Rattlesnake Run sees biggest turnout in five years

Rattlesnake Run sees biggest turnout in five years

Runners beginning the second heat, the 10K distance.

Photo by Aly Morrissey

AMENIA — The rain held off for the fifth annual Rattlesnake Run on Saturday, June 14, which took place along the Harlem Valley Rail Trail.

With more than 110 registered runners, this year marked the largest turnout since the race’s inception in 2020, race organizer and founder Florent Lacroix said.

  Photos By Aly MorrisseyGordon Simpson, 2, gets a head start during the 10K heat.Photo by Aly Morrissey

“It’s a fun community event,” Lacroix said. “The goal was originally to connect the towns of North East and Amenia, and the event keeps growing every year.”

In a shift from last year’s format, this year’s course began and ended in downtown Wassaic, allowing runners to pass each other along the trail for a more communal, interactive experience.

Participants chose from three distances — a half marathon, 10K, and 5K — each drawing a sizable group of runners.

  Rattlesnake Run founder and organizer Florent Lacroix with Wassaic Project music director Tim Love Lee, who set the vibes as DJ for the event.Photo by Aly Morrissey

Named for the mountain that looms nearby, and surrounded by the vibrant presence of the Wassaic Project, the event offered a colorful and scenic environment. Spectators and runners alike enjoyed a festive atmosphere featuring a bake sale, live DJ, arts and crafts, and even a child magician.

Lacroix says he will connect with runners to see how they felt about the “out and back” format along the trail before determining the format for next year.

Sponsors of the race included Wassaic Project, Jack’s Auto Service, Four Brothers, Silo Ridge, Stoneleaf, St. Thomas Church, and the Food of Life Food Pantry. The logo and branding for the race were designed by Studio Bueno.

Photo by Aly Morrissey

Latest News

Fallen trees injure man, destroy fences at dog shelter

Two uprooted locust trees still lie in the yard in front of Animal Farm Foundation’s original kennels where they fell on a fence during a storm on Thursday, June 19.

Nathan Miller

AMENIA — Fallen trees, uprooted and splintered during a thunderstorm, injured a man, destroyed fences and damaged a dog kennel at the Animal Farm Foundation facilities in Bangall.

Isaias Nunez was cleaning along a road on the property with Marco Ortiz, another employee of the dog shelter, when the storm rolled in on the afternoon of Thursday, June 19.

Keep ReadingShow less
Siglio Press: Uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature

Uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature.

Richard Kraft

Siglio Press is a small, independent publishing house based in Egremont, Massachusetts, known for producing “uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature.” Founded and run by editor and publisher Lisa Pearson, Siglio has, since 2008, designed books that challenge conventions of both form and content.

A visit to Pearson’s airy studio suggests uncommon work, to be sure. Each of four very large tables were covered with what looked to be thousands of miniature squares of inkjet-printed, kaleidoscopically colored pieces of paper. Another table was covered with dozens of book/illustration-size, abstracted images of deer, made up of colored dots. For the enchanted and the mystified, Pearson kindly explained that these pieces were to be collaged together as artworks by the artist Richard Kraft (a frequent contributor to the Siglio Press and Pearson’s husband). The works would be accompanied by writings by two poets, Elizabeth Zuba and Monica Torre, in an as-yet-to-be-named book, inspired by a found copy of a worn French children’s book from the 1930s called “Robin de Bois” (Robin Hood).

Keep ReadingShow less
Cycling season: A roundup of our region’s rentals and where to ride them

Cyclists head south on the rail trail from Copake Falls.

Alec Linden

After a shaky start, summer has well and truly descended upon the Litchfield, Berkshire and Taconic hills, and there is no better way to get out and enjoy long-awaited good weather than on two wheels. Below, find a brief guide for those who feel the pull of the rail trail, but have yet to purchase their own ten-speed. Temporary rides are available in the tri-corner region, and their purveyors are eager to get residents of all ages, abilities and inclinations out into the open road (or bike path).

For those lucky enough to already possess their own bike, perhaps the routes described will inspire a new way to spend a Sunday afternoon. For more, visit millertonnews.com/tag/bike-route to check out two ride-guides from local cyclists that will appeal to enthusiasts of many levels looking for a varied trip through the region’s stunning summer scenery.

Keep ReadingShow less