Run for the Boiler
Experience the country’s hottest 15K race—
in Central New York.
By Brian PJ Cronin
66 | New York By Rail
Amtrak.com
I
n the beginning, it was
just about radiators.
In 1978, the gang
at Utica Radiator
Corporation came up
with the idea of a 15K
(9.3 mile) road race to
thank the community for
letting the company
power the town for 50
years. The local brewery, F.X. Matt Brewing Company, agreed
to help out, so that summer, 876 hearty souls ran the first of
what’s known as “the Boilermaker.”
Flash forward to today: Utica Radiator Corporation has
become part of ECR International, the F.X. Matt Brewing
Company is known nationwide for its Saranac line of beers, and
18,000 people annually run what has turned into a weeklong
celebration every July.
The Boilermaker also includes a 5K run, kid’s race, wheelchair
race and 3-mile walk, plus, every May, the Erie Canal Half
Marathon. But the 15K race remains the highlight, with pumped-
up spectators lining the course (the neighborhoods of Utica
compete to see which one provides the most enthusiastic
support), a fighter jet flyover, ample water stations and ice pops
to counteract the heat, and bands of virtually every musical style
along the course for additional inspiration.
“A friend had said, ‘You have to do the Boilermaker at least
once,’” says Chris Billings, a resident of Brewster who works as
an administrative assistant at the Putnam County Department of
Health and has run the race six times. “He was right,” she says.
“It has the feel of the New York City Marathon in terms of crowd
support in a beautiful country setting. The Boilermaker is more
than a road race. It’s an experience.”
Repeat Boilermaker runners like Billings are the norm, as the
race offers advance registration for the following year to anyone
who finishes it in a reasonable time, which encourages finishers
to return year after year. Runners can also bask in the warm
glow of contributing to the local community: Proceeds help fund
the Boilermaker Urban Garden, which is run by local youths in
cooperation with the Cornell Cooperative Extension, and the
West Utica Public Market, which brings fresh, local produce to
the “food desert” neighborhood of West Utica.
And then there’s the after-party, billed on Boilermaker.com as
“simply the best Post Race Party there is,” which is held every
year at F.X. Matt Brewing Company. What better way to blow
off some steam?
The 39th Boilermaker Week begins on Thursday, July 6,
and ends with the post-race party on Sunday, July 9, 2017. To
find out more about this year’s event or about how to register
for the 40th annual Boilermaker Week in 2018, visit boilermaker
.com/registernow.