The 32nd Running of the Hudson Mohawk Winter Marathon
By Robert Moore

What is a Marathon?

A Marathon is defined as: 1. :Any Long and arduous undertaking. 2. A Footrace of 26 miles 385 yards.

According to legend, in 490 B.C. a Greek soldier named Phillipides ran the distance from the site of the Battle of Marathon to Athens, where he died after the Greek victory over the Persians. He ran the distance of 26 miles 385 yards and yelled out “Rejoice…We have conquered.” Then he died.

Thinking of trying a marathon? With the proper training ANYONE CAN RUN A MARATHON. It takes proper training and discipline to repeat the training for at least 2 months before the marathon. Every runner is different but from my experiences the best way to train is to get out and try to run 5-6 days a week OUTSIDE. (Capitalize this to experience running outside in normal marathon conditions not indoors) 1 long run of 20 miles once a week up till 3 weeks before marathon.

The Hudson Mohawk Winter Marathon was started 32 years ago in 1973 as a chance for people to get outside and try to have one more chance to qualify for the Boston Marathon. It is a race consisting of 5 outer loops of the New York State Office Campus right next to SUNY. For many years it has been a low key event with usually always less than 100 runners.

The temperature was in the upper 20s on this day…..
There are thousands of marathons across the country…..I love this one because you have to dress warm and brave the normal elements of Winter in the Northeast. Before the race I dressed in 2 sweatshirts. Sweatpants gloves, a hat and a water belt. Why a water belt you ask? Because even if you don’t feel thirsty you need to drink plenty of water during a marathon. Even when the weather is cold during the course of a race your body uses your water to sweat and cool you down….the more you sweat the less water your body has…..your body also needs water for other functions that’s why during a marathon it is very very important to drink water after mile 5.

A marathon is the ultimate test for many runners. For some it is a chance to qualify for the Boston marathon. For others it is a chance to see if they can run 26.2 miles. This was my 4th marathon. (In early 2004 I had run the 31st Hudson Mohawk Winter marathon, then the Buffalo Marathon in May, the New York City in November and now the 32nd Winter in February. At the same time the marathon is ran there are also about 80-90 people running the course as the Marathon relays.

During the race I made sure I was towards the back of the pack…didn’t want to get in any other runners way. Started out with 10-11 minute miles. I had a strategy wanted to run the first ½ at 10 minute pace then I was going to start cranking out 7-8 minute miles. Sometimes you can do all the training in the world….and feel great the day of the race and feel great during the first ½ of the race BUT…..
The second half is the most toughest part of the marathon. The wind on that day was very high….with the wind chill it felt like between 0-10 degrees. Above I said I had a hat and gloves and 2 sweatshirts but I still felt very cold.
I love this marathon……this was the year thought had a chance to get close to 4 hours……but knees and ankles really started hurting that last loop.

I would like to congratulate all 50 runners that ran the marathon. As I said if I saw you along the course sorry didn’t have time to talk was concentrating on the race. At the finish of every loop it brought you by a water station. I would like to thank Mr. Chris Chromczak for videotaping me at the end of the first 3 loops. (He is an educational major at College of St. Rose). I did an instructional video at end of 3rd loop showing my water belt and pouches that were in it that could hold power gels. (Power gels are these small liquid gels you should use only towards the last few miles of a race because they are pure caffeine)

The Albany Times Union had the story of a man Mr. Ed Mulheren of North Carolina who ran in the marathon and it was his 100th marathon! CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!

Special thanks to all the volunteers who gave encouragement and stopped traffic during those 5 loops.
The best part of the marathon are those last 2 miles….Your ankles hurt, your knees hurt, sometimes your whole body hurts but you keep going and then you see the finish line and the clock.
I finished in 5:02 (5 hours 2 minutes) but anytime you finish a marathon no matter what the time is a tremendous accomplishment. If I saw you out on the course during the marathon sorry I couldn’t talk to you body was not in best shape that day. (Even drinking lots of water by mile 20 was super-thirsty and had to jog and drink)

The opening scene in Star Wars (the one from 1977) has this great music by John Williams…..that’s what the emotion feels like when you see that finish line of a marathon. It is the end of a arduous and long undertaking.

I crossed the line in 5:02. Ran most of the race by Ms. Kirsten Roberts (5:03) and Ms. RoseMary Rusin.(4:58) This was the scene of my first marathon and now my fourth. Next year I invite all of you to Come out and enjoy the challenge of the Winter Marathon!!!!!