Running in Glens Falls: Adirondack Runners and the Glens Falls Run Club
For those that live in the Adirondacks over the past couple decades, you must have seen, or heard about, the Adirondack Runners. Founded in 1973 as The Adirondack Track Club to promote running on both a recreational and competitive basis, the name changed to the Adirondack Runners in 1983. Ever since, it has gathered hundreds of members that help organize six races along with two, month-long events in Glens Falls Cole’s Woods and Glens Falls High School track. They award scholarships to young, local athletes, donate $20,000 into the local community, and provide running shoes to many local youth runners throughout the greater Glens Falls and Adirondack region through their E. John Loucks Sneaker Program.
When I first moved into the area in 2017, I was still recovering from a knee surgery in 2016. But I felt a sense of purpose and excitement to build back my strength and join them at their many races. Fast forward to 2026, I have taken up the mantle from Jill Pederson’s thirty-year tradition of creating the Adirondack Runners newsletter, known as the Rundown. Jill ecstatically showed me her box of printed editions a month ago, and it is truly an honor to continue this enduring legacy of keeping local runners informed and entertained.
Over the years, I have met hundreds of current and former members in the area, listening to stories while running along roads and trails. As I learned about how Glens Falls and the surrounding areas changed over the years, I began to piece together a vibrant community of runners, walkers, hikers, cyclists, skiers, and snowshoers that has embraced the breath of recreational activities in the Adirondacks. My own memories of sports in childhood and adolescence began to expand in immeasurable ways, merging with this diverse group of folks enjoying the trails. Growing up in southern New Jersey, I was a slow but steady runner from the age of ten. Over the years, I progressed at my own pace, hitting personal records with stride and having fun in the process. I am immensely happy to discover two running communities in the Glens Falls area, one of them being the Adirondack Runners and the other being the Glens Falls Run Club.
The Glens Falls Run Club meets on Tuesday evenings at a local brewery, Mean Max Brew Works, for a short run and social outing. They just celebrated five years last week, marking a milestone that pales in comparison but embraces a different kind of running club. Created by Alexandra Barbieri in 2021 and currently led by Anna Doran, it has been consistent social gathering as the world overcame the COVID pandemic and communities flourished once more. When I joined their group runs five years ago, my husband and I had just secured a newly constructed home along the Feeder Canal trail. It was a gloriously fun time running with the group every Tuesday and watching the progress of our home being built from early Spring into the Summer. The group reminded me of a group in Philadelphia known as the Run and Chuggers with a similar laid-back style of running group, initially led by Jonathon Klien.
Along with running, last year I inspired dozens of folks to join me in collecting trash along the trail, accomplishing a feat of picking up over one hundred bags of trash, including a rusted bicycle. Cleanup efforts are a big part of the Adirondack Runners as well. They have officially adopted a road that intersects with the Warren County Bikeway and Sprinkle’s Ice Cream Shoppe, with a cleanup event every April. The next event is April 26th at 9am, where a team of runners will meet at the corner of Glenwood and Quaker Road. If you want to mark the beginning of warmer weather on an uplifting note, be sure to join them for a morning of community service.
If you want to learn more about joining the Adirondack Runners, visit their website. Their website was recently updated by a local design firm, Advokate, showcasing the breath of events, history, and tomfoolery that this longstanding group has cultivated in over fifty years. On Tuesday evenings, head over to Mean Max Brew Works to run, socialize, and hang out with the Glens Falls Run Club. But always keep in mind: if you are a runner in the Glens Falls area, you never have to run alone.
