By Nathan Pace
InkFreeNews

Wawasee alumnus Titus Taylor flexes for the camera while running the 3.3-mile race Friday, July 4, in Syracuse. Photo by Nathan Pace.

The Wawasee Flotilla Road Race saw roughly 500 participants Friday, July 4, in Syracuse. The high number of runners made the 2025 iteration one of the largest in event history going back almost 50 years.

Cal Wilson from Goshen ran in the 3.3-mile race for the first time and liked what he saw.

“The amount of people. The amount of energy. Signed up this morning. It was a lot of fun,” Wilson said.

Mark Alderfer is a flotilla road race veteran and ran with the T-shirt he had from the 2002 running. The shirt featured two local runners in Lisa Rinker and Bruce Daugherty. Both were at the 48th edition of the road race Friday and posed for a photo with Alderfer. For Alderfer, the road race is a test of his health.

“It’s kind of a barometer as to whether or not I can finish it at 67-years-old. It’s fun. It’s festive,” Alderfer said.

The event is a key fundraiser for the Milford Food Bank as Brian Shepherd from the organization is in charge of coordinating the race. As normal, the road race featured a 3.3-mile and 8-mile courses. Shepherd said some runners lived as far away as Texas as they come up to Wawasee in the summers.

“Today was one of the bigger 8-mile races we’ve ever had. Maybe over 100,” Shepherd said. “People seem to like it. We’ve got a lot of out-of-staters. The way the community supports this is outstanding.”

Ally Brettnacher resides in Central Indiana but makes the Wawasee Flotilla Road Race a priority in her race schedule.

“It’s my holiday run. It’s fun to get out on a holiday with all these people and dress up,” Brettnacher said. “The people that come out are much appreciated because there are some families that cheer or have water. I love the community.”

Mark Alderfer, center, wore his T-shirt he had from 2002 flotilla as the shirt featured two local runners in Lisa Rinker and Bruce Daugherty. Both were at the Flotilla Road Race Friday, July 4, and posed for a photo with Alderfer. Photo by Nathan Pace.

Some of the category winners from the 3.3 mile race are: pictured from left, Jenny Isenbarger, Amy Khun,Frank Pizana, Toni English and Brian Shepherd with two grandchildren Vander and Milo.

Some of the category winners from the 8-mile race stayed for a photo in FG Garcia, (left) Jody Brown with her dog Zoom and Chris White.