Fleet Feet Firecracker 4 Miler
Fairport, NY
- 4 Miler
- Road (Paved)
- Official race website
Fairport’s 4th of July Weekend Celebration kicks off with the Fleet Feet FireCracker 4 Miler at Perinton Park. The Fleet Feet Firecracker has been a Fairport Tradition since 1976. The event starts on the corner of Whitney and O’Connor and finishes in Perinton Park.
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Running in Rochester Again
I ran this race a couple years ago back when I was living in Rochester but the course needed to be adjusted due to construction so it was a 5K … MORE
I ran this race a couple years ago back when I was living in Rochester but the course needed to be adjusted due to construction so it was a 5K instead. This year I ran the traditional 4 mile route. I was visiting a friend in Rochester for Holidays and chose this race because it was closest to my hotel in Victor, NY. This race is produced by Yellow Jacket Racing who consistently produce good races throughout Rochester. There was great pre-race communication with clear information about parking, packet pickup, course map, etc. It is recommended you get your packet at the store the day before but I was unable to so I got it race day. They tell you not to but as long as you arrive early I’ve never had issues with race day packet pick-up. Packet included bib and an okay T-shirt. Kind of underwhelming swag but not so underwhelming to not recommend the race. The race starts on a road in town and ends at a park. The start and finish are a little less than half a mile apart. Production was good except one minor detail which is that only the finish line is chip timed. This is not really a big deal as this is not a huge race. It is a nice size race with a few hundred runners but the participants didn’t seem to know this. It was hot and I lined up near the back since I knew I wasn’t setting any speed records today. But when they said go the people in front of me were pausing to set up their Garmin and slowly walking over to the start line not running as soon as they heard go. Not a huge deal as I maybe lost 20-30 seconds because of this but it would be good if it was in the instructions. The course is pretty nice. It is through neighborhoods in Fairport. The neighborhoods are pretty and most were shaded. I wish there were a bit more spectators. I appreciated the ones who were out there but the 10K race in Irondequoit I did most years I lived in Rochester has more spectators. It was a less convenient race for me today though which is why I chose this one. There is an aid station in the middle with water. The course was well marked with accurate mile markers and was accurately measured which was great. I had one goal today with the heat and that was to finish under 1 hour and strategizing well and using the mile markers to help with pacing allowed me to meet my goal. There is a nice finish arch and you get your time right away. There were water bottles and a selection of snacks at the end like mini muffins and cookies and a few other options. Overall this was a solid, well produced race. There wasn’t anything super special about it and personally I liked the Irondequoit race a bit more because of all the spectators but this is still a good 4th of July option if this race is closer to you. It timed out much better with my plans so I’m glad I did it. I also like the 4 mile distance. It’s a bit more challenging than a 5K but still short enough that most people can do it.
Let Freedom Run
This is usually a 4 miler in Fairport, a suburb of Rochester, produced by Yellow Jacket Racing (YJR). This year due to bridge construction it was switched to a 5K … MORE
This is usually a 4 miler in Fairport, a suburb of Rochester, produced by Yellow Jacket Racing (YJR). This year due to bridge construction it was switched to a 5K and the course was modified. They also received the permit only a few weeks before the race so some of the logistics may have been rushed but it was of course a very well done race. Packet pick-up was the day before at Fleet Feet. Along with the bib, packet included the race shirt and a sample of some power bar gummies. The race shirt is a white cotton shirt with a red and blue fourth of July design. It’s nothing special but the design is well done. The start of the race is about 1/2 mile from the finish. Parking and same day packet pickup were at the finish line but my parents were visiting and chose to be spectators for this race so they dropped me off at the start. Start was pretty exciting as this was YJR first mass start since March 2020. Although I didn’t love the start location. It was just on a street that was closed only about 5 minutes before the race so there wasn’t a great place to hang out before the race. There was also no timing mat at the start given the mass start which was fine but this was a big enough race that I probably lost a few seconds. There were about 300ish participants so it was a very nice size race. The start of the race was a nice about 1.25 mile tour through Fairport which was pretty nice. Again it was exciting to race on closed streets with a lot of people. Then you turn on the canal path for the rest of the race and finish in a park. The finish area in the park was nice and my parents and the RD cheered me on. There was a nice finish arch and a timing mat at the end. You are given your bag of snacks (fruit snacks, cookies and chips). There is no medal. My time was pretty average but that’s what I was going for. The course was fairly easy. The only slight difficulty was as it was point to point it was technical net uphill. There really was only one or maybe two very small hills and it was hardly noticeable but it made it so it wasn’t a super fast course. I did think this was a very nice, little local race and it was fun to have the mass start.