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More than 100 skiers/runners participated in the first Heat Up Hamilton Duathalon -- cross country skiing and running -- held Sunday in the village.

Colgate sophomore Ryan Loomis was the first to cross the finish line. Mark Daley of West Winfield was second.

The skiing course started and finished at the former driving range at Seven Oaks. The running course covered five kilometers along village streets and on the Colgate campus. The finish line was in front of the Hamilton Public Library.

Finishers had the opportunity to warm up around a large fire on the village green and enjoy an expansive menu of post-race food.

The duathalon was the brainchild of Charlie Melichar, who when not organizing the event, is Colgate's VP for public relations and marketing. A triathalon participant himself, Melichar envisioned Sunday's event as a seasonal extension of what he does the rest of the year.

He said he was pleased with its outcome and thanked a number of people and organizations that helped make it possible. Melichar said:

"This was all about a great group of people coming together around ideas and working to make them happen. I really don't deserve the credit and attention here. Anyone can have an idea, it takes a Village (literally in this case!) to turn it into reality.

"To see so many happy, active people out on a Sunday afternoon in late February here in Hamilton made it a home run (or whatever the multisport equivalent would be) in my opinion. It was great to see all of those friendly faces from Hamilton and all around New York, from Oneida and Cazenovia to Syracuse, Manlius, Otego, Watertown and beyond -- even northern Pennsylvania! About a third of our more than 100 total participants were from out of town.

"The events on the Village Green, drawing in families of participants and others from around town were fantastic. What better way to get together on a chilly February day than hanging around by a bonfire in the center of town. It was such a unique way for folks to spend an afternoon with old and new friends, with kids running around and playing in the snow.

"So many people worked hard over the past couple of months to pull this together and that was probably the most amazing part in my opinion. We started pulling this event together about two months ago and it came off with relatively few hitches. That's all because of the enthusiasm, hard work and a good dose of smarts of all the volunteers and planners involved:

"Abby Rowe and the Outdoor Education team put in countless hours of meticulous care to ensure a great ski course.

"Rick Hanson designed a great, challenging run course and even pulled in family and friends to be sure that all went well at the finish.

"The duo of multisport veteran Xan Karn and event pro Tim Mansfield made sure that athletes started off, transitioned and finished smoothly, and Tim even pulled off a food challenge that highlighted some of the great soup, wings and hot drinks Hamilton has to offer.

"Anne Clauss somehow managed to organize kid games, pull together the bonfire and participate in the duathlon.

"Bill LaRuffa was the man behind the fire, with help and contributions from the Village and Cossitt Concrete, and
that made for such a unique, warmer afternoon.

"Dr. Michael Zahn and the SOMAC crew didn't see much action over the course of the day and that's how we like it. The same goes for the Hamilton Police officers who helped to ensure safe crossings for our runners.

"All of our sponsors and supporters were critical in making the event possible and the full list of folks who helped plan all of the events is too long for purposes here, but it was a big group of people who helped in ways big and small -- and the small stuff is really the big stuff!

"I hope everyone was proud of what we did together yesterday. What a fun way to spend a winter Sunday.

"I'm not done with the final numbers, but we will be making a nice contribution to the Hamilton Food Cupboard this week thanks to the proceeds from race dues. Again, volunteers and generous contributions -- particularly in terms of equipment -- are why we are going to be able to do this.

"At the end of the day though, this event wouldn't have been an event without all of the duathlon participants and folks who came out to enjoy the fire and participate in the activities. Thanks to all for Heating Up Hamilton.

 

 

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