Mind-The-Ducks 12-Hour is an ultramarathon run on a circular course for 12 continuous hours. The goal is simple–run as many laps/miles as you can in 12 hours. USATF Certified 1.01203 mile paved bike path at the North Ponds Park, Webster, NY. Course is fairly flat with one noticeable but runnable hump around 0.3 mile of each loop.
The scoring is also simple. One lap is 1.01203 long. One lap counts for 1.01203 miles, two laps – 2.02406 miles, ten laps – 10.1203 miles, and so on. Whoever completes most laps/miles is the winner of the race. Only full laps count. No partial laps.
Mind The Ducks 12 Hour is organized by The Greater Rochester Running Club (GRRC)
Mind The Ducks has a colorful history that starts with a vivid dream, an urban park, and some very feisty waterfowl. The story begins in July of 2009 when ultrarunner, Shelley Viggiano had an all too real dream about a 12 hour race in a small park favored more by colorful duck feeding locals and their children, than by runners. Later that day, armed with a loaf of stale bread and her kids, she headed to Seneca Park and walked the 1/2 mile loop, dodging 1 legged geese and aggressive ducks. There she saw it was true: an absolutely perfect place for a timed race, snappy and ill-mannered birds not withstanding.
After some thought, she determined twelve hours to be the magic distance – long enough that one can’t phone-in a good performance, short enough that locals could sleep in their own beds that night. Enough time for budding marathoners to beat a cutoff, or for beginning ultrarunners to make the 50k or 50 mile distance without fear of being lost, lonely, hungry, thirsty, or uncomfortable. Everyone would be together all day – it would be one big running party! A little bit of digging through the archives showed that a timed race hadn’t been done in Rochester in decades – further reason, it had to be done! Viggiano brought her idea to the board of her running club, Ultrarunning Matters, who unanimously approved and appointed her race director of the newly christened Mind The Ducks 12 Hour.
From its inception MTD has been by, for, and all about the runner’s experience. If each racer didn’t have the fastest time, best eats, greatest prizes, and most fun – the RD took it personally. The idea was to present an event with over the top support that costs less than an average big city marathon. Mind The Ducks has never been a for-profit venture, and each year, a local charity was chosen to receive the proceeds. Wonderful things happened at the 2010-2012 races: lasting friendships were made, new ultrarunners were christened running around Trout Lake, and a national record was broken. While the race had rave reviews under Viggiano’s direction, in 2013 she decided to take a hiatus year and then search for her replacement. It would have to be someone enthusiastic about running, dependable, detail oriented, and with big vision. She found that in Gil Robs who takes over for 2014, bringing big changes with him – a new venue that will expand the field cap, offer better amenities, and a 1 mile course. Some things will never change at Mind The Ducks, however – great support, low cost and a party like atmosphere. And of course, it wouldn’t be the same without those snappy ducks. After all, you can’t have a race with NO hardships!
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Nice size race in an urban park
I ran this race again for the second time mainly because it was conveniently located at a good time for me. The course is fairly flat with just one short … MORE
I ran this race again for the second time mainly because it was conveniently located at a good time for me. The course is fairly flat with just one short “speed bump” hill that rises up about 5 feet. With a one mile loop course, you get to see some of the runners over and over again, so it becomes kind of a social event. This year there were quite a few Canada Geese with their young feeding on the tender grass along the lake. I only saw one duck, a Mallard drake and a few other song birds and a couple of grey squirrels. It was fun watching a woman in her 30s looping me repeatedly and setting a new course record. We lucked out this year with pleasant weather despite a rather rainy week. The finisher awards are distance specific, such as a travel mug for those completing a 50K, but there were no finisher medals.
Fun Day in the Park
This is getting to be a very popular race, so if you want to sign up, you'd better be ready as soon as the race registration opens. It is run … MORE
This is getting to be a very popular race, so if you want to sign up, you’d better be ready as soon as the race registration opens. It is run on a 1 mile paved loop around a small pond in North Pond Park in Webster, NY. About the only complaint that I have about the race is that the paved path is fairly narrow which makes it difficult to pass other runners without going off of the path into the grass, which wasn’t a problem because of the smooth surface. There were a lot of small birds such as Canada Geese and a few Mallard Ducks on along the course, along with numerous species of small birds such as warblers. I found several Marathon Maniacs to run with and pass the time by sharing running stories, which made the miles go by faster. In fact, I found that I was losing track of the number of loops that I had done and was surprised when I had done one more than I thought. The course was chipped timed, and there was plenty of swag for finishers of 26.2, 50K, 50 miles, or 100K distances. I received a cute racoon swag bag complete with a tail, a cap, a travel mug, a coffee cup, and a jar of hazelnut butter that the TSA scoundrels confiscated from my during my flight back home. The weather this year was pleasant, but cool, which made for excellent running conditions.