"The Last Runner Is Just As Important As The First"

If you’ve done any races around the area, Way Hedding is hard to miss. A tall, stocky guy with a beard, auburn hair, sunglasses, cheerfully loud and full of spirit, he is one of the co-owners of SNERRO, (Southern New England Road Race Officials) a group of 30-strong volunteers that provides timing for races, big and small, within the area.

These include a total of 60 races, from the Tarzan Brown Race to The John Kelly Road Race and the Shad Bloom 10K on Block Island. This past Friday night, they were in East Lyme for the Niantic Bay 10K.

“Lookin’ good, brotha,” Way bellowed as a panting runner struggled towards the line. A green digital display flashed the race time as the runner brought it in towards the finish.

The other partners in the organization, Pete Volkmar and Way’s wife Melinda were also at the line, shuttling between cheering on the runners and tabulating the results inside the van. There was also a handful of SNERRO volunteers helping out.

SNERRO has been a par of the racing scene in the area for 49 years, starting with the John Kelly Race, an event that Way refers to as his “baby.” In the '70s, he and Volkmar bought the franchise.

The close to 300 racers at the event got to run with race bibs, which came equipped with chips to record the exact time between when they crossed the start line and the finish. The technology meant that runners that started further back in the pack wouldn’t have to worry about the seconds lost to jostling before they crossed the start and could conceivably log a faster time than runners who finished in front of them.

Two volunteers, Mohsen Safari and Jim Brown, were also at the finish, clickers in hand feeding the information into  “Flying Feet” computers that printed out the results ticker-tape style.

The SNERRO van is a large beast, stuffed to the gills with technology. As the race finishers came in, Pete and Melinda used a computer to organize the results, turning bib numbers into names, sorting it all according to age and gender. A sound system played country standards and amplified Way’s booming encouragement as the runners continued to stream across the finish. SNERRO had even set up a bubble machine nearby to give things a festive look.

The van and the equipment all cost money; SNERRO does not make a profit on any of the races that it times.

 “It’s more of a hobby,” Way said of his time with SNERRO. He gets his income from his work at Electric Boat.  Timing fees for road races go back into funds for equipment upkeep and fuel for the van.

For SNERRO, the top priority is encouraging more races in the area. They will work with the race directors to come up with a system that is appropriate for their size and for the amount of money they expect to make. For a smaller race, for instance, the chips on the bibs are not so necessary because there is not the same delay to cross the start line that there is within bigger events.

SNERRO works with the small races - 50 or so runners -  which normally would find it difficult to afford the services of a professional timing organization.

“Races like that probably can’t survive without us,” Jim Brown said.

“If they don’t make any money, we don’t charge them anything,” said Way.

He enjoys participating in many of the races he helps time, estimating that he does about 30+ road races a year. Since fees from many of these races support charitable causes (like Alliance for Living on Friday night) it is a way for him to be a philanthropist while enjoying competition.

Way’s approach to training is, some would say, unconventional. He normally doesn’t bother running except when he does races. On Friday, he skipped the competition and ran 2 miles easy. He would have run, but said he was saving his strength for the Gaspe Days 5k in Rhode Island, one of several races that he runs in pirate costume. For others, he opts to go as leprechaun.

Way also competes in the “Big Man” race in Massachusetts, a competition which only admits runners who weigh over 200 pounds. Racers run five miles, and at each mile mark they eat a hotdog (with bun) and drink a beer. Way, who powers 215 pounds of himself along the course, is the defending champ in his age and weight division five years running.

“If I didn’t run, I’d be 300 easy,” he said.

He also has several Boston Marathons under his belt. Not discouraged by the inevitable slow start by the main pack, his race strategy includes a bar stop at mile one. By the end of the race, he has patronized five establishments. Somehow, he withstands the horrific consequences that would befall most other runners and finishes the full 26.2. He managed an amazing 3:17 at the New York Marathon, a race that included six bar stops. 

When the Mystic Places/East Lyme marathon was active, SNERRO timed that as well. Way recalls one year when he and the volunteers had finished timing the finishers and retired to the Flanders House for the post race critique. Inside the bar, somebody exclaimed, “Hey there are two guys coming down the street with numbers on.” As it happened, they were two French Canadians who were running their first marathon at a very leisurely pace. The group got out of the bar and got the timing equipment set up again before the runners crossed the line.

Another time, a woman who stepped off the course to use a bathroom fell behind the rear pace vehicles. With no guidance, she ran across the bridge and into Waterford. If a volunteer driving home hadn’t spotted her on 156 near Millstone, she probably would have made it into New London. He was able to get her back on track and she went on to complete the marathon in about seven hours.

SNERRO, of course, was at the finish to get her time.

“The last runner is just as important as the first,” Way said.