If you remember the 1970s, when the New York Marathon evolved from a bunch of laps around Central Park to a parade of thousands of runners through all five boroughs of the city, you may have felt an echo last Sunday. I mean the echo from 1978, when the women’s winner was a young Scandinavian who had never run a marathon before. Grete Waitz, from Norway, barely known in the U.S. but known in track circles as the European 3000 meter champion, won in two hours 32 minutes 30 seconds, a women’s marathon world record.
So here, last Sunday, was Andreas Almgren from Sweden, running his first-ever marathon, breaking away from the field in the final mile and winning in 2:06:01. Almgren, 31, is the first Swede and just the third Scandinavian ever to win the race. (The second was Grete’s countrywoman Ingrid Kristiansen, in 1989.)
Grete Waitz won New York nine times. She raised the competitive standard in women’s running by several notches. Almgren’s win is unlikely to prove so historic, but it’s unusual to see a European break into ranks dominated by East Africans. Almgren is the first man not born in Africa to win this race since 2008. In that same time span, all the female winners have been Kenyan or Ethiopian except for American Shalane Flanagan in 2017.
Among Valley runners in New York this year, top local finisher was Liv Lohmeier, 25, of Hadley. Lohmeier finished in 3:03:05, placing ninth among the 157 runners in the nonbinary division of the race.
In the men’s open division, the first Valley finisher was 65-year-old Neal Gifford of Greenfield in 3:21:34. The second local man was Immanuel Wineman of Northampton, 48, in 3:25:05. Michael Hoberman, 62, of Shelburne Falls finished in 3:37:01; David Allara, 40, of Amherst, in 3:39:23.
Among women from Hampshire and Franklin Counties, Teresa Czepiel, 53, of South Hadley, was first in 4:03:47. Second was Vikki Lenhart, 57, of Amherst in 4:12:45.
The next month is a cornucopia of local races. If you’re in shape for serious distance on a splendid course with some hills, you can still enter tomorrow’s annual Monson Memorial Classic Half-marathon. Get to the center of Monson before 11 a.m., when registration closes. The race starts at noon. There’s also a 5K at 12:15.
Held in South Deerfield on Veterans Day, the Run ’Round The Mountain offers a choice of 5- or 10-kilometer courses. Entry is free for veterans; everyone else pays $25. If you enter the 5K, you can run it or walk it, and if you walk and finish ahead of some runners, you get a medal. You can register on Wednesday at the starting area, the Holy Family Church, 29 Sugarloaf St. Both races start at 10 a.m.
I’ve found a special charm in the Roadtown Turkey Trot 5K in Shutesbury. By Shutesbury standards, the course is only mildly hilly, some of it on unpaved roads. The post-race celebration in the Shutesbury Elementary School (23 West Pelham Road) is an autumnal delight, with bagels, doughnuts, coffee, and lots of prizes. The 5K walk starts at 9 a.m., the race at 9:15, and the children’s fun run at 9:45. Register in advance at roadtown.org or on race day morning, Nov. 21, at the school before 8:30 a.m.
Now in its 47th year, the great Holyoke Elks Club Talking Turkey 6-Mile race starts at noon on the Saturday after Thanksgiving (Nov. 28) at the club, 250 Whitney Avenue (Ingleside Mall exit from I-91). The course is wonderfully scenic: two different laps around the Ashley Reservoir, dirt-gravel roadway, towering pine trees, and, in mid-race, parts of the reservoir on either side of the path. The post-race party usually includes clam chowder and pasta, with an open bar, football on TV, and a band playing downstairs. See runsignup.com/raceMA/holyoke/thetalkingturkey.
A huge race that brings out everyone from speedy hotshots to people who run only this one race each year is the Hot Chocolate Run in Northampton, held this year on Dec. 6. As of earlier this week, 2,620 people were already registered, probably as many as are signed up for all the other races mentioned above, combined.
The Hot Chocolate Run was created to benefit Safe Passage, which supports people who suffer from domestic violence. Sign up now, $35 for adults, $25 for seniors/students, or $20 for children 12 and under. Rates go up $5 on Monday, and registration closes at 9 p.m. on Dec. 4. A 3km walk starts at 9 a.m., followed by a 5km fun-run at 9:45 and the 5km race at 10:30 a.m. https://p2p.onecause.com/hcr2026/
John Stifler has taught writing in economics at UMass and has written extensively for running magazines and newspapers. He can be reached at jstifler@umass.edu.