The Boilermaker Road Race is the biggest annual event in Utica. Until 2005, refugees were not a part of it though the Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees has been working in the region since 1979 and has resettled close to 11,000 refugees in the Mohawk Valley.
In 2006, refugees cheered on the runners at Culver Avenue and this year, a handful of them are training to run. For them, it is not just a race but a way to prove to themselves and to the community they are very much part of Utica. The race symbolizes being one with all.
I met Hasan and others during the course of other stories. And I was surprised to see their dedication toward integration at all levels. It was then that I thought of writing this story, which was published in Observer-Dispatch March 17, 2007.
I am copying the text and the link below
http://www.uticaod.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070317/NEWS/703170322/1001
Pride drives refugees to run Boilermaker
Want to make name for community
March 17, 2007
By CHINKI SINHA
UTICA — Last year during the Utica Boilermaker Road Race, Somalian refugee Abdi Talas Hasan stood along the International Mile and cheered on the runners.
This year, he will be joining those runners.
"I saw no Somali Bantus among them," he said.
Participating in the nation's largest 15K road race is yet another sign of refugees' increasing integration into the Mohawk Valley. Peter Vogelaar, executive director of the Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees, said their participation acknowledges and showcases the diversity in the community.
The resource center and Boilermaker officials created the International Mile on Culver Avenue in 2006 to acknowledge the region's growing population of refugees. For the refugees, the race is not only about running or winning, but showing the community they're very much part of Utica's life.
From cheering on runners, it was a natural next step for them to hit the road and join the race.
"I want to support Utica, show that we can do something," said Sidi Chivala, a Somali Bantu, who will run the Boilermaker July 8 this year. "Utica is our home."
There are around 350 Somali Bantus in Utica, and at least a handful of them will run the Boilermaker Road Race this year for the first time. The refugee center is offering to help refugees with the logistics of registering for the race.
Murjan Abdulahi, a Somali Bantu, is training hard with four other Somali Bantus.
"I want to win and get the name...for the people to know I am here," he said.
Earle Reed, who is the founder of the race, said it was wonderful that refugees will run this year.
"This is the race that has diversity," he said. "Refugees running are a great facet to our 30th anniversary."
Hasan, Abdulahi's cousin, who interpreted for him, said the race was important to them because it was a way to make their presence felt in the community.
"We want the people to know Somali Bantus are a large group here," he said.
Their excitement is evident. Hasan's voice trembles with the enthusiasm that pushes him in the harsh winter to go practice at Mohawk Valley Community College on weekends.
They run for an hour, stretch and support each other with hopes of winning the race. Last year when Kenyans won the race, Hasan felt proud. He spent many years in Kenyan refugee camps and said it felt like his own victory.
"I was watching them run...I was happy when they won," he said.
In October 2006, Hasan was sure he was running and he asked others from his community if they wanted to join him. He got together a group of five men, who now practice over the weekends at MVCC.
There are no trainers and no dieticians for these men. They have turned to a traditional diet to build stamina for the race, Hasan said.
"We call it seema," he said. "It is ground maize cooked in water with meat and vegetables."
They eat it twice a week to build muscle and drink lots of water.
Hasan knows the race is going to be tough. There have been moments during practice that he has felt exhausted and felt he could no longer run, but the desire to earn recognition for his community has kept him going, he said.
"I know I will be hot, but I will keep running," he said, the resolve showing in his clutched fists and his determined eyes.
Reed said Boilermaker officials will do their best to include more refugees in the race.
"It is a win-win deal for us," he said. "They are a part of us."
Tips for first-time runners
•Run with a friend. It will will motivate you more.
•Never go for a run after eating solid food.
•Drink lots of fluids.
•Start slow. Don't run too fast too soon. A one-mile run is a good starting point.
Source: Earle Reed, founder of the Boilermaker Road Race
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