Metro 10 race will add biking component for first time
Photos by Tom Rivers: Runners wait for the start of the 10-mile race on Aug. 19, 2017 in front of Bullard Park in Albion.
Race drew 400 runners to Albion last August
ALBION – The Metro 10 race, which is in its fourth year, will add a biking component for the first time on Aug. 18.
The race for runners starts at 8 a.m. The cyclists will begin at 7 a.m. and follow a similar course as the runners. There are some differences in the racing routes. The people on bikes won’t go through the apple orchard at Watt Farms or go on the towpath.
Like the runners, the cyclists will finish their race at Bullard Park. The cyclists are expected to be done before the runners start, and many of the people on bikes will then run 10 miles, said Thom Jennings, the race director.
“A lot of people asked about it and we wanted to add the bike component and see if it adds value to the event,” Jennings said.
Last year there were 400 runners. That was the maximum for the event in 2017. Metro 1 has been growing about 30 percent annually since its first year. Jennings wants to keep that growth rate, and is aiming for 550 participants this year. He is expecting about 50 cyclists in what will be a little bit of an experiment.
Rochester has dominated the Metro 10 running race, winning the first three titles versus runners from Buffalo. This photo from last August shows Vickey Beaver, the Rochester team captain, accepting the Metro 10 Cup from race volunteer JT Thomas at Bullard Park. Marissa Pace, the Buffalo captain, is in blue.
Stan Farone, an Albion village trustee, has been one of the supporters for the biking component. Farone completed the Cycling the Erie Canal event last year, going about 350 miles on bike along the towpath.
Participants in the race compete for either Buffalo or Rochester. They run either 10- or 5-mile races. (The cyclists will go 10 miles.) They earn points for the city if they finish, and some runners earn added points if they finish high in their age groups. There is also a “tenacity” bonus for the final finisher of the race.
Rochester has won the Metro 10 cup the first three years. Rochester had a big advantage in participants the first two years, but it was nearly even last year with 201 runners for Rochester and 199 for Buffalo.
There is also a post-race celebration at Bullard Park with live music that is open to the community.
For more on the Metro 10, click here.
