Snyder finishes 2nd in age group in NY 4th of July run

Run Saipan secretary and treasurer Dr. Ron Snyder takes a selfie while running the Dick Bessel Independence Day Run last July 4 in Grand Island, New York.(CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

Run Saipan secretary and treasurer Dr. Ron Snyder missed this year’s 3rd Annual 4th of July Independence Day 2-Mile Race, but took part in the Dick Bessel Independence Day Run then messed around and came in second in his age group.

The 57-year-old Saipan International School headmaster completed the 2.3-mile long fun run in 18:02 and barely missed first place in the 55-60 division.

“I am here visiting my sister and father. The course was pretty fun. It was so foggy in the morning that you couldn’t see across the bridge but it kept the heat down—definitely an advantage for other runners. Coming from Saipan, I was looking forward to the heat and seeing what it did to my competitors (insert evil laugh),” he told Saipan Tribune in a social media message.

He said he was happy with the 7:50-minute-per-mile pace, but is kicking himself for not gunning for first.

“I didn’t push it hard. I didn’t think I had a chance at a place with that many people. I was off of first place by 20 seconds. Stupid me.”

Snyder said the fun run was held in Grand Island, New York which is an island in the Niagara River, just before Niagara Falls. 

“Right after the race, there’s a pretty large parade. This year there were three different bagpipe troupes in the parade so it was pretty loud too. There were about 500 adults in the race and another 100 or so in the kids race with thousands of spectators. So we had lots of cheering.”

He said the most difficult part of the fun run was the beginning as he struggled to find a rhythm with so many people jockeying for position. 

As for the most enjoyable part, Snyder said it was the turn onto Grand Island Boulevard because there were two bands and lots of cheering.

And as a bonus, taking part in the Dick Bessel Independence Day Run allowed Snyder to continue his run streak that’s inching closer to a comma (1,000 days of running everyday).

Snyder said he was “forced” to celebrate his 918th straight day running at least a mile by imbibing a brewski.

“I hadn’t finished for more than 5 minutes before my sister handed me a beer. I’m in training for the beer mile after all. We went to the VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) tent afterwards. They had beer, food, and entertainment. Then two July 4 parties. I trained hard for the beer mile!” he said.

For all his troubles, Snyder took home a custom arm light, a flashlight, and an event shirt. It’s a win considering that he got pied last year during the second staging of the 2-mile 4th of July run on Saipan.