disabled the race’s timing systems.

Column: Boilermaker a hard habit to break

This was supposed to be a one-shot deal.

You know, one and done?

Yeah, right.

Ten years ago, that was the plan. Put my best foot - make that feet - forward, see what I'd been missing, satisfy my curiosity, savor the moment, and move on.

As it turned out, once wasn't enough.

Ten Utica Boilermaker 15K Road Races later and still hooked?

Run 9.3 miles, and actually fork over $40 to do it?

Strong finish for race winner Maregu

First there was a big crowd of guys.

Then there were 12. Then 10. Then eight.

After eight miles, there were five, and, finally, with a couple of hundred yards to go in Sunday's 31st annual Utica Boilermaker Road Race, there were just four.

Terefe Maregu figured he would win.

“Yes,” he said. “I am a strong finisher.”

Finish strong he did, outgunning Peter Kamais through the stretch, winning in the 15-kilometer race in 44:17, the slowest winning time since 1988.

Utica connection helps top America finisher Cabada

Fernando Cabada wanted to finish in the top 10 in Sunday's Utica Boilermaker Road Race.

He didn't.

He was 12th in 46:10, but he did earn $1,000 as the top American in the field, thanks in part to his friendship with a Utica family.

Cabada, a native of Fresno, Calif., learned about the Boilermaker at a Syracuse race in 2005 from Utica native Carlo Cuccaro. He'd been itching to come here ever since.

Rabo Kasim's late move leads to win

One second made the difference.

Ashu Rabo Kasim sprinted too early at the Peachtree Road Race on July 4, and the move might have cost her the 10K title.

The Ethiopian was more patient during Sunday's Boilermaker 15K, and her decision led the 23-year-old to the women's open division title in her first appearance in Utica.

Rabo Kasim's time of 50:39 was the slowest women's winning time since 1990, but enough to hold off four-time winner Catherine Ndereba by one second.

First overseas Boilermaker a success

A total of about 35 people competed in and finished the first official overseas version of the Boilermaker Road Race last night in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Chief Warrant Officer Daniel Clark organized the race so he wouldn't miss out while stationed overseas with the Army National Guard. Clark, 60, competed in the last 16 Boilermakers, and has been a member of the planning committee for about a decade.

Whitesboro grad Povec breaks 60-minute mark

Kim Povec wasn't sure Sunday was “the day.”

As it turned out, it was.

The University of New Hampshire runner from Holland Patent who entered Sunday's Boilermaker 15K Road Race hoping to crack the 60-minute barrier knew less than two miles from the finish that she had a shot.

“I kept checking my watch the last mile and a half, maybe two miles, because I wasn't sure,” said Povec. “I was getting a little nervous.”

Not to worry.

A day of drama

Drama wasn't hard to come by in Sunday's 31st running of the 15-kilometer Utica Boilermaker Road Race.

• Early rainfall that stopped just in time for yet another precipitation-free run.
• Narrow wins by a pair of Ethiopians in the men's and women's races.
• The first 15K run by the state's governor.
• And a monumental timing snafu that will leave 2008's runners forever wondering exactly how fast they ran.

West Utica Volunteer Profiles

Augusta Smith and Cari Kessler

 Age: 17 and 38

 From: Oriskany

 Years volunteering: This was their first year. They were volunteering with the Oriskany Fire Department.

 Why they do it: For Smith, who attends Oriskany High School, it was her first time watching the Boilermaker Road Race, and she was looking forward to it.
Both had been there since 6:30 a.m.

Kessler said it gave her a rush to see the runners.

Yorkville Volunteer Profiles

Heidi Bessette

Age: 24

Residence: Oneida

Years volunteering: First year. She is a cheerleader for the Utica Yard Dolls.

Why she does it: Dressed in her blue and white frilly dress, Bessette was all geared up for the race. For many years, she avoided it. She just didn't like the crowds, she said.

“It's great,” she said. “It gets them going.”

Ibrahim Algradi

Age: 26

From: Yorkville

Masai blitzes women's master's record

It was a record-setting day in the master's division competition, as a pair of first-time participants took home titles in Sunday's 15K Utica Boilermaker Road Race.

Steve Boyd, 44, earned the men's title and Edith Masai, 41, ran away with the women's title, shattering the previous record by more than a minute.

With high humidity and head winds, the two runners said they were a bit disappointed with their overall times, but were certainly pleased with the results.

“It wasn't great, but it worked,” Boyd said after the race.

Morse, Trendell top local men's results

Sam Morse's Boilermaker 15K Road Race didn't get off to the best of starts.

The finish?

“No complaints,” said Morse, whose gun time of 51 minutes, 49 seconds on Sunday - though not his Boilermaker best - was good enough for a 50th-place finish, tops among local runners.

Niagara University runner Mike Trendell of Oriskany Falls was next. He placed 60th in 52:14.

Runners won't learn accurate time

Everyone who finished the 15K Utica Boilermaker Road Race on Sunday received a time, but not necessarily an accurate one.

A glitch in the timing equipment meant that the times recorded were based on when the starting gun went off, not when runners passed over timing mats at the start.

That means times reported at www.uticaod.com and in today's newspaper could be off by as much as 11 minutes.

Some runners were not pleased.

Course confusion hurts runner's time

Just off the lead and barely 100 yards from the finish, elite runner Daniel Kipkoech started following the media truck turning onto Schuyler Street in the 15K Utica Boilermaker Road Race.

Trouble was, he was supposed to continue running straight down Court Street. If that cost him the race, we’ll never know.

Terefe Maregu also took a step or two to the right – he later said he didn’t know the course – but he recovered and outkicked everyone to the finish to win in 44:17.

 Kipkoech wound up fourth, four seconds back.

Ingalls honored at race he led

Judy Ingalls didn't know how she was able to run the Utica Boilermaker Road Race Sunday, but she did it.

Her husband, Bob Ingalls, the race director from 2001 through 2007, died July 2 after a 13-month battle with pancreatic cancer.

Judy, also a longtime runner, Boilermaker volunteer and at one time director of the Utica Roadrunners Summer Sizzle, wore a shirt with Bob's image on it and printed across the back was, “If you think you can't, think of Bob.”