A run through the city
Matchstick race drew crowd to Wadsworth
Half marathon runners take off from the starting line on Grandview Avenue during the Matchstick Race. Photos by EMILY CANNING-DEAN
WADSWORTH – The sky was overcast and gloomy the evening of the Matchstick Race, but the rain stayed mostly at bay while hundreds of runners made their way through 5K, 10K and half marathon courses.
“It looks like the weather is holding off. Actually this is perfect being overcast,” said Michelle Farr, one of the organizers of the race. “It is always better to have clouds than sun. Signup to the race has been fantastic especially with the half marathon. We have more than we anticipated which is exciting.”
The Matchstick Race has been a popular component of the Blue Tip Festival for the last few years, but this was the first year the race included a half marathon option.
Karissa Magnacca was one of the committee members who helped to set the course for the half marathon.
“Part of the routes came from the 5K and 10K so we already had that in place,” she said. “One of the biggest things we looked at was including roads that were the safest for the runners. There were some barriers, but not as many as we thought. It is definitely a more hilly course than runners are used to, but we had to accept that Wadsworth is hilly. We were all kind of walking in blind, but I’m very excited.”
Pat Berry, a member of the race committee, decided he wanted to run the half marathon this year.
“I’m still involved with the committee, but I wanted to run since this is the inaugural year,” he said. “It is a tough course, but I just ran the Canton Marathon about a month ago, so I keep telling myself this is just half of that. I think this is a chance for everyone to enjoy themselves no matter what level of runner they are.”
Wyatt Greenlees, a Wadsworth resident who is going into eighth grade, said he was looking forward to running the half marathon.
“I like to run cross country and track and I did a half marathon last year around this time,” he said, adding that he didn’t have a specific time as a goal. “I just want to finish the race.”
Matt McConnell finished first place in the half marathon. McConnell was also the winner of the Wadsworth Public Library Bookin’ 5K race earlier this year.
“I was just focusing on doing the best I could,” McConnell said. “It was a pretty brutal course.”
Jacob Sussman came in second.
“It was a pretty rough course,” he said. “I started off pretty fast which was a bad idea on my part, but I’m extremely happy. Second place is never a bad thing.”
“It looks like the weather is holding off. Actually this is perfect being overcast,” said Michelle Farr, one of the organizers of the race. “It is always better to have clouds than sun. Signup to the race has been fantastic especially with the half marathon. We have more than we anticipated which is exciting.”
The Matchstick Race has been a popular component of the Blue Tip Festival for the last few years, but this was the first year the race included a half marathon option.
Karissa Magnacca was one of the committee members who helped to set the course for the half marathon.
“Part of the routes came from the 5K and 10K so we already had that in place,” she said. “One of the biggest things we looked at was including roads that were the safest for the runners. There were some barriers, but not as many as we thought. It is definitely a more hilly course than runners are used to, but we had to accept that Wadsworth is hilly. We were all kind of walking in blind, but I’m very excited.”
Pat Berry, a member of the race committee, decided he wanted to run the half marathon this year.
“I’m still involved with the committee, but I wanted to run since this is the inaugural year,” he said. “It is a tough course, but I just ran the Canton Marathon about a month ago, so I keep telling myself this is just half of that. I think this is a chance for everyone to enjoy themselves no matter what level of runner they are.”
Wyatt Greenlees, a Wadsworth resident who is going into eighth grade, said he was looking forward to running the half marathon.
“I like to run cross country and track and I did a half marathon last year around this time,” he said, adding that he didn’t have a specific time as a goal. “I just want to finish the race.”
Matt McConnell finished first place in the half marathon. McConnell was also the winner of the Wadsworth Public Library Bookin’ 5K race earlier this year.
“I was just focusing on doing the best I could,” McConnell said. “It was a pretty brutal course.”
Jacob Sussman came in second.
“It was a pretty rough course,” he said. “I started off pretty fast which was a bad idea on my part, but I’m extremely happy. Second place is never a bad thing.”