CANTON — Since moving to the area from Seattle, Amanda Stopa Goldstein has become enamored with the north country. Now, she has found a way to combine her newfound love for the area with a longtime passion for running.
With the help of Dwight Stevenson, Mrs. Stopa Goldstein has organized The Maple Run, a half-marathon and 5K that will help participants rid themselves of the cabin fever endured during the long winter months and will also honor the tradition of producing maple syrup.
“I am not from here but I love it up here. I love the history of maple and I love that the maple run is a literal thing. And winter here is a literal thing that is just not a word in a book,” Mrs. Stopa Goldstein said. “I wanted to celebrate this end of winter.”
The race is scheduled for April 22, which is a few weeks removed from the end of the annual maple run where family run sugar shacks and hobby farms and major producers alike collect sap to make the coveted New York maple syrup. Mrs. Stopa Goldstein said the race is later this year to work out all the details in the event’s first year, but will likely be scheduled for earlier in April in coming years.
“In the future, we are going to try to move it back closer to the beginning of April so we are actually honoring the end of the true maple run,” she said. “It is not just ‘The Maple Run’ as a cute title, but we are actually honoring the end of winter in the north country.”
“The course actually goes by two maple producers. It goes by Hurlbut’s and it goes by Parker’s Maple. So it is also recognizing the Northern New York tradition and honoring the fact that we are hardy enough to live in an environment where people are running when it is 6 degrees out,” Mrs. Stopa Goldstein continued. “We are a very hardy people here in Northern New York.”
Both the half-marathon and 5K will begin and end at Taylor Park Road, off Miner Street Road.
Those running the 5K will turn right onto Miner Street Road from Taylor Park and head north toward the village before running a one-mile stretch of the woodland trails at St. Lawrence University before returning to Taylor Park.
Half-marathon runners will take a left and run south on Miner Street Road until it intersects with Eddy-Pyrites Road. Participants will travel to County Road 17 from Eddy-Pyrites Road and cross the Grasse River before turning onto County Road 21. The course leads runners from County Road 21 onto County Road 25 and eventually onto County Road 27 which will lead back into the village. Runners will take Maple Street back to Miner Street Road and return to Taylor Park.
According to Mrs. Stopa Goldstein, running is about community. She said she has been running competitively for 17 years, since the age of 12.
“Runners have such a special bond,” Mrs. Stopa Goldstein said. “People hate running, right? Yet genetically, evolutionarily, we are meant to run. So you get to be surrounded by a bunch of people that like it and I just think that is great.”
As with many running events, the Maple Run will give proceeds to an organization. According to Mrs. Stopa Goldstein, though, the benefactor of this race is a rare funding recipient.
All of the money made on The Maple Run will go to the cross-country teams at St. Lawrence University, SUNY Canton and Canton Central School.
“I didn’t want to make money from it. I really wanted it to come from this organic wanting to give back to other runners,” Mrs. Stopa Goldstein said. “I had a lot of opportunities I wouldn’t have had without running. A lot of opportunities. So when I was honest with myself and said ‘why do you want to do this? Why put on a half-marathon?’ It was ‘I want to give back to these programs.’”
Mrs. Stopa Goldstein said she decided to donate to the closest teams to her because donating to her alma mater squads was not feasible from 3,000 miles away.
“It makes sense to give that money to these programs here, where I am now,” she said.
Mrs. Stopa Goldstein said many running programs at schools are underfunded because there is a lack of recognition for the sport.
Many programs seem to think runners just need a pair of shoes and are able to fully compete, but Mrs. Stopa Goldstein wants to help local runners achieve more.
“These kids deserve to be on the road and they deserve to be put up in hotels at competitions,” she said. “I had a lot of opportunities I wouldn’t have had without running. So when I was honest with myself and said ‘why do you want to do this? Why put on a half marathon?’ It was, ‘I want to give back to these programs.’”
Many cross country programs are also still coed, which makes giving to the teams more inclusive.
“The teams actually travel together consistently. They have the same coaches consistently, they do the same workouts consistently,” Mrs. Stopa Goldstein said. “I get to give back to single programs and I think it is really important that we still have these programs where men and women compete together.”
Mrs. Stopa Goldstein hopes to raise $500 for each of the three teams. She said more sponsors are welcome and would help organizers contribute more money to each program. She also said she has been pleasantly surprised at the number of racers already signed up for The Maple Run.
“We have already had more signups in January than we expected to get for this entire race,” Mrs. Stopa Goldstein said, noting that about 100 runners have registered.
Bucc Wild Run Club members will be volunteering to coordinate the event. Registration for the race will last at least through April 14, but Mrs. Stopa Goldstein said she hopes to extend it to the day of the race. Registration fees for the 5K are $30 while the half-marathon costs $40. For more information, including a course map, or to sign up or learn about sponsorship, visit the event website, themaplerun.com.