STILL RUNNING
Pandemic Canceled 2020 Races
by John Conway
HURLEYVILLE—Around Hurleyville, Brian Dennis is known as “the Running Man,” (as profiled in the sports section of the July, 2017 edition of The Hurleyville Sentinel) and while the ongoing COVID restrictions resulted in the cancellation of all of his planned races in 2020, he continues to train, with expectations to make further strides in the new year.
This was supposed to be a big year for Mr. Dennis, as he prepared to compete for the first time in the 40-and-over division and hoped to complete his first half-marathon, a grueling 13.1-mile race, in addition to his usual 5K and 10K schedule. COVID changed all that.
“I used to run almost every day, and did a 5K or 10K race almost every weekend,” Mr. Dennis said. “Most of the 2020 races were canceled due to the pandemic.”
Mr. Dennis says that during the height of the pandemic earlier this year he ran everyday on the treadmill until he could resume running outdoors, but he misses the camaraderie and the excitement of running competitively.
“I did race in the Virtual Allyson Whitney 5K on the Hurleyville Rail Trail on August 22, and I turned in a personal best time,” he says, while noting that he particularly missed the 2020 versions of the actual Allyson Whitney 5K in White Lake, the Rhulen Run and Ramble 5K in Rock Hill, and the River Run 10K in Callicoon, which have become his favorite races over the past three years or so.
“Hopefully this COVID will be over and we can get back to a normal schedule,” he says. “I can’t wait to race again.”