Not For Nothin'

Apologies for the hiatus, we've been busy...training. 

As a relative newbie to the area, I hadn't had the opportunity to participate in the region's premier event. Not anymore.

Ran my first Boilermaker yesterday. I won't divulge my time, but anyone with an internet connection and the detective skills of a toddler can look it up. Great race, but since this is a food column and not a fitness diary, we'll focus on the grub: What does your $35 entry fee get you? And is it worth it?

Once finished, you're given a pin (Yay! You finished! And you're still breathing!), a bottled water and all the orange slices you can ingest. You've just run 9.3 miles, so you're scarfing as much citrus as you can get your sweaty hands on.

Next, you arrive at the popsicle table. These are the Hood brand grape, root beer and other flavored treats. Again, it's all-you-can-grab.

Once inside the fiesta, Price Chopper has your lunch. You'll get a banana, bag of Baked Lays™ and a slap-dash turkey sandwich. Bare bones, but the exhausted have little in them to complain. Also on hand were Chobani, doling out free Greek yogurts and McDonald's, giving away packages of apple slices.

All toll, you could buy everything you ate post-race for around $15. That doesn't include the FREE BEER!!!!

But for some reason, that ice cold popsicle was like biting into frozen Nirvana. Even better than the beer (sorry Saranac).

In the end, finishing an invigorating run with 11,000+ of your neighbors, friends and fellow Mohawk Valley residents cheering you on satisfied our appetite more than any free meal ever could.

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