Get ready to see the streets of Shelburne Falls filled with talented runners on Saturday.
The Bridge of Flowers Classic wasn’t held the last two years due to COVID-19, but will return this weekend with a high end field of runners heading out to compete in the 42nd running of the race.
“People are really excited to have this back,” race director Dan Smith said. “The community of Shelburne Falls and the surrounding area is great. They appreciate the tradition of this race. This race is an excellent tradition.”
As you’d expect to be the case with a race that took a two-year hiatus, the number of racers will be lower than it was the last time out.
In 2019, the Bridge of Flowers set a record with 1,300 runners coming out to compete. That number is inflated because USA Track and Field Association chose it to be part of its New England Championship Series, which brought in runners from all over. Typically, the race gets between 700-900 people.
As of Monday, the race was at over 400 signups, with Smith expecting that number to be closer to 500 once the running gets underway. While that’s a drop-off in numbers, Smith expects that to be the anomaly and that numbers will rise again in the future.
“This year really is a reboot of the race,” Smith said. “We’re looking to have a race we haven’t had in two years. We want to have it be successful and a good experience for everyone. I’m confident if that happens, the numbers will go back to normal in the future.”
The race course will look exactly the same to those who raced in the past. The 3K Charity Race gets going at 8 a.m. before the 8K run takes off at 9 a.m.
“All the main features of the race remain the same as they were in the past,” Smith said. “We’re slowly introducing some new benefits and different things with it.”
One of those added features will be the “McCusker Mile.” The mile starts right around the 1.7 mile mark on the course and has a 13 percent hill. Smith determined this is the hardest stretch of the course, with the runner who completes it the fastest winning an award. Smith is using timing maps to determine who ran that stretch the fastest.
“It’s a really hard hill to run up,” Smith said. “Anyone who likes to run mountains or is looking for a challenge, this race is for them. It’s not a typical flat 8K race course. This year’s race, we’re focused as a race team on making the race efficient and easy to manage moving forward. What we’ll do after the race is see what worked, see what didn’t work and try to add features to next year’s race. Our number one goal this year is to put on a safe, healthy and fun race.”
The field may be smaller but the talent of the runners competing is just as high as before. Shelburne Falls’ own Mac Sloan-Anderson should be in contention to win the race, with Smith noting how talented he is as a hill runner.
Wouter Hoogkamer of Amherst won the Green River Marathon last year, setting the course record in doing so. He’ll be in the mix on the 8K course on Saturday. Greenfield’s Steve Kerr is an excellent mountain runner who is best suited for courses like the Bridge of Flowers.
New Hampshire native Justin Freeman is a mainstay in the Bridge of Flowers race, with Smith calling him one of the best 40-plus age runners in the country. AIC grad Leaky Kipkosgei is another to keep an eye on on Saturday.
On the women’s side, Annmarie Tuxbury of Connecticut is a name to watch. Tuxbury runs for the Craftsbury Green Racing Project, an elite group of post-collegiate runners who are training for the next Olympic trials.
AIC grad Yvonne Bungei runs for the Western Mass. District Project, the top running club in Western Mass. and is a talented 5K and 10K runner. Kate Ashley of Leyden is a top 5K and 10K runner and will be running on Saturday while Abby Mahoney, another Western Mass District Project runner, is one of the top 40-plus runners in all of New England.
“There’s a lot of talented runners coming,” Smith said.
The main charity the race is supporting is DIAL/SELF Youth and Community Services, a community-based non-profit agency in Greenfield that has been serving the youth and communities of western Massachusetts since 1977.
The race is also looking to give back to the community, providing an interactive map on their website, www.bofrace.com, of the locations of the local businesses who have supported the race.
Every finisher of the race that is 21-and-older will get a free beer from Floodwater Brewing and all finishers regardless of age will get a free ice cream from Moe’s Fudge Factor.
The post-race party and awards will take place a the Buckland-Shelburne Elementary School grounds. Live music will be played throughout the post-race party.