Thousands lace up for road race

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) -- Thousands hit the road in the Elm City for the Stratton Faxon New Haven Road Race.

For many runners, lacing up their sneakers is a Labor Day tradition, even if it means working up a sweat on a day off.

"To be honest, the rest of the day is so much better when you can look back and say 'hey I got up and ran a race and the other guys didn't,'" said Sean Gylnn of Guilford.  

Over 7,000 runners took part in the New Haven Road Race, either in the 5K or 20K.

Many took the race very seriously and were focused on their finish time.

"The course was little harder than I thought it would be," said runner Joanne Robertson. "The first mile has some pretty good inclines, plus it was humid like 80 degrees so that slowed me down."

Then there are those who used the race as one reason to be hoofing it on the holiday.

"I want to know who is doing all the work here," News 8's Erin Cox joked with Jeff Henault, who was pushing his son in a stroller.

"Ya know, he is my inspiration," Henault replied. "I'm doing a little bit of the pushing, but he is going for his personal best this year."
 
Over 1,000 youngsters took part in the kid's race.

"We go around the block like five times and that's how we go faster," said Angel Galarza of New Haven.

"The secret is when you start, you jog, and when you get close to the end you start running fast," said fifth grader Luis Diaz.

There are the official winners and those with their own personal winning moment.

"There was no competition pressure," said Tenille Johnson of New Haven. "I was a little younger last time I ran, um older now. I just had a baby six months ago, so it really was just come out here and have fun."