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UTICA — The weather was perfect and records fell Sunday as thousands of runners gathered for Utica's 49th annual Boilermaker Road Race.
First time Boilermaker runners Alex Matata and Tsigie Gebreselama were the 15-kilometer winners in their event debuts, and Gebreselama set a new open division record for female competitors.
Colgate University runner Thomas Rivier and Dorcas Huang won the five-kilometer run, and Canadian Joshua Cassidy won the wheelchair race for the fifth time.
Runners set out on the 15K course with 63-degree temperatures and clear skies and a light breeze, the coolest start since 2022. The 2025 race had set out at 72 degrees, closer to the temperature when the bulk of this year's runners were finishing at the FX Matt brewery.
The Boilermaker completes its first half century in 2027 when the races will be run July 11.
More: Neither 15K winner returning to run 2026 Boilermaker Road Race in Utica
The 25-year-old Gebreselama, an Ethiopian runner now based in Colorado, ran the course in 47:29, the 18th-fastest overall time in a sold out field with 11,000 entries, and broke the 16-year-old course record for women previously held by Edna Kiplagat by 28 seconds.
Kiplagat also had her 2013 masters division record broken Sunday. Priscah Cherono ran the course in 48:15, almost a full minute under the previous mark of 49:11.
Milton Rotich was the men's masters winner with his time of 46:41 fastest among runners 40 and over.
Gebreselama, a two-time Olympian, won the women's division race by 15 seconds over Melknat Wudu with two other women within one minute of her record time.
"It was so nice," the record breaker said, adding, "(Spectators) were cheering. They say, 'Go, go, go!'"
Stephanie Bruce of Flagstaff, Arizona, was the first American finisher in 46th place overall with a time of 50:40. Kerry Flower of Schenectady was the first New Yorker, finishing 89th in the combined field in 53:26.
Matata, a Kenyan now living in Florida, completed the course in 42:24, 18 seconds off the record set three years ago by Ethiopia's Jemal Yimer Mekonnen and 29 faster than Kiprono Sitonek, his closest challenger.
He was 20 seconds ahead of last year's winning time as the winner finished in the 43rd minute for the fifth year in a row.
John Korir had won the last two Boilermakers, and Mekonnen won the two before that. Stephen Rathbun won the toned-down post-COVID race in October of 2021; he finished 22nd Sunday.
"If there is no one pushing you, it is difficult to run a course record," Matata said of his run. He and Sitonek ran fourth and fifth at a 10K race in Atlanta last weekend, and another 30 seconds separated Sitonek from Sunday's next finisher, Adam Lipschitz.
Like Gebreselama, Matata appreciated the crowd lining the streets for his run.
"It was amazing," he said. "It felt good, they gave me morale."
He also enjoyed the weather, specifically mentioning the low humidity.
Reid Buchanan, a runner from Kansas City, Missouri, ran fourth as the first American finisher, with Sam Lawler of Syracuse representing New York runners in ninth place.
On what he described as a training run for his junior collegiate cross country and track and field seasons, Rivier ran the short course in a time of 16:19 and won by almost one minute over Clayton Davis (17:17) while pacing a field capped at 4,500 runners.
Rivier, from Carlisle, Massachusetts, a summer intern with The Center in Utica, ran with a bib provided by that organization.
"I'm training for college," said Rivier who indicated he would have run the longer race had that been an option. "This is more of a workout for me."
Cameron Volk finished third, followed by Nicholas Little, a 15-year-old from Whitesboro.
Dorcas Huang from Philadelphia ran fifth overall as the top female finisher in 18:04 and finished 16 seconds in front of Shannon Jones, the women's runner-up. Ashley Rathbun, the 2023 race winner, placed third.
Cassidy posted his fastest time since 2023 on the way to a fifth Boilermaker wheelchair win.
"The past winner of races in 2013, 2014, 2023 and 2024 completed the 2026 race in 33:24, nine seconds ahead of Geert Schipper atop a field filled with past champions. Miguel Jimenez Vergara, the 2025 winner, finished third, with 2021 champion Hermin Garic of Utica sixth, six-time winner Krige Schabort eighth, and Tony Nogueira, winner of two 20th-century races, 11th.
"The conditions were perfect," said Cassidy, a three-time Paralympian who finished fourth at last weekend's 10K Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta. "I wasn't sure how this was going to go. It was a good field."
Cassidy edged Schipper for the spot behind Vergara in a race won by Daniel Romanchuk, another five-time Boilermaker winner who did not compete Sunday. Cassidy finished second at Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota, and won the BOLDERBoulder 10K earlier this racing season.
"This race is always great," he said. "Every year is a little different."
Hoda Elshorbagy won the women's race for the third year in a row with a time of 41:51, good for ninth place overall with Isabel Crew second in 44:15.
This article originally appeared on Times Telegram: Women's record falls at Utica's 49th Boilermaker
Continue reading...
First time Boilermaker runners Alex Matata and Tsigie Gebreselama were the 15-kilometer winners in their event debuts, and Gebreselama set a new open division record for female competitors.
Colgate University runner Thomas Rivier and Dorcas Huang won the five-kilometer run, and Canadian Joshua Cassidy won the wheelchair race for the fifth time.
Runners set out on the 15K course with 63-degree temperatures and clear skies and a light breeze, the coolest start since 2022. The 2025 race had set out at 72 degrees, closer to the temperature when the bulk of this year's runners were finishing at the FX Matt brewery.
The Boilermaker completes its first half century in 2027 when the races will be run July 11.
You must be registered for see images attach
More: Neither 15K winner returning to run 2026 Boilermaker Road Race in Utica
Gebreselama sets course record
The 25-year-old Gebreselama, an Ethiopian runner now based in Colorado, ran the course in 47:29, the 18th-fastest overall time in a sold out field with 11,000 entries, and broke the 16-year-old course record for women previously held by Edna Kiplagat by 28 seconds.
Kiplagat also had her 2013 masters division record broken Sunday. Priscah Cherono ran the course in 48:15, almost a full minute under the previous mark of 49:11.
Milton Rotich was the men's masters winner with his time of 46:41 fastest among runners 40 and over.
Gebreselama, a two-time Olympian, won the women's division race by 15 seconds over Melknat Wudu with two other women within one minute of her record time.
"It was so nice," the record breaker said, adding, "(Spectators) were cheering. They say, 'Go, go, go!'"
Stephanie Bruce of Flagstaff, Arizona, was the first American finisher in 46th place overall with a time of 50:40. Kerry Flower of Schenectady was the first New Yorker, finishing 89th in the combined field in 53:26.
Matata wins men's race with comfortable margin
Matata, a Kenyan now living in Florida, completed the course in 42:24, 18 seconds off the record set three years ago by Ethiopia's Jemal Yimer Mekonnen and 29 faster than Kiprono Sitonek, his closest challenger.
He was 20 seconds ahead of last year's winning time as the winner finished in the 43rd minute for the fifth year in a row.
John Korir had won the last two Boilermakers, and Mekonnen won the two before that. Stephen Rathbun won the toned-down post-COVID race in October of 2021; he finished 22nd Sunday.
You must be registered for see images attach
"If there is no one pushing you, it is difficult to run a course record," Matata said of his run. He and Sitonek ran fourth and fifth at a 10K race in Atlanta last weekend, and another 30 seconds separated Sitonek from Sunday's next finisher, Adam Lipschitz.
Like Gebreselama, Matata appreciated the crowd lining the streets for his run.
"It was amazing," he said. "It felt good, they gave me morale."
He also enjoyed the weather, specifically mentioning the low humidity.
Reid Buchanan, a runner from Kansas City, Missouri, ran fourth as the first American finisher, with Sam Lawler of Syracuse representing New York runners in ninth place.
Summer intern wins 5K race
On what he described as a training run for his junior collegiate cross country and track and field seasons, Rivier ran the short course in a time of 16:19 and won by almost one minute over Clayton Davis (17:17) while pacing a field capped at 4,500 runners.
Rivier, from Carlisle, Massachusetts, a summer intern with The Center in Utica, ran with a bib provided by that organization.
You must be registered for see images attach
"I'm training for college," said Rivier who indicated he would have run the longer race had that been an option. "This is more of a workout for me."
Cameron Volk finished third, followed by Nicholas Little, a 15-year-old from Whitesboro.
Dorcas Huang from Philadelphia ran fifth overall as the top female finisher in 18:04 and finished 16 seconds in front of Shannon Jones, the women's runner-up. Ashley Rathbun, the 2023 race winner, placed third.
Cassidy wins fifth wheelchair championship
Cassidy posted his fastest time since 2023 on the way to a fifth Boilermaker wheelchair win.
"The past winner of races in 2013, 2014, 2023 and 2024 completed the 2026 race in 33:24, nine seconds ahead of Geert Schipper atop a field filled with past champions. Miguel Jimenez Vergara, the 2025 winner, finished third, with 2021 champion Hermin Garic of Utica sixth, six-time winner Krige Schabort eighth, and Tony Nogueira, winner of two 20th-century races, 11th.
You must be registered for see images attach
"The conditions were perfect," said Cassidy, a three-time Paralympian who finished fourth at last weekend's 10K Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta. "I wasn't sure how this was going to go. It was a good field."
Cassidy edged Schipper for the spot behind Vergara in a race won by Daniel Romanchuk, another five-time Boilermaker winner who did not compete Sunday. Cassidy finished second at Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota, and won the BOLDERBoulder 10K earlier this racing season.
"This race is always great," he said. "Every year is a little different."
Hoda Elshorbagy won the women's race for the third year in a row with a time of 41:51, good for ninth place overall with Isabel Crew second in 44:15.
This article originally appeared on Times Telegram: Women's record falls at Utica's 49th Boilermaker
Continue reading...
