Hunns Lake Food Pantry Race

By Steve Perks

There are always concerns when you’re headed to a new race put on by race directors who have never directed a race before. Is the course well marked? Will the race results be accurate and timely? Will the awards be good? Will the refreshments be adequate? With all those thoughts I opted out of a bike ride in the scenic Shawangunk Mountains and headed to the hills of Stanfordville to run this new race around Hunns Lake. I’ve ridden my bike around the lake and on all the adjacent roads many times so I knew the course would be beautiful. The race was also for a good cause: supplying food to local food banks. The person who came up with the idea for the race and the dynamic force behind it was Barbara Carson. With the help of her husband Pete, she assembled a team of family members and MHRRC volunteers to make sure the race was done right.

 Arriving a little early with my bag of groceries I was greeted by a parking attendant who directed me to my parking spot just down the road from the start/finish. On the way to the registration table were two porta-johns strategically placed so that they were near registration and the start/finish. Even with day of race registration I was given a long sleeve t-shirt with a picture of Hunns Lake on the front. Seeing Pete Sanfilippo and Claude Bodley setting up the finish line chutes and Irv Miller and Deborah Schwartz working the computer scoring table dismissed any worries about accurate timing or finishing places. The races went off on time. I ran the 4.6-mile race, which started around the lake, added a 1.2-mile out and back leg and then finished the rest of the way around the lake. Every intersection had a person with a flag directing runners so there was never a question on where the turns were.

The after race refreshments were outstanding: four kinds of homemade soup, homemade chili, rolls, apples and more! The awards were amazing. Each first place finisher won a hand-made afghan, second place won a thermal blanket and third place received hats. (I’m not positive on the hats, but I think that’s what I heard.)

 What it all boils down to is Barbara and Pete did an outstanding job in their first ever foray into race directing. This race is a great addition to the MHRRC calendar, let’s hope it becomes a staple for many local runners.