I haven't seen any comment on the first Rec-Way race, so I'll put in my 2  cents as an interested observer. First congratulations to Jeff Juran and  Barbara Bellows for being brave enough to initiate a race on the  recreation way. Runners seemed to love the course and I was overjoyed  about the safety of it. The only "traffic" was one kid on a bike and two joggers. It is by far the safest race put on locally. It was also cheap:  no cops to pay for traffic control, no awards, no t-shirts, just good, basic racing.There were 50 racers. If you think this was just a low-key jog, you should have seen Tim Ingall and Rick Cleary dukeing it out. I saw them three time during the race and the competitive intensity was fierce. in the end some kid with 20 fewer years on his legs sprinted by for the win. The day was reasonably good for racing, but the threat of rain probably kept away a lot of fair weather racers. I think the race could easily attract 100 racers next year and more as it builds a reputation. This is good practice for the day that the Black Diamond trail is complete - all 16 miles from Taughannock Falls State Park to Treman Sate Park. Virtually any distance race in a safe environment will then be feasible. --Herb Engman

I also want to add my thanks to Jeff and Barbara for the RecWay 10K. As someone who doesn't normally care for trails, the 10K distance, OR steep inclines during the last mile, I was astonished at what an enjoyable experience that long "tunnel of trees" was! Since I know Jeff was trying to make the run attractive to first-timers and recreational runners as well as those speedsters Herb mentions, I can vouch for the fact that us folks in the back of the pack had a great morning as well. Definitely a "must-do" if it's on next year's race schedule! --Betsy Martens

I'd like to add my compliments to Jeff & Barbara for organizing such a great race, and to all the volunteers who helped make it happen. I truly enjoyed the beauty and solitude of the Rec-way, and the hard-packed dirt surface which put the race somewhere in-between a road race and a trail run. For those of you who don't know me, I was that "kid" Herb mentioned who won in the end, watching from a solid 3rd for most of the race as Rick & Tim fought it out. As fate would have it, I was able to pass them both on the long shallow uphill grind after the second turn-around for the win by 21+ seconds (the official results recorded a 31 second win). Thanks to Rick & Tim for keeping it interesting. I hope to see all of you, and your friends, at the Rec-Way 10k in 2001! --Steve Darrow