Hundreds participate in Firecracker 4 race in Saratoga Springs

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- It's the largest Fourth of July race in the state, the annual Firecracker 4 in Saratoga Springs. Hundreds of runners hit the pavement on Friday.

"We expect to be 2,500 runners today in our 19th year running the exact same course, so people get to actually compare their time from year to year," race director Peter Goutos said.

"The front end of this race today, in particular, is going to be lightning fast. I think we're going to have a course record today. We have people with strollers. We have people walking. We have families coming out. We have families with children. We have people that train for this. I mean, it's everybody. And it's really, it's very, very, very inclusive. It's a true community event," assistance race director Charles Woodruff said.

"To be honest, I was here to try to go out for the course record. I saw I was 18:58, and my goal was some 19 figures to perfect," runner Grant O'Connor said. "The weather was really nice. So happy to be out here celebrating with friends, pushing myself, seeing what time I could get."

“Years ago, it started to support scholastic running here in Saratoga, and it just grew and grew and grew. It’s now run by FC4 Inc., which is a 501(c)(3) for nonprofit," Woodruff explained. "Our mission and goal really is specifically trail development around and beyond our county. We assisted with a lot of that. We’re involved with organizations who do need support. We’re still very involved with scholastic running, so we’re trying to just make sure quality of life improvement really is the goal of this race.”