Every year is unique at the Boilermaker

Bill Rodgers ran another Boilermaker. Six-time wheelchair winner Saul Mendoza returned for a physical challenge that requires more will than most of us can understand. Public address announcer Phil Stewart was again on a scaffold, several feet above the finish line to entertain and inform throughout the day the volunteers and spectators in the vicinity of Court Street.

There were things about the 31st Boilermaker Road Race that were the same in races past. This year, as with the previous 30, created its own personality with events that will forever link the 31st running to July 13, 2008. Here are a few:

The rain: never before had I left the house on Boilermaker Sunday with a jacket and without my sunglasses on my face. The glasses stayed in a pocket for a while because of steady rain that started about two hours before the 15K's 8 a.m. start. For some, there were more questions about the speed of the narrow front that produced the showers than the speed of the runners in the start corrals. Women's open division winner Ashu Rabo Kasim of Ethiopia was one of the concerned. Former race director Earle Reed was another. Kasim's worries drifted toward the back of the pack when the 23-year-old reached Valley View Golf Course and realized she could she enjoy the race's hilliest section. Reed was relieved at the post-race party the rain passed through the area, but the safety of the runners was on his mind because of the humidity.

Dave Reichert wasn't worried about the rain. The assistant race director confidently walked through the F.X. Matt Brewery parking lot about 6:45 a.m. in shorts and a jacket he knew he wouldn't need later. Reichert was right.

The winners: never before had Ethiopian runners won both the men's and women's overall titles. Terefe Maregu raised his arms above his head before he crossed the finish line, and Kasim sprinted the last mile to defeat four-time champ and running legend Catherine Ndereba by one second to complete the Ethiopian sweep. Maybe this year will be the start of Utica rivalry between Ethiopian runners and the always dominant Kenyans? Ndereba was back for the first time since her record setting run in 2001 and the return was made memorable by the close finish in the women's race.

The brewers: never before had Nick Matt seen so many people in the parking lot for the post-race party. The brewery president, who said he thought the party was in doubt six weeks ago after a fire jeopardized the bottler's processing facilities, was overwhelmed when he addressed a crowd that stretched as far out as any in his memory.

The timers: a malfunction of the timing chip equipment forced most runners in the field of 11,000-plus to rely on the slower 'gun time' results.

After the start gun goes off, the majority of the athletes in a race as large as the Boilermaker don't begin their run for several minutes and by that time the clock is ticking. With timing chip, a runner's time starts recording when he or she steps on the start mat.

The do'ers: the most notable would be Bob Ingalls, whose seven years as the calm, cool and collected race director made this year feel strange since his death on July 2. Ingalls was patient with multiple media requests and questions. He was accessible and willing to work with a reporter, even one who should know better, through the process of fleshing out an important story about the race. Ingalls' tenure as race director was going to end with the 2007 race - planned before he was diagnosed with cancer last summer. His absence, though, robs all involved of working with a knowledgeable and professional gentleman whose influence on the race will always be there.

The 32nd Boilermaker will be run on July 12, 2009. Will be Bill Rodgers be there? What about Saul Mendoza and Catherine Ndereba? We'll have to wait and see along with whatever new turns up.