Maddie Woods motors to a championship run in the women’s 8-mile run at the 2012 Flotilla Road Race. (Photo by Mike Deak)

SYRACUSE — The Flotilla celebrations in the Wawasee area over the Fourth of July holiday are never complete without the annual running of the Flotilla Road Race through Syracuse.

Taking place this year on Thursday, July 4, runners will get their start at Lakeside Park across from the Syracuse Community Center in downtown Syracuse.

The event is comprised of several formats to suit participants – a 3.3-mile run, an 8-mile run and a 3.3-mile fun walk. The course leads away from the park to the north and takes the 3.3-milers up and around Maxwelton Golf Club. Merging along South County Line Road and then later Northshore Drive, runners and walkers get a view of the golf course’s front and back nines as well as glimpses of Syracuse Lake on the back stretch of the race grid.

The 8-milers will continue on through the 3.3-mile finish and into Syracuse, projecting south into Oakwood Park, and back north, eventually rejoining Northshore Drive to hit the final stretch back to Lakeside Park and the finish line.

The race winners are split into age divisions, beginning with kids and going through a senior division. Masters winners are also recognized, and all walkers receive a ribbon.

The race is put on annually by Brian Shepherd and his family, and is sponsored by several local and regional businesses.

Forms for the race can be picked up at Logan-Rogers Realty, 408 S. Huntington St., Syracuse, or downloaded from the runindiana.com Web site.