A Boiling Hot Run Through Utica

On sunday morning I ran the Boilermaker 15k in Utica. I finished the race in 1:29:15, with the warm day leaving me significantly slower than when I ran the race in 2023.

This is one of the biggest races that I run, and starting in a crowd prevents me from going out too fast. I ran the first 5k in 28:09 and felt pretty good on the hills at miles three and four. However, as soon as I was done with that the heat starting catching up to me.

Overall this race felt less like it was about keeping pace, and more like it was about heat management, as I took all the water and ice that I could get along the way. It was very challenging conditions to run in, and I was far from the only one unable to match my time from prior years on this course.

Despite getting worn down by the heat, my splits were fairly consistent with the first 5k in 28:09, the second in 29:41, and the final 5k in 31:25, but this year’s Boilermaker was more about just reaching the finish line rather than having a fast run.

My next race will be a return to the trails, with the July edition of the Run Our Trails series.