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Mother Nature cooperates for RidgeWalk and Run participants
WELLSVILLE — While chilly weather greeted the runners and walkers Sunday morning who gathered for the 27th annual RidgeWalk and Run, the sun came out and gave everyone a glorious view of the fall foliage around Alma Hill. “Mother Nature is cooperating a lot, being nicer to us this year than last year,” said event director Jim Helms. That’s because several inches of snow fell the night before last year’s RidgeWalk. Rich Shear, owner of the Shear equestrian farm where all the participants finished their course, is trail chairman. “To be honest, it’s seamless now,” Shear said of the logistics of organizing trails that encompasses 70 different plots and 52 landowners this year. While he makes it sound easy, his team of four to six volunteers work for six or seven weeks clearing trails and ensuring participant’s safety. “We were all out here at 1 a.m. this morning checking the trails to make sure everything was OK,” he said, and their efforts seem to pay off, although with the additional two trails and the changes this year, he was worried about people taking the wrong turns along the way. “They did an awesome job making the trails,” said Teresa Osgood of Bolivar, who has participated for several years with Renee Giardini of West Clarksville. This year Doreen Chaffee of Wellsville joined them, which she said she does occasionally. She was glad she did, expressing her delight at the
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Photos by Cindy Wagner Runners take part in the 27th annual RidgeWalk and Run to benefit Jones Memorial Hospital.
The RidgeWalk and Run offers competitive un-paved trail runs of not just 25K, but also 10K and 5K runs as well as a choice of casually walking 15, 9, 6 and 2 miles. There’s even an Active Older Adults event, special for those 55 and older who want to participate but are limited in their mobility. Rich Whiteman has been run chairperson since the event’s inception, and stays busy monitoring the finish line. “He got first in his age group (over 70 years of age) in the annual Marine Corp. Marathon in D.C. last year,” Shear said. “That’s the kind of people we have volunteering for this event.” ON THE GROUNDS, Mark Baker from Eagle Dream Rehabilitation was on hand to showcase the nonprofit organization’s raptors, including barred, horned and screech owls. Hay rides with draft horses from several local farms and other children’s activities kept the youngsters engaged.
new 25K trail this year, which organizers changed up a little. “It was like a whole new race,” Chaffee said. “It was really challenging and beautiful this year.” The RidgeWalk runs are all USATF Niagara sanctioned. The RidgeWalk 25k is part of the USATF Niagara Association Open; USATF Niagara Masters Trail Championship; and the Eastern Grip Series. Amy Lehman, tracking chairperson for the last 11 years, credits the sanction they received in 2017 for the increase in 25K runners this year — with 153 runners, that number was about double last year’s event. While she ensures that volunteers keep things moving as participants come off the trails to get their cinch bags with a T-shirt, water bottle and ball cap, her critical responsibility is ensuring that the 853 runners and walkers that participated this year and headed up the trails, came back off the trails as well.
In the main tent, Casual Reply entertained with their acoustic music. There was wine tasting from NYS wineries and the taps from the Wellsville Brewing Company were kept busy. Jones Memorial Hospital Physical Therapy Department supplied information, apples, thermal lunch bags, water bottles and massagers and the Finger Lakes Trail Conference was there with information on their offerings. In addition to a lunch supplied by Texas Hots of Wellsville, there were baked goods donated by JMH staff, and plenty of healthy snacks that runners and walkers availed themselves, of while waiting for the awards to be given out. It was also a chance to allow everyone the opportunity to celebrate the good they did for themselves and for the community. Eva Benedict, president and CEO at Jones Memorial Hospital was there celebrating the RidgeWalk this year, enjoying what she called the
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“serene, calming experience” and the sense of community. “We look so forward to this event which supports the wellness activities,” she said. The proceeds, along with the 5K Glow Walk and Run held in the Spring, help support the hospital’s wellness program. “Wellness isn’t always about physical fitness, its overall health too,” Benedict was quick to point out. She thanked the committee members that have been with the event for years, saying that most aren’t even hospital employees. “We’re happy to help this community,” she said. It’s the community, she pointed out, by participating in the two major wellness program events, that help support things like health fairs with free screenings and providing blood pressure monitoring equipment for those who can’t afford them. They encourage blood donations with Wellsville Chamber of Commerce gift cards, and they provide maps of walking trails in Wellsville. This year, they’re fixing the Bolivar Road trail so the walkway goes under the bridge, targeting the safety of walkers and runners who use the Riverwalk Trail. It took 150 to 200 volunteers to make the event a success, and when asked when the committee would begin planning for the next year, Helms laughed. “We’re already planning the next one,” he said. Judging from the smiles on hundreds of faces of those who participated this year, they’re looking forward to it, too.
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