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Buildup Series organizer Jim Gerweck said he hadn't been sure whether he would be able to get in Sunday’s race at Tomlinson Middle School due to the weather forecasts. He got up in the early morning hours to make an official call before 7 a.m.
The 12.4-mile race is the third in a series of increasingly lengthy races leading up to the Boston Marathon on April 20 as well as other long-distance races.
Runners on Sunday still had to dodge icy and snowy patches as they took off in the chilly temperatures, surrounded by a snow-covered landscape.
Former Keene State College cross country runner Kevin Hoyt, 24 of Newtown, continued his winning streak in the series, completing the course first overall with a time of 1:09:08.
“I’m running Boston in April, so I figured I’d do the Buildup and a couple more races to get ready for the marathon,” Hoyt said after crossing the finish line Sunday.
Hoyt, who also won the prequel 10K and 15K buildups this season, will be running the 25k race as well and said he’s looking for a clean sweep of the events.
However, Hoyt wasn’t the only millennial to come away with a victory on Sunday. Feb. 8.
Courtney Dinnan, a former University of Connecticut cross country runner, was the first across the finish line for women, coming in at sixth overall with a time of 1:20:25.
Like Hoyt, Dinnan is running in the 37-year-old Buildup series for the first time. She, however, is using it to train for the Hartford Marathon.
According to Dinnan, preparation is important for races of this distance but said the trick to finishing toward the head of the pack is mental toughness.
“Be mentally tough, be able to do positive self talk,” Dinnan said. “Especially when you’re by yourself for some of it, which does happen a lot in the longer distances.”
The fourth and final race in the Buildup Series is the 25K race that will be held at the Silverman School on Perry Avenue in Norwalk on March 1.
For more information, and to register for the race, click here.
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