Nichole Emmert of Ligonier was the women’s 8-mile race winner at the 2014 Flotilla Road Race. (File 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.

The race will be held Saturday, July 4, beginning at the Syracuse Community Center and stretching through the streets of 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 Lakeside Park and the SCC 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 finish line back at Lakeside Park.

The race winners are split into age divisions, beginning with kids and going through senior divisions. Masters winners are also recognized, and all walkers receive a ribbon.
The race is put on annually by Brian Shepherd and his family, along with several local and regional sponsors.

The 2014 race winners for the 3.3-mile race were Zack Snider of Carmel and Kirstin Hegelein of Ligonier, finishing at 16:12 and 20:06, respectively. In the eight-mile race, Alex Cushman of Ossian and Nichole Emmert of Ligonier won with times of 41:08 and 55:12, respectively.

In 2014, there were 344 registered racers in the 3.3-mile race, 108 in the eight-mile race and well over 100 walkers, breaking the record set in 2013. The race is in its 38th year overall.

Forms for the race can be picked up at Team Tuttle Mortgage, 813 S. Huntington St., Syracuse or download from the Fort Wayne Track Association Web site at fwtc.org.