Walkway Over The Hudson

Walkway Over The Hudson

Walkway Over The Hudson

( 2 reviews )
50% of reviewers recommend this race
  • Poughkeepsie,
    New York,
    United States
  • June
  • 3 miles/5K, 13.1 miles/Half Marathon, 26.2 miles/Marathon
  • Road Race
  • Event Website

Jane

Brooklyn, New York, United States
47 15
2015
"HOLY HILLS"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management
Jane 's thoughts:

Immediately after we got off the train from NYC (about a 1hr, 40 minute ride) around 5:30pm on Friday, we headed to the race expo. It was impressive. I didn't have the HIGHEST of expectations just because 1) it's the first time they have put on this race and 2) I already had problems registering for this race months ago (first signs of a hot mess?). They had to call me to get me to pay since not a single computer I used allowed me to register and registration had opened back in December or January.

The race expo was at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center. It wasn't the biggest expo I've been to but it was still solid. Lots of free things - pastries from the Culinary Institute of America, free bags and snacks from other vendors. Bib pick up was relatively smooth and my sister was able to pick up her friend's bib as well.

Pre-Race

Organizers said we should be there 90 minutes prior to the start because of traffic. We planned to all leave my house around 6am to be at Marist College at 6:15am. We ended up leaving the house around 6:30am.

Once we got to Marist, my mom dropped us off on the other side of campus since the roads were blocked. There was no traffic and we ended up walking about 15 minutes to the start.

The start was right by the Hudson River by the Marist boathouse. I forget how absolutely gorgeous the Hudson Valley is when it's not 10 degrees outside. They had a ton of tents set up and had a decent amount of port-a-potties near the start.

The race started late and the wheelchair division was supposed to start at 7:15am and all half and marathoners were to start at 7:30am. Instead everything got pushed back 15 minutes. The 5k was to start at 8am but they had a different start line.

Run time! The Race

To summarize this course in a few words: hilly, windy, shaded, beautiful and out-and-back. The race started at the Marist College boathouse and there were immediately 2 very large hills to climb. I was already exhausted after the second hill (because 1) being a woman sometimes sucks 2) I went swimming for an 1.5 hour the day before). The route took you out of campus and through some residential neighborhoods to the Rail Trail. [the walkway over the hudson like the Dutchess Rail Trail itself are both old railroads that were turned into running/biking/walking trails].

By mile 2, we were already on the rail trail. Around mile 4.5 we turned around and started running towards the walkway. Mile 7 through 10 were on the walkway which was not shaded but carried a VERY strong wind which cooled me down. It was also gorgeous. There were water stops every few miles that had not only water but also Nuun which I wasn't expecting (I feel like most races do Gatorade).

Despite the hilly course, stopping a bunch of times for water and to take pics, I actually finished faster than I did at the Brooklyn Half (a month prior and relatively much flatter)

Post-Race

The post-race festival was pretty nice. They had set up a huge tent where you could get more Nuun and snacks like oranges and bananas, bagels with cream cheese or butter, and some delicious salsa and bagel chips. The nice thing is that you could totally go back for seconds. We all hung out on the docks while eating seconds.

WINNERS
My parents kept asking how many finishers there were and I had no idea but the Poughkeepsie Journal listed out all finishers the newspaper the next morning. There were 1257 finishers for the half, 283 for the marathon, 483 finishers for the 5k, all of which is a really good turn out for a race like this.

Overall, it was a really good race with amazing views. I would totally do it again and it's a nice little trip from NYC so it's accessible for us city folk.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

Latest reviews

Loading Reviews...