UTICA - Gov. Eliot Spitzer ran in Sunday's Boilermaker 5K race in part to show the benefits of an active lifestyle and bolster his efforts to make schools healthier. Then he was schooled by his teenage daughter who blew past him at the finish line.

“Sarabeth ran with me and, typical daughter, she put up with my pace until the end of and then she leaves me in the dust,” Spitzer said after the annual race that draws international competitors. “I couldn't have been happier.”

Along the downtown race route, which included stark views of economic decline and the latest attempts at revival, Spitzer received some advice about cutting taxes and the need to revive the upstate economy.

In the end, the Democrat drew cheers and during the race he was recognized. At one point, a woman told her grandchild she had just passed the governor. “Do you have to rub it in?” he responded. At 26 minutes, 17 seconds, he was about two minutes slower than his time last year as a candidate, but still in the middle of the pack of thousands of runners.

Spitzer said he expects the Legislature to return to session around July 16, as both chambers have tentatively planned, despite his weeks of nasty conflict with Senate Republican leader Joseph Bruno. Bruno wants to work out a compromise needed to approve New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's plan for tolls to reduce traffic and pollution in Manhattan. Spitzer said that he doesn't plan to compel the Legislature back. Instead, he said it will be up to the lawmakers and he won't dictate their agenda.