Is it true that this year will see a year without the Ithaca Festival Mile before the parade? What a shame!
Proposal: all those interested in running a mile before the parade starts at 6:00pm could do so, independently and of their own free will, without official sanction, encouragement, or license, starting near or from the IHS parking lot at 5:50pm and proceed down Cayuga street to Dewitt Park, at their own risk?
This sounds like a terrible idea not worth considering, but humourous as an abstract concept. We promise nothing - but a banana suit can go a long way towards public acceptance of mild runner antics…
Ponderously Yours, ~Mr. Hector
PS: (this is also an effort to delay a formal event report from Thom Bugliosi Trail Runs, which were alleged to have occurred and were lovely indeed.)
I haven’t heard a peep from the Ithaca Youth Bureau about the Ithaca Festival Mile for a few years now. I don’t think the middle schools have done the Marathon Miles program for some time either, and it used the Festival Mile as the culmination event of that program. @bethany-schiller might know if there was any discussion at all.
I loved the idea and enjoyed running it myself, but it was kind of a nightmare to time because of the point-to-point nature of the race (we had to bike a Seiko from the start in case the cell phones cut out at the wrong moment). The runners were really hard to control at the end and didn’t understand the difference between the competitive heats and the Marathon Miles heats.
The main thing that bugged me, though, was that we never managed to get the crowds to really understand what was happening. They mostly just ignored the runners rather than cheering madly, as they should have.
All that said, I think if any civic-minded wanted to join the in running the course as proposed, go . Those of us on the sidelines will cheer madly.
I kinda like the idea of a “pop-up” group run. It’s in the spirit of the parade. I can’t imagine more suitable attire than a banana suit, though if @Benedetta_Carnaghi was in town, I think her chicken outfit would work well.
wanted to join the 
in running the course as proposed, go 
. Those of us on the sidelines will cheer madly.