Millerton teen wins first race over Hudson River bridge

AMENIA — A Webutuck High School senior placed first in the inaugural Treetops to Rooftops 5K road race across the Walkway Over the Hudson on Sunday, Oct. 4.

The run was an opening day event for the new state park on the Poughkeepsie-Highland Railroad Bridge over the river. It is the longest footbridge in America.

The bridge was built in the late 1800s and connected New York and New England to coal beds out west, especially in Pennsylvania.

The Walkway Over the Hudson State Historic Park was inaugurated on Oct. 4 with festivities that began in the morning with the 5K Run. The top finisher was high school senior James Boeding of Millerton, who had never run in a cross-country meet before this fall.

He is the only Webutuck cross-country athlete this year, and because the school (which is in Amenia) doesn’t have a team, a special arrangement has been made with the Red Hook School District. Boeding, donning the green Warrior jersey, shares the neighboring district’s meet schedule.

The day before the Walkway Over the Hudson race, Boeding also won the 5K in his division at the Brewster Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 3, only to get up the next morning and win the Treetops race.

 â€œSunday was amazing,â€� Boeding said. “I raced in the invitational on Saturday, and then the prom was that night. I woke up at 5 a.m. and went down to the race, not knowing what to expect.â€�

The best part of the event, Boeding said, was getting a chance to meet Kathrine Switzer, the first woman to officially enter and complete the Boston Marathon. Boeding received a signed copy of Switzer’s book as a prize for winning the race.

Boeding has run track since the seventh grade, but this is his first year not playing soccer in the fall, which freed him up to compete on the cross-country team.

In addition to races at school, Boeding competes in any 5K races that he hears about, a drive that was triggered by his participation in the Marathon Project a few years ago. The Marathon Project pairs youngsters in Dutchess County with adult runners. Its goal is to help young people stay healthy and learn to make good choices and set goals.

Boeding praised his coach/trainer/mentor Landon Johns.

“My coach is doing a great job of pushing me,� he said. “He knows me better than I do when it comes to running.�

Boeding will run indoors this winter, and then return to the outdoors for the track and field season this spring.

Boeding said he’s been getting a lot of encouragement from classmates and teachers at Webutuck, who are taking notice of his accomplishments in the field.

“A lot of teachers are saying ‘good job’ in the hallways,� he said. “That’s really supportive. But I’m not going to stray too far from the aspect of just having fun.�