Runners in the Bridge of Flowers Road Race Classic will see a shorter course Saturday.
The 10-kilometer course was shortened to an 8K for safety reasons. The portion of the race that got cut was the piece that saw runners travel along Route 112 past Mohawk Trail Regional High School. Runners will now descend Crittenden Hill and take a right onto Rand Road, which leads them to North Street and back to the center of town to the finish line.
With the new course comes new records, and like in past years, every age group winner will receive a cash bonus.
The race will celebrate its 40th anniversary at 9 a.m. Saturday in Shelburne Falls. The Steve Lewis Subaru Charity 3K Run/Walk precedes the main event at 8:15 a.m.
Roughly a decade ago, the Bridge of Flowers race committee decided to spread out the prize money. Instead of paying overall champions a large piece of the pie, the race spread out money among the age group winners. The winners of the men’s and women’s Open Division (ages 19-39) will each receive $300. Second place gets $200 and third earns $100. There are also seven age groups, beginning from 40 to 44 and going up in five-year increments to 70-plus. The top three men and women in each age group get $100, $50 and $25 respectively.
There is also additional money awarded to anyone setting a course record in their age group. The Open Division record nets $200, while the age group records come with a $100 prize.
Race organizers decided to honor the course record payouts for the new course.
“Because the race has a new course, it means that all the course record money is open,” Elite Athlete Coordinator Dan Smith said. “If you win your age group this year, you’re going to get $200.”
In addition to the individual money, there is also a team component to the race. Teams must contain five runners and be certified under USA Track & Field to be eligible for prize money. The top five runners from each team have their average time recorded. The prize money for teams is $400, $300 and $200, and there are age group money and record money for teams as well. Total prize purse is nearly $10,000.
The change in course length has not deterred race registrations. As of Tuesday, 576 runners were registered for the 8K, while 181 runners were registered for the 3K.
“The identity of the course remains the same, and in terms of other aspects of the race, I think we are improving that,” Smith said. “We really want to make it a great race for all ages and genders.”