A strong field filled with some of the best runners in the area will descend on Shelburne Falls Saturday for the 45th running of the Bridge of Flowers Classic.
The Bridge of Flowers hosted over 700 runners last year, a steep incline from the numbers the race had been producing post-COVID.
While the race might not have that many participants this year, numbers are still strong going into the race, which is scheduled for Saturday. As always, the 3K race gets the event going at 8 a.m. before the 8K classic gets underway at 9 a.m.
The race has a new director this year, as Phil Ringwood is taking over for Dan Smith. Ringwood is no stranger to the Bridge of Flowers Classic, having been helping out behind the scenes since 2009 as a director at DIAL/SELF Youth and Community Services in Greenfield. Being part of the race for so long has made the transition seamless.
“I’ve been doing the back end of the race since 2009,” Ringwood said. “When the race rebooted after COVID in 2022, Dan and Mike [McCusker] asked me to come back and help restart the race and that’s what we’ve done.”
While the race might have a new director, it will feel like the Bridge of Flowers race of old to anyone there as the course remains the same as it has been.
The 8K course provides a strong challenge as its hills are a grind, but that challenge makes for a great race which is something the runners seem to appreciate.
“We’re trying to hold true to as many of the traditions as possible and have a great race for everybody,” Ringwood said. “It’s a unique course in that it’s a figure eight loop. I think that’s what helps keep bringing people back. Another part people like is that you have the option to show up and do the 3K which is a very doable race then sit there and watch the diehard runners do the full 8K, charge up the hill and see how they manage to survive that run.”
It’s another strong field of runners set to compete. As of Monday there were nearly 600 runners signed up, though that number is expected to have increased as the week has gone on.
Agawam’s Ezra Mutai was the winner of the race last year, posting a time of 25 minutes, 28 seconds while Shelburne Falls’ Kayla Lampe was the victor on the women’s side with a time of 29:51, which just beat out Amherst’s Jenna Gigliotti, the 2023 women’s winner.
As of Monday, Gigliotti is signed up to compete and should face competition from Plainfield’s Meghan Davis (fifth in 2024) and Mia McDonald of Holyoke (seventh in 2024).
Shelburne Falls’ Mac Sloan Anderson was the second runner to cross last year and should be in the mix again on the men’s side. As will Turners’ Michael Keebler, who took eighth a year ago.
Keep an eye on Smith as well, as the former race director is a talented runner himself and will be able to participate in the race once again now that he isn’t coordinating it.
“It’s a solid field of runners,” Ringwood said. “I’m curious to see how it goes.”
Not only do runners return to the Bridge of Flowers Classic for the course, but also the community vibe the race brings with it.
The course weaves through neighborhoods lined with families waiting to support the bypassing runners while numerous community members volunteer to keep the race going.
“It’s a race where you go from a neighborhood, then into the woods then you’re back in a neighborhood,” Ringwood said. “You have families of volunteers doing water stops and there are community folks helping out.”
The nonprofit beneficiary of the race is DIAL/Self Youth and Community Services, which has served western Mass. youth and communities since 1977 by connecting young people with housing, education, employment and civic engagement opportunities.
“We are starting to put more of a focus on how this race can be a fundraiser for DIAL/Self,” Ringwood said. “Behind the scenes this year we put it out there more during registration and folks have actively been fundraising. People have done a great job with it.”
The postrace party will take place on Depot Road in Shelburne in front of the Blue Rock Restaurant. Beer will be provided by Floodwater Brewery while ice cream is provided by Moe’s Fudge Factor.