We went back for our 2nd look at Holyoke's thirty fourth annual St. Patrick's Day 10k Road Race. At first, we found the sidewalks spectator-less; only rows of empty lawn chairs set up for Sunday's parade, and normal auto traffic flowing by. But taking took a short walk down South Street to investigate, we were relieved to see a small band of green people, who assured us with an "Oh Yeah..!" when we asked if the race was going to come by...
Swinging back up to our original viewing spot on the corner of South and Northampton streets, we took up our own posts as things were starting to take shape: Police officers had begun to assemble at the nearby intersections, and a State Trooper helicopter zoomed back and forth low overhead...
People were now trickling in from all directions and taking up positions all along the sidewalk. Camera-equipped folk had also arrived and began scouting for optimal angles...
Finally, at 1 o'clock, the police stepped off of the curbs and began redirecting traffic; confirming that the race was on...The local auto traffic disappeared and was replaced by a small convoy of race-related pickup trucks that came rolling up South Street.
An announcer on the back of one pickup blared race facts over a PA system, and said that there were over 4000 participants in this year's event...
Then, off in the distance could be heard cheering and rooting, and the lead elements of the race could be seen making there way up...
A small group of lead runners briskly trotted past, making it look easy...
They rounded the corner, and then, hot on their heels...
...came a river of people.
It was indeed 4000 runners, if not much more....
Last year's race was pretty big, but this definitely seemed like a much bigger turn out.
They just kept coming. It's hard to believe it was only 4000 participants. Here's a couple quick clips for an idea...
And like last time, there was no shortage of stand-outs and odd-balls, in the sea of humanity...
The big banana marked the trailing elements of the pack, and we headed back to the car.
Those who can't run, support: on the way back we noticed this little self-appointed rally section, who participated in the event by practically screaming themselves hoarse, cheering on the runners...
The 10k Road Race is a real community event...
...and a great prelude to the big parade on Sunday...
4 comments:
Being stuck in the traffic at 12:30 made me realize just how big this even was. I had never known the Road Race to be such an intense event. Good photos of the event.
Green Guys were the Best Dressed!
Thanks for the pictured. Enjoyed seeing them.
Love the big green hair. Must get me one of those for next year.
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