HAGAMAN - More than 200 runners braved the cold to take part in Saturday's 26th annual Winter Wimp race sponsored by the Fulmont Roadrunners Club.
Friday's frigid temperatures and high winds moderated by the time the race started at 1 p.m. Saturday. Runners enjoyed crisp and calm conditions.
"It's not bad today," race director Rick Vertucci said. "Other years, we've had snowstorms, rain and 50-degree weather. It's normally cold today, and there's a little bit of snow. That's average."
Pre-race entry fees were $14 for Fulmont Roadrunners Club members and $16 for non-members. Those registering on the day of the race paid $20. A portion of the entry fees went to the club's James R. Dern Memorial Scholarship fund for college-bound high school seniors.
The race began and ended at the Hagaman Civic Center on Pawling Street in the village. Runners started out going south, then turned left on Northern Boulevard, left on Church Street, right on Chuctanunda Street, left on Route 126, left on Pawling Street and back to the Civic Center. The course is 2.2 miles long; runners can navigate the course twice for a total of 4.4 miles or "wimp out" by running it once, Vertucci said.
Lori Beck of Amsterdam was running in her first Winter Wimp race. She took up running in 2009, and she said it's a nice change of pace from going to the gym.
"A couple of people I work with have started running," she said. "I thought it would be another way to stay in shape and enjoy the outdoors."
Dennis Fillmore of Ballston Spa has run in so many Winter Wimp races he's lost count. He said he likes the Hagaman course.
"It's nice," he said. "I like the challenge of the hills and the weather, and it's a tuneup for the [spring] running season."
Fillmore is 59, but he was not the oldest runner in Saturday's race. Two 78-year-old runners were signed up as well, according to race officials.
Jacob Palczak was one of two 10-year-old runners, the youngest registered for the race. His 14-year-old sister, McKenna, and their dad, Amsterdam High School track and cross-country coach Stu Palczak, ran in the race as well.
"My dad and I run together," Jacob said. "We ran this course once already."
Jacob planned to run 2.2 miles in his first Winter Wimp race.
Awards were given to the first three male and female finishers in both the 2.2-mile and 4.4-mile races, and to the top three finishers in eight different age groups, from 14 and younger to 70 and older.
John R. Becker covers Montgomery County news. He can be reached at montco@leaderherald.com
