The CDPHP^® Workforce Team Challenge is a 3.5-mile road race open to teams of employees from corporations, businesses, government agencies, educational institutions, not-for-profit corporations, and financial institutions. Participating companies, organizations, and agencies use the event as a platform to provide health and fitness opportunities in the workplace while promoting goodwill and camaraderie among their employees.

It takes place at the Empire State Plaza in Albany on a similar course to the old Freihofer course. It usually sells out early with a cap of 10,000 runners.

At my former job, I ran this race once (in 2011), the only year I convinced them to have a team.  It was fun so I signed up to be part of a team at my new job in 2017. We didn’t actually have enough runners for our own team so we partnered with UAlbany. I ran it with this team in 2018 and 2019, as well.

I enjoyed it and it was a good way to get to know others where I work.  (Obviously purple is UAlbany’s color…)

Then there was the Pandemic.  The race was cancelled in 2020. In 2021, it was postponed to August and moved to a new location.

Happy to report that in 2022 and years after, the race returned to its original date and location.

I didn’t run it in 2023 and 2024. I don’t remember exactly why but it was probably because no one I knew was running it.

I hesitated this year too but I talked my friend Eleonora into it so I registered.

1.Race Day:

Anyway I remembered the course from many years ago. It starts with a steep uphill and then flattens out.  You run through the park which has rolling hills and then it ends with a steep downhill.

It is actually more of a run than a race.  With thousands of participants and many walkers, you feel (at least I do) no pressure to do anything but finish.

The week before the race, I had returned from 3 days in NYC and 8 days in Florida. Two weekends in a row, I ran a 5k race.

During the days before the race, I was soooo tired. I considered skipping this race many times. But I knew El would be mad if I did.

So I did run (slowly) on Monday and Wednesday.

Now what do you eat for a race that starts at 6:25 pm?

I ate a banana and hoped that it would be enough.

To avoid the crowds, I parked my car in town and walked about 1.5 miles to the start.

The weather was sunny and warm with a slight breeze. But very humid.

My team was pretty organized. Again this year, they had set up a table and canopy.  I walked around for a while searching for their table but finally located it (in a place not far from where it was in a previous year.)

I had not already picked up my team tee and bib so I got that and since it was still early, I walked around the plaza.  I didn’t know many runners but I did bump into many who were volunteers.

I also picked up my race shirt.

Then I returned to our team table and met up with El.

Soon we all gathered for a team photo.

I wore the team shirt over my existing shirt for the photo but it was uni-sex and too big and so I stashed  it and wore a tank to race.

El and I headed to the start.

Although, you were supposed to line up according to your race pace. It was obvious that most did not.   El and I started too far back and were hampered by the walkers for the first mile or so.

What was cool about this race is that I knew so many runners and they were all running/walking with their work teams.

Several years ago, Sawyer Fredericks (winner of The Voice and a local) sang the National Anthem. This year, it was an unknown local however, she was great.

Eventually, the race started.

Of course, it took awhile before we even moved. And we had to walk for awhile.

As I mentioned above, the walkers were missed in with the runners. So unless you were in the front and very fast, it was impossible to gain any speed.  Even with the corrals, I was playing bumper cars the whole race. It seemed even more crowded this year even without the walkers in front of me. So middle of the packers, like me, just weaved in and out, bumped into people saying “excuse me” throughout the entire race.

But then again except for a chosen group of runners, it was not a “race.”  It was just a way to get out of the office (or for me “home”) and get some exercise with their co-workers.  Some businesses had 200-500 employees participating.  There were 450 different businesses represented and 7,6000 total runner/walkers.

I think it’s a great thing. So I tried not to get annoyed or take it seriously.

In fact, this was great for me. I had the goal of NOT racing it… walking up the hills and keeping my pace between 10 and 11 minutes!!!

Back to the race…

We started up a long uphill climb which flattened until we entered the park. I ran slow and chatted with many runners that I knew.

The course continued through the park with rolling hills – one or two being rather steep.  Yes, I did walk.

There was a water stop in the park around mile 1.5. I stopped and walked. It was much warmer than I had thought..

We continued in the park but eventually left onto the streets of Albany.

There was a second water stop around mile 2.5 and I stopped and walked even longer.

It was warm and very humid, so I didn’t beat myself up and walked often.

 

Eventually, you headed toward that downhill finish.

I was tempted to go into an all out sprint but it was a steep downhill so I had to hold back.

But when I saw the clock in the distance, I picked up the pace so that I could at least finish strong.

I crossed around 40:xx (gun time)

I was pretty happy… I had done just what I had planned and I was glad that I participated. (It’s so amazing about that “runner’s high.”)

2. Post Race Activities:

I slowly made my way back through the crowd to the team table to get the shirts that I had left there.  There was no one there.  In past years, there was quite a spread of refreshments and runners there planning an after race get-together.  Not this year!

I was very impressed by the race organization again this year.  After you picked up water, you proceeded to a tent to get your time (if you wanted). I just logged onto my phone and skipped that line.

Then you continued on to get your race shirt (if you hadn’t picked it up before the race), followed by another stop to a get fanny pack filled with some snacks. The lines moved very quickly.  There were lots of volunteers to make sure everything went smoothly.

I bumped into many running friends and we chatted as we walked around the Empire State Plaza.

Eventually, I had to make the long walk back to my car…

It was over an hour after I finished but there were people still on the course… Everyone looked happy and to be having a great time.

It made me smile but I quickened my step to get to my car since it was getting late with a quick detour through the park…

But I did see this on my way back to my car:

3. Additional Race Reflections:

My finish time may have have been the slowest on this course.

• 2025 – 38:47 (PW)
• 2022 – 35:14
• 2019 – 32:56 (PR)
• 2018 – 43:19 (walked with a co-worker)
• 2017 – 33:40
• 2011 – 33:41

Nevertheless, I had lots of fun chatting with friends and meeting new runners.

To quote a past winner of the race: “Just the fact that you’re there representing your company as opposed to being in a race on your own is definitely something else that makes it extraordinary,”

Positives:

• • Ample parking in lots and on the street.
  • Well marked course.
  • Music throughout the course
  • Lots of familiar faces.
  • Interesting course (park, city).
  • Friendly volunteers.
  • Team tee shirt contest – https://www.cdphpwtc.com/shirts/ 
  • Team atmosphere
  • Walker friendly
  • Swag – cooling towel and water bottle
  • Instant results
  • Free photos
  • Back to the original date and course

Negatives:

• • Hilly course
  • Humidity
  • My co-workers did not participate
  • Cotton shirt

No age group awards were given.

I am glad to have participated in this race. It is run by a local running club and they seemed to try to improve the race each year.