A strong field is expected in the 44th running of the Bridge of Flowers Race on Saturday in Shelburne Falls. 

After over 600 runners competed in the 43rd running of the race last summer, over 700 are expected out on Saturday as the race continues to bring back numbers post-pandemic.

The 3-kilometer race begins at 8 a.m. before the 8K Classic follows at 9 a.m. Tropical Storm Debby is expected to pass through the Northeast overnight Friday and into Saturday, but so far the long-range forecast has rainfall slowing down just before runners hit the course.

“We’re just making sure everything is good to go,” Race Director Dan Smith said. “Everything is in place and we’re in a good place. If it holds true and we do 100 [runners] more this year, we’ll be looking at about 700 runners. Pre-COVID was usually around 800 or 900. We’re creeping back to those numbers. We’re looking to make improvements each year and bring back more features from the race that we had pre-COVID.”

Expect that field of runners to be loaded with talent.

William Sanders of Marlboro was last year’s winner of the men’s 8K with a time of 25 minutes, 46 seconds and he will be back on Saturday to defend his crown. 

Shelburne Falls’ Mac Sloan Anderson wasn’t far behind Saunders last year, placing second with a time of 26:20, and will be gunning for a first place finish in his hometown race. 

Saunders and Sloan Anderson aren’t the only two who will be in contention Saturday. Chicopee’s Amos Sang — an AIC alumni — has won the race multiple times, the last coming in 2018. He hasn’t competed the past few years but is signed up for this weekend. Sang won it with a time of 25:13 in 2018.

Ezra Mutai, another AIC grad, has run a 4:11/mile, 13:41 in the 5,000 meters and 28:44 in the 10,000. He’s also someone Smith said to keep an eye on, as he’ll be running the Bridge of Flowers for the first time on Saturday.

Ruben Sanca competed in the 5,000 in the 2012 Olympics, representing Cape Verde, and is now a western Mass. resident, working at UMass. He’ll be running on Saturday, having posted times of 13:56 in the 5,000 and a 1 hour, 5 minute half-marathon in the past.

The women’s side is just as loaded.

It was a down-to-the-wire finish on the women’s side last summer, with Amherst’s Jenna Gigliotti narrowly crossing the finish line before Shelburne Falls’ Kayla Lampe. Gigliotti won with a time of 29:41 while Lampe took second with a run of 29:47. Plainfield’s Meghan Davis, who recently graduated from Tufts where she ran cross country and track, took third with a time of 31:08. 

All three are returning on Saturday and will each be in the mix to take home the championship. Lampe is coming off an impressive summer, winning the Mt. Washington Road Race with a time of 1:15:09 while Giliotti took fifth at Mt. Washington. 

Watertown’s Hayley Sutter, who was an Olympic trials qualifier in 2019 in the marathon, will also be competing on Saturday. 

“Those are the main contenders as I see it now,” Smith said. 

The race is bringing back age group awards this year. After bringing sponsors back, the race is able to give out awards for the top finisher in the 14-and-under category as well as the age 15-18 group, the top male and finisher from Franklin County, as well as awards for all five year age groups starting at age 40 and running through age 80. Each group winner will receive a gift card to Marathon Sports in Northampton. 

Cash prizes, which are given out by top sponsor Greenfield Savings Bank, will be awarded to the first, second and third place overall finishers on the men’s and women’s sides. First place receives $250, second place $150 and third place $100. 

If a course record is broke on either the men’s or women’s side, Greenfield Savings Bank will double the cash prize. 

Lou Serafini set the men’s course record in 2019 with a time of 24:25 while Annemarie Tewksbury set the women’s course record in 2022 with a time of 28:47. 

“With more volunteers and sponsors, we can do more things and give out more prizes,” Smith said. “With more prizes, more people want to run. It’s a positive reinforcer.” 

As always, the race is looking for more volunteers to continue bringing new features to the race. 

“We always need more volunteers,” Smith said. “That’s been one of the biggest challenges post-COVID. In order to get the race back to its former glory where we were setting records for the number of runners, we need people to volunteer. We have great volunteers now but we just need more people to be able to bring back more features and benefits.”

All finishers in both the 3K and 8K races will receive a free post race ice cream from Moe’s Fudge Factor in Shelburne. All 21-plus runners will receive a free local craft beer from Floodwater Brewing, which will be served at the post race award party held at Blue Rock Restaurant. 

While the race has been part of the New England Grand Prix in the past, the Bridge of Flowers race didn’t have the staffing to support being part of it this year. The race will instead be part of the New England Runner’s Pub Series, which features all different types of races that end around a brewery. 

“It’s a fun new feature,” Smith said. “Hopefully that helps us attract runners from the eastern part of the state.”