Year for year, Humphrey best Boilermaker local

Looking for a local runner to root for in this Sunday’s Utica Boilermaker 15K Road Race? Look no further than Deerfield’s Paul Humphrey.

He won’t be the leader of the pack, but he won’t be far off that pace. You can count on it.

Humphrey, who turned 41 on July 4, has been a frontrunner for years. If boxers are ranked pound-for-pound and runners are ranked year-for-year, he should rank as this area’s best Boilermaker runner because few (if anybody) has been this good for this long.

For the record, Sunday’s race will be his 21st consecutive Boilermaker, and the father of five has run the last 19 of them in less than 60 minutes. A year ago, he finished in 54 minutes, 44 seconds (54:44).

Not since his very first Boilermaker, way back in 1988 when he ran it in 1:13:36, has Humphrey needed more than an hour to finish the 9.3-mile race.

Look for his bib number in this year’s entries. Cheer him on this Sunday. He deserves it.