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March 30, 2023   Are you ready for it?
There is less than a month separating us from the 2023 edition of the Seneca7!

If you have any pre-race jitters we are here to help you "shake it off" and feel well-prepared for race weekend in Geneva.

Returning teams (and those celebrating all of the various eras of this race--looking at you, Team 77 Bottles v. 13) will find some changes to course, and those who are brand new need all the details. "'Tis the season" to get all the information out to you:

  • Watch the pre-race briefing: on Friday, April 14 at 7:30 PM we'll roll with the pre-race briefing using a program StreamYard. It'll stream live to both the Seneca7 Facebook Page as well as the Red Newt Racing YouTube page. The first segment will serve as the pre-race briefing with a representative from each team required to be on. At the conclusion of the briefing portion we'll roll into a live Q&A session which is optional for teams. Participants can drop questions into the community chat on the stream as we go. The briefing can be re-watched, if desired, from those pages. Questions can always be dropped into those play-backs at any time and we'll try our best to answer.
  • You will find the link to your Seneca7 race tracker on Saturday, April 15 on your team link.
  • Start waves will be posted by April 17. Your team is required to start at the assigned time.
  • Your team roster and all waiver signatures must be complete by April 21.
  • We'll be "enchanted to meet you" at packet pickup: Saturday, April 22 from 1-4pm at the Finger Lakes Welcome Center.

A separate message will be sent to bike teams (they know "nothin' good starts in a getaway car").

February 25, 2023   Deadlines, more deadlines, and headlines
We are only two months away from race day, if you can believe that! As posted on the website, there are a few things the team captain needs to submit before March 1st to keep your team on track.

1. We need to know your shirt sizes!
2. We need to know your team's estimated pace!

These two items need to be entered on your team link. If you are a captain who doesn't know what your team link is, then please use the "team link finder" on the website. The team link is also where you'll find the waiver page (it's the little pencil icon). Remember, we had to update the waiver to satisfy the state minders of this race, so all your teammates need to sign the new (as of February), supposedly-improved version of the waiver. Please have them do that sooner rather than later!

WHAT'S YOUR TEAM STORY?
Does your team have an interesting story to share? We'd love to hear it! And, better yet, share it on our social media! Seven members of a single (fast) family? Coworkers plotting your next race in Teams? Running for a cause?

Email pr@seneca7.com or DM our Facebook page with your story, and maybe We'll share it race weekend!

February 3, 2023   S7 Waivers, and T-shirts, and PT, oh my!
It's Groundhog Day! Time to do the Pennsylvania Polka, brace yourself for bad weather news, and relight your shrine to Bill Murray.

Guess what? It's also time to sign your waivers (again). "But didn't I already do that?" you might ask....for some of you, the answer is no (because you didn't take seriously the multiple requests from your captain to get that done) but for many of you, the answer is yes, but....

NYSDOT, the entity on high that allows this event to happen at all, has some very specific language that they want included in the waiver. As you might imagine, it's about not suing them and all that jazz, but it wasn't something we had included before. So the old waiver signatures have been scrubbed and the website is ready to receive your waiver signature for real this time. We're sorry!

Your captain is able to go your team's webpage (if they don't know what that is, or lost the link, let us know!) and at the very bottom there is a little icon that looks like a pencil. Guess what that's for? Signing waivers! By clicking that icon they will go to a page that they can share with you so that you can read, review, and sign the new waiver.

In addition, this seems a good time to remind you that shirt sizes are due (that is, if you want a shirt that fits. If you're find with any old ill-fitting piece of attire, or think you're just so lucky that you'll end up with what you want, then I guess you can continue to ignore us). Tell your captain your size request (women's or men's/unisex cut specific) and they can get that information entered so we can complete the order. Remember, these are nice USA shirts of quality fabric an ecologically-sound printing--not to be missed!

Also, we are happy to announce that the skilled professionals from Lattimore Physical Therapy have agreed to have a tent at this year's finish line for massages, evaluations, stretching, electronics (massage gun, anyone?), and analog muscle care with foam rollers. The people at Lattimore are great, and will be led by Dawn Bergstresser, a competitive marathon runner who knows what you'll be feeling by the end of the day. Jackie can attest that the crew knows what they're doing--having successfully rehabbed her after broken ribs from a car accident. We 10/10 do not recommend getting hit by a truck, but if you need PT, you might consider calling Lattimore.

Speaking of that accident and Jackie's broken ribs, we don't expect any of you to be injured on race day (knock on wood!!!!), but local triathlete and Central New York's "Lawyer of the Year," Michael Bersani has been a long time sponsor of the Seneca7. His firm has a new name: Michaels, Bersani, and Kalabanka, PC and new web address: www.mbk-law.com so if you needed a personal injury attorney and thought "who was it that always supported the Seneca7?" now you know where to find him.

We hope you enjoy the rest of your Groundhog Day and the lovely spring temps sure to follow. And we promise not to send this message to you again, and again, and again.

October 11, 2022   Seneca7 2023! News and Registration Info
It's October and you know what that means: Your annual pumpkin spice Seneca7 update is here!

Announcement #1: The Who and the Why
When Jeff and I started the Seneca7 around-the-lake relay, we envisioned it as so much more than a race, so much more than a showcase of the lake, so much more than an extension of the Finger Lakes tourism season, so much more than a student project. It has become all of those things, and more. It's an experience; a brand; an ethos of race management that puts sound practices over profits.

In recent years, we have been looking to transition this enterprise to someone (or group of someones) who would keep the race going in perpetuity, staying true to its core principles and continuing to make it ever more awesome. Ian Golden and Red Newt Racing fit that description to a tee (or to a green skirt for those of you who remember his appearance as a member of the course-record-holding, skirt-and-sock-wearing "Cayuga7" in year one).

Ian approaches all of his work professionally and a little playfully, and is as fired up about supporting local vendors, sustainable race practices, and charity partners as we have been. Although he's based in Ithaca--just one Finger Lake over--he's got the Seneca7 spirit!

The Seneca7 is a relay race, and as such, our passing the proverbial baton to Ian for the next leg doesn't mean we've left the team. This is simply a transition in leadership necessary to keep the event safe, fresh, enjoyable, and wholesome for years to come. You will also start to see his attitudinal imprint on the event--like hemp slap bracelets, the smell of patchouli at the finish, and a special birkenstock category (just kidding--or *are* we?!?).

Announcement #2: The Where, When, and How
Speaking of years to come, let's talk about registration for 2023!!! Here's what you need to know:

Race day is Sunday, April 23, 2023 (yes, the 23rd day of April in the 23rd year of the third millenium).

Registration opens Monday, October 31st at 7am. Trick or treat? That's your call.

You can find the registration link, and rules for signing up on the website.

All you need on registration morning is *one* member of your team to sign up and pay the $50 deposit to hold your spot. You'll then have a week to submit the rest of the registration fee and even longer than that to get all your team members' information into the system, waivers signed, pace determined, star chart completed, etc.

Bike teams: there's good news and better news for you. The good news is that you get priority registration if you are willing to sign the bike contract (which commits you to foregoing any motorized vehicle on the course and following the biking instructions). Send us an email to get the special bike team registration link! The better news (for all the rest of us) is that we will have a new "bike czar" in charge of enforcing safety rules and providing you with more direct course support. If you remember the year bike teams were on "probation" for bad behavior it's like that again, only we mean it this time!

Teams who have never missed an edition of the Seneca7 (with the exception of the screwy covid years): We want you! Send us an email to get a special loyalty link for registration.

Teams who love charity, peace, justice, or puppies: Yes, we will offer charity slots again this year. So if you'd rather not fight the virtual crowd on Halloween morning and/or you want to raise funds to support one of our very amazing charity partner agencies, we will offer special registration in November for those fundraising spots. Stay tuned for more details on that.