Race Directors Forum (Twilight 5K)

The Twilight 5K is held as close to the Summer Solstice as possible and coordinated with Ithaca High School activities, to celebrate the Twilight theme. The weather is usually hot and muggy, a storm typically threatens, and there's always the chance of being delayed by a passing freight-train, but the race always goes on. Plenty of volunteers and running fans attend to help the participants (especially first-timers) have a great time!

This race is promoted and intended to encourage beginners to the race scene, who want a manageable first road race. The course is flat and fast, half the distance of a 10K, and close to home and the water fountain (this is a run you must keep well hydrated for!) It's also a great warm-up for novices who plan to do the much bigger Pud's Run at nearby Stewart Park in August!

Last year, there were 133 entrants, ranging in age from 8 to 66 years old. We were especially happy that many younger runners attended, and are pursuing the "young" crowd again as they bring a lot of excitement and energy to the event.

Prizes, if you want to call them that, are usually small enough to eat in 2 minutes-but always taste great (and are usually locally-made treats, hint, hint!)

A few new features of this year's race:

1. It's now USATF-certified as a 5K.

2. Each race participant is asked to bring a canned or boxed food item to donate to the Ithaca Kitchen Cupboard, the local food pantry that distributes donated food to those in need in Ithaca.

3. You can register online through http://www.active.com.

We're looking forward to seeing a lot of you come out for this, and please-- if you've know someone, young or older, who's always wanted to try a race-- tell them that this would be a great night to start!

-- Todd Mattison