What a weekend for the annual Boilermaker! It's going to be in the 90s and humid Saturday, but Sunday may be (hopefully) a little cooler. The Boilermaker, a 15k race that draws runners from all over the world, is Utica's biggest event of the year. This year, they've got more than 11,000 runners on the roster. In previous years, a Kenyan has always one the men's competition. We'll see if a Utican gets it this year!

This from the website:

The Boilermaker Road Race was established in 1978 by Earle C. Reed. Reed was looking for a way to give back to the community that had supported his family’s business, Utica Boilers (now ECR International). The 15K road race began with just over 800 runners and a budget of $750.

The Boilermaker Race gets its name from the Boilermaker drink, a "shot and a beer." There's a famous brewery, the FX Matt Brewery, in Utica, that hosts a huge beer-drinking party after the race. It's a huge community event.

We toured the Brewery a few months ago, see the post here.