Thousands of runners take their mark for the 48th annual St. Patrick's Road Race

Yahoo

23-03-2025

HOLYOKE, Mass. (WWLP) – The highly anticipated Parade Weekend is finally here! Earlier on Saturday thousands of runners made their way to the corner of Lyman and Maple Streets for the 48th Annual St. Patrick's Road Race.
A sea of people could be seen gearing up to tackle the 48th annual Holyoke St. Patrick's Road race. It marks the beginning of a spirited weekend here in the city, where the streets are flooded green, and Irish music rings on.
'No matter if you're Irish or not, everybody's Irish this weekend,' expressed 2025 Grand Colleen Moira Reardon.
Each year the road race brings 7000 runners from all over the world right here to downtown Holyoke. Everyone is decked out in green with their running sneakers laced up and ready to go.
But, before the big 10k run, the shorter and more family-friendly kids fun run kicked off the day.So everyone was able to get their taste of excitement.
Many area children were excited to just be outside and running in the festivities.
It may be the biggest running event in western Massachusetts, but it's the tradition of race day, the cheering, the outfits, and the block parties, that make this race unlike any other in the region.
'People in the neighborhoods just like really throw on a party and it like amps you up, and keeps going,' said Ray Michaud of East Windsor, Connecticut, 'Even with the long hills you just want to push through and have fun, and it's a party.'
It's that tradition that the St. Patrick's Committee hope shines through year after year.
The 2025 St. Patrick's Road Race Director, Brian Donoghue told 22News that bringing a smile to peoples faces is just one reason they put on the race every year, 'Even tonight, you look through social media, and all you see is pictures of people having fun. You know it's why we're here. It's why we do this.'
And, whether runners have taken to the hills of Holyoke for this 6.2 mile race before, or giving it a try for the first time, there's no question race day sets the right tone for Sunday's much-anticipated parade.
Gianna, Angela, and Katie, a few of the runners said they're ready to run, no matter the challenge, 'We're ready to run. And the faster you get to run, the faster you get to have fun.'
And if you can't make it down to the parade in person, you can watch it on 22News starting at noon.
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