While it was disappointing for many to come to find out there would be no 50th running of the Mattapoisett Road Race this year, it turns out there were actually two races.
The official “virtual” one, in which runners were only competing against themselves on a self-chosen course with an assignment to turn in a time solely for verification purposes, is not alone as multiple waves of runners descended on Main Street around 8:45 am on July 4 for their own unofficial run.
Race Director Bill Tilden intended the virtual event to ensure safe-distancing guidelines and, at the same time, use entry fees to support Old Rochester Regional High School’s Class of 2020.
“We just wanted people to get out there and get their five miles in for our (ORR) seniors. It was more of a ‘Thank You back’ just so we could give out some scholarships to seniors,” said Tilden. “But we used up everything not knowing (about the coronavirus pandemic)… We didn’t have a whole lot of money in the kitty after we purchased the shirts this year.”
Last year, approximately $20,000 was raised based on the race’s typical field around 1,000 competitors. This year over 300 registered for the virtual run. Unlike many road races, the Mattapoisett Road Race has been content at 1,000.
“That’s where we always liked it to be,” said Tilden. “That’s why we’ve never been big on the advertising end. We want to be that fun group that just wants to have a barbecue and a beer.”
That homey flavor has served the Mattapoisett Road Race quite well going back to its 1971 origin when the Bob Gardner spearheaded barely over a dozen participants. The late founder of the race was honored on July 4 with a plaque at the starting line.
Gardner was an assistant principal at ORR Regional High School, then stepped in as the first principal at the then-new ORR Junior High. “He was very involved in the community, big into putting time into causes,” said Tilden, the ORR director of athletics who has been involved on the race committee the past 16 years including his 10th year as race director. “We will do a rededication next year in front of thousands.”
The virtual race has been happening all over the United States, on hills, in suburbs, on beaches and on treadmills.
Originally scheduled to be run between June 26 and July 2, event t-shirts will no longer be available for the virtual race, but Tilden never closed down its donation deadline so participants can still enter and run to help support scholarships for ORR 2020 graduates.
The grand irony is July 4th tends to be scorching heat in Mattapoisett. This year “would probably be our coolest race day,” according to Tilden. “It was funny this year because the Fairhaven (Father’s Day) race has always been a hot one; it was 65 (degrees Fahrenheit) for race time for them, too. The last couple of years we’d be very nervous with 1,800 bottles of water for 1,000 runners.”
A half-century ago, all road races in the U.S. were being measured in miles, and when 5 and 10-kilometer races began popping in the early 1980s, Mattapoisett chose to keep its identity intact as the area’s 5 miler.
Tilden is happy to do his part to keep the Mattapoisett Road Race’s legacy intact, both in terms of its traditions and its ongoing mission. While the t-shirts won’t be going out all summer, the post-entry race deadline has remained open so that interested runner can still donate to the cause and help add another year of student assistance.
In 2019, the Mattapoisett Road Race distributed $20,000 in college stipends, and over the past decade has topped $135,000 in awards to local high school seniors.
For more information, visit mattapoisettroadrace.com.
By Mick Colageo