This weekend it was back home to celebrate the High Holy Days in the Paper City and to take part in the Holyoke St. Patrick’s Road Race. This race is the pinnacle of good racing in the area and is complete with a challenging course, elite runners, casual runners seeking to gain their personal best and those runners who are tackling their first 10k ever. (Disclaimer: If this is your first 10k, they are not all this hilly; but they are also not all as awesome!)

Race morning left some lingering snow falling upon the Pioneer Valley and the streets of Holyoke and the temperature was quite chilly. Picking up the race bibs that morning, a quick stop at Holyoke Sporting Goods needed to take place to pick up an extra pair of gloves and a hat for the run as it was much cooler than anticipated. However, the luck of the Irish prevailed at race time and the sun came out about an hour before the run just as the famed mummers were striking up their music on Maple Street before the run.

This year was the 40th anniversary of the Holyoke St. Patrick’s Road Race and Boston marathon icon and past winner of the Holyoke race Bill Rodgers was a featured runner at the race. In addition, Team Hoyt inspirations Dick and Rick Hoyt took to the course and joined the runners for another Holyoke race.

This year the course seemed to be noticeably more crowded with fans out cheering runners on particularly around Mile 2 and Mile 3 with a normal thick crowd just shy of the Mile 5 marker outside The Yankee Pedlar. Coming into downtown, the usual crowd outside of Griffin’s cheered runners into the finish line on what turned out to be a great running day. Extra kudos go out to all the families and supporters along the course who set up water tables, Gatorade tables and even an Irish beverage table for those wishing to partake! The course support was absolutely perfect and helped runners of all caliber along the way.

The hilly Holyoke St. Patrick’s Road Race course is always a course that is going to test you and I was pleased to finish with a time of 51:35, good for 8:18/miles. Though I finished just a smidgen behind the Ethiopian runners who took home the grand prize, it was a great day not just for the Irish but for all of those who headed to Holyoke to partake in the 40th running of the Holyoke St. Patrick’s Road Race. Needless to say, I’ll be back for future years!