suns along the Mohawk

. . don’t miss our Race Coverage: “A Stockade View of Stockade-athon 2019“, with 150 photos

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Just past 8:30 A.M. today, twenty-four hours before the 2019 Stockade-athon will rush through the Stockade District, I took my camera out to see the conditions along the route (sun, cold, tripping problems in the roadway, etc.). My fingers definitely needed thin gloves to operate the camera. The lead escort car should turn onto Washington Avenue from State Street at about 8:32 AM, heading north on Washington Avenue and, after two blocks, turning right onto Front Street, with runners heading east past Lawrence Circle and continuing all the way to the rotary at Erie Boulevard and up Nott Street. (Scroll down for a map of the Stockade leg of the Race)

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. . above & below: Washington Ave. segment of the race. .

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.. below: Front Street segment . . 

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. . asterisk in the photo immediately above marks a hazard at the turn onto Front street . .  shown in the photo to the right, 2 holes stretching 18 inches. The red-circled hole just below is in front of 28 Front Street, just a couple doors before crossing Lawrence Circle:

With the race cohort bunched up early in the Race, and unable to see the pavement at their feet, I wish temporary patches were used on the hazards. But, if cones are placed to mark them, the cone could be tipped over to cause and even bigger hazard.

 Road work in the Stockade has been going on for a long time, and is not quite completed on Front Street, which needs another layer of asphalt. Runners need to be vigilant for raised manhole covers and grates, as well as the holes shown above. [Click on a square tile below for a full image.]

raised manhole, mid-street just before the Circle

raised manhole cover near entry to Front St.

trestle at start of “east” Front St. neighborhood

near 33 Front St.

 . . Front St. at N. Church Street. .

. . east of N. Church St. .

. . above: looking west from Lawrence Circle

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. . above: east of Lawrence on Front Street . .

 . .Stockade portion of Stockade-athon

The MVP Health Care 2919 Stockade-athon 15k road race takes place, tomorrow, Sunday November 10. For a decade, this website, “suns along the Mohawk”, has presented scores of photos of the race taken along the streets of the Stockade neighborhood. [to see prior coverage, click for the 2018 Stockade-athon posting, and for links in our Stockade-athon Category]

• See the Stockade-athon Facebook Page
• As usual, co-sponsor Hudson-Mohawk Road Runners Club has plenty of information about the Stockade-athon. And, go here after the reace for “Streaming Results” 
• share this preview with the short URL: https://tinyurl.com/StockadeLeg

Is Mark Mindel Running? Unfortunately, it looks like an impressive record will be ending with this year’s Race. [image on left from HMRRC] As Mike MacAdam wrote Friday night at the Gazette, “Lennon looking for a fast time at Stockade-athon” (Nov. 8, 2019):

Mark Mindel, the only person who has run in every Stockade-athon since the first one in 1976, said in an email that he might not be able to run on Sunday because of plantar fasciitis.

A 2009 Gazette article by MacAdams told of Mark running his 34th consecutive Stockade-athon that year, and being joined by his son Scott Mindel, a former Shenendahowa star. As Gazette reporter MacAdam wrote in 2009:

Mark Mindel is a three-time Stockade-athon champion, tying with Scott Ferguson in the inaug­ural year, 1976, tying Jay Smith in 1977 and winning outright in 1979 with a time of 47:29, which will take Scott some doing to equal someday.

Scott Mindel [in Bib 5] placed 4th in 2017 and fifth last year. If Mark does run, I will let you know. Follow-up (Nov. 11, 2019): “The streak is over: Mindel bikes Stockade-athon instead of running” (Mike MacAdams, Daily Gazette.)

•  How Daniel Lennon do after telling Mike MacAdams he hoped to break the 46-minute mark? He came in with a very respectable 3rd place finish, with a 46:39 time. You can read his commentary on the race here in the Gazette. For instance Lennon told MacAdams, “Around 4 to 6, I was thinking, ‘OK, now I’m starting to realize how not fit I am.'”

Tomorrow, I will be posting this year’s crop of Stockade-athon pictures in the Stockade again, here at suns along the Mohawk. Go here.

• Runners and sponsors may use any photo from our Stockade-athon postings for any purpose without further permission. Others may use the photos for any non-commercial purpose, with attribution to David Giacalone at “suns along the Mohawk.”

Here are a few teasers from the 2018 Stockade-athon:

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