AUBURN #- In the last 28 years the Great Winter Race has encountered its fair share of ups and downs.
But from unseasonably warm weather conditions to the freezing cold the race has persisted.
As competitors and organizers alike gear up for the 29th annual race, scheduled for a 10 a.m. start on Jan. 28, at Casey Park, all are keeping their fingers crossed for a good year.
“The weather is always a factor,” said Steve Komanecky, the race director. “It's something that we always stress about. One year we had a foot of snow and then the rain came and melted it all right before the race. It made things pretty muddy. It wasn't the greatest conditions, but I think everyone still had fun.”
Over the years the race has also seen a varying number of competitors, with as many as 40 to 45 teams entering and as few as 20.
“The weather plays a big role there, too,” Komanecky said. “I've been involved for about 17 years now. It was very big about 10 or 12 years ago when we were getting 40 or 45 teams out. We can take up to 50. So it has gone up and down a lot in the last few years and I think the weather has a lot to do with that.”
One of the biggest obstacles the weather has presented has been the ability of athletes competing in the cross country skiing and snowshoeing portions of the event to prepare and to compete.
“When there isn't any snow you can't prepare,” Komanecky said. “So that makes things a little difficult when they are trying to get into shape for the race. When there isn't any snow for the actual race those guys want to be able to compete in their events. They don't necessarily want to run, they want to be able to ski or snowshoe. So that has been a difficulty we've faced in the past.”
But even in the face of these weather-based obstacles, the race and racers have persevered, creating teams locally and also coming in from across the Central New York area.
“Last year we had freezing rain,” Komanecky said. “But we still had 25 teams. We get a lot of teams locally, but we also get people from places like Rochester and that area. Even with the weather I think it is still a fairly unique event. It is in the middle of winter and it gives people something to shoot for, a reason to get out and get some exercise and have some fun doing it and those Nordic Sports (cross country skiing and snowshoeing) are something different to compete in, so I think there is a lot to keep people interested.”
Komanecky believes it's a good cross-section of racers that come out, looking to have good competition, but also stave off and even enjoy the winter weather.
“We do get some serious competitors,” Komanecky said. “But we get a lot of people that just want to have some fun and have something to do on a winter day and that is really the big thing with a race like this is that people have fun.”
Over the last couple years the race has also made several concessions and adaptations to other events and what the racers seem to want.
“We've changed the date,” Komanecky said. “That has been one of the biggest things. We used to be on the same day as the Super Bowl and I think that had an affect on getting people involved, so we've moved the date to try to attract more people.”
The race has also taken a cue from the Summer Great Race, growing to offer a short course alternative to the traditional long course.
The traditional course is made up of a 5-mile skate, 3-mile and 6-mile run, 4-mile ski and 2-mile snowshoe.
The short course, which was introduced with great success last year, includes 35 laps of skating, two 5k runs relay style, a 2-mile ski and 1-mile snowshoe.
“We got a pretty good response to that last year,” Komanecky said. “About half the entries we had were in the short course. Hopefully that will continue to be successful and draw more people into the race.”
As has become the tradition, this year's race will conclude with an awards ceremony at Highland Golf Course, giving racers a chance to kick back and relax and unwind after the race.
“We are going to have some food and some live entertainment,” Komanecky said. “It is a really social time after the race.”
With the recent cold snap and a weather forecast that is calling for continued cold and snow, Komanecky is hopeful that this year the race will be able to truly live up to its name.
“It is funny to say but we need to have some bad weather,” Komanecky said. “With a race like this that is so dependent on the weather, we just have to keep our fingers crossed. It is supposed to snow a fair amount in the next few weeks, so we'll just have to wait and see and keep our fingers crossed for a good race.”
As competitors and organizers alike gear up for the 29th annual race, scheduled for a 10 a.m. start on Jan. 28, at Casey Park, all are keeping their fingers crossed for a good year.
“The weather is always a factor,” said Steve Komanecky, the race director. “It's something that we always stress about. One year we had a foot of snow and then the rain came and melted it all right before the race. It made things pretty muddy. It wasn't the greatest conditions, but I think everyone still had fun.”
Over the years the race has also seen a varying number of competitors, with as many as 40 to 45 teams entering and as few as 20.
“The weather plays a big role there, too,” Komanecky said. “I've been involved for about 17 years now. It was very big about 10 or 12 years ago when we were getting 40 or 45 teams out. We can take up to 50. So it has gone up and down a lot in the last few years and I think the weather has a lot to do with that.”
One of the biggest obstacles the weather has presented has been the ability of athletes competing in the cross country skiing and snowshoeing portions of the event to prepare and to compete.
“When there isn't any snow you can't prepare,” Komanecky said. “So that makes things a little difficult when they are trying to get into shape for the race. When there isn't any snow for the actual race those guys want to be able to compete in their events. They don't necessarily want to run, they want to be able to ski or snowshoe. So that has been a difficulty we've faced in the past.”
But even in the face of these weather-based obstacles, the race and racers have persevered, creating teams locally and also coming in from across the Central New York area.
“Last year we had freezing rain,” Komanecky said. “But we still had 25 teams. We get a lot of teams locally, but we also get people from places like Rochester and that area. Even with the weather I think it is still a fairly unique event. It is in the middle of winter and it gives people something to shoot for, a reason to get out and get some exercise and have some fun doing it and those Nordic Sports (cross country skiing and snowshoeing) are something different to compete in, so I think there is a lot to keep people interested.”
Komanecky believes it's a good cross-section of racers that come out, looking to have good competition, but also stave off and even enjoy the winter weather.
“We do get some serious competitors,” Komanecky said. “But we get a lot of people that just want to have some fun and have something to do on a winter day and that is really the big thing with a race like this is that people have fun.”
Over the last couple years the race has also made several concessions and adaptations to other events and what the racers seem to want.
“We've changed the date,” Komanecky said. “That has been one of the biggest things. We used to be on the same day as the Super Bowl and I think that had an affect on getting people involved, so we've moved the date to try to attract more people.”
The race has also taken a cue from the Summer Great Race, growing to offer a short course alternative to the traditional long course.
The traditional course is made up of a 5-mile skate, 3-mile and 6-mile run, 4-mile ski and 2-mile snowshoe.
The short course, which was introduced with great success last year, includes 35 laps of skating, two 5k runs relay style, a 2-mile ski and 1-mile snowshoe.
“We got a pretty good response to that last year,” Komanecky said. “About half the entries we had were in the short course. Hopefully that will continue to be successful and draw more people into the race.”
As has become the tradition, this year's race will conclude with an awards ceremony at Highland Golf Course, giving racers a chance to kick back and relax and unwind after the race.
“We are going to have some food and some live entertainment,” Komanecky said. “It is a really social time after the race.”
With the recent cold snap and a weather forecast that is calling for continued cold and snow, Komanecky is hopeful that this year the race will be able to truly live up to its name.
“It is funny to say but we need to have some bad weather,” Komanecky said. “With a race like this that is so dependent on the weather, we just have to keep our fingers crossed. It is supposed to snow a fair amount in the next few weeks, so we'll just have to wait and see and keep our fingers crossed for a good race.”
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