June 22nd saw the 3rd annual running of Many On The Genny in Letchworth State Park. The event was impacted by heavy rains that the local media was calling a “deluge” 2 nights before.

Up to 5 inches of rain fell in the 3 days leading up to the event. The flood control systems at the Mount Morris Dam were put in place to prevent flooding downstream towns and cities (ie Rochester). This meant sections of the course already marked were suddenly 10 feet under water as Lake Letchworth began to form behind the dam.

In addition to trails #15 and #17 being underwater, the trail and creek crossing at trail #18 was also no longer an option as the water was moving too fast and too deep to safely cross.

Race Directors Eric and Sheila Eagan scrambled to reroute and remark the course which ended up adding a stretch along the road that was about 6 miles instead of the usual 2.

Race morning started with a stunning sunrise, perfect temperature, and in the early miles a really fast pace out front.

A group of 5 men charged the roads hard, running a few miles in under 7 minutes before heading back on to the trails.

In the women’s race, defending champion Ellie Pell fresh off of her win at the Buffalo Marathon took advantage of the early roads in the same way, setting a blistering pace off the front.

At the 1/2 way point 4 men came into the Lower Falls aid station and left together to begin the challenge of the Dishmill Creek climb and then the Finger Lakes Trail.

Pell came in a full 14 minutes ahead of the second runner at the time in the women’s race grabbing some aid and then taking the 127 steps down to the lower falls bridge to cross the Genesee River and begin the back half of the course.

Heading on to the Finger Lake Trail and towards Aid Station #4 Brett Long took a risk and decided to not stop for any aid and pushed hard towards the water drop 7 miles away hoping to build a cushion to the finish.

Meanwhile, the women’s race was heating up as Ameilia Kaufman had charged hard on the trail section of the back half and could now see Ellie Pell as they worked their way back and forth and up and down all the gully crossing on the FLT.

Long’s push paid off as he sprinted to the finish in 5:54:37 A few minutes under course record (which will be listed as an alternate course due to the road sections and being about 1 mile short of the standard route). He was followed in By Jim Mollosky in 2nd at 6:10:19 and shortly there after in 3rd was Josh Zubler in 6:23:02.

The women were battling hard the entire final 20 miles, dealing with mud and hills and the stress of a close contest. Ellie Pell crossed the finish line first in 7:00:33 and Kaufman just a minute back in 7:01:46. Amelia gave it her all taking 13 minutes off of the lead at the 1/2 way point. Katie Ghidiu rounded out the women’s podium in 7:31:03.

As the rest of the field came in, the story of the day became whether or not Race Director Sheila Eagan’s brother, Chris Glaub would finish. Having entered the race on a bet having never run any race in his life and having not trained he was moving well through most of the day. Glaub, 29, of Buffalo made it 33 miles before being forced to pull the plug, as the trail got the better of him this time.

 

The finish line food was again a Rochester staple of Garbage Plates and Craft Beer. The next running of Many On The Genny will be June 20th 2020.  Registration will open on Jan 1st.

 

The TROY results are updated and available here: https://trailsroc.org/troy/

 

Next up in the series is the #TrailsRoc 0SPF 1/2 Marathon which still has a few spots available.