The 15-kilometer Boilermaker, the Mohawk Valley's signature athletic and social event, has imposed a cap on registrations, and will accept 13,000 entrants when it is run for the 34th time Sunday, July 10.
This year, the Boilermaker hit all-time highs in entrants, with 13,108, as well as finishers, with 11,525. But those numbers raised concerns among event officials about the quality of the race.
“I want people finishing this race to say, 'I just ran the best race in the country,' not necessarily the biggest 15K in the country,” Boilermaker Executive Director Tim Reed said.
Reed cited safety and a constrained starting line as the reasons for the move.
“The problems I hear about are the rather confining start and the inability to break through the pack,” Reed said. “I feel if registration is left unchecked, we could have more than 14,000 runners.”
The Boilermaker also will cap its 5-kilometer run, which is being restructured as a race with a slightly earlier start, at 4,000. It drew 2,991 entrants last year, but will continue to allow an unlimited entry for its walk that is conducted the day before the big race.
The Boilermaker has limited the number of entrants in the past. In 2003, for example, there was a cap of 10,000, although 386 additional registrations were accepted.
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