‘Feel-good race:’ Barbara Genton boosts solidarity, endorphins with CNY Gay 5k
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Barbara Genton started volunteering for SAGE Upstate, an organization that devotes its time to supporting older LGBTQ adults in central New York, when she retired from teaching in Syracuse twenty years ago. A 78-year-old member of the LGBTQ community herself, Genton said something like the organization didn’t exist while she was growing up.
“I thought that when I retired back in ‘03 that it was time for, number one, to become a volunteer and, number two, become a volunteer at SAGE which allowed me to be who I want to, (to) love who I do,” Genton said.
After volunteering at SAGE Upstate for two decades, this year she was the race director of the CNY Gay 5k. The race, which took place on June 17, raised money for the SAGE Upstate to continue its programming year after year. All of the organization’s programming, from potlucks to lunch and learns, aims to help LGBTQ seniors. The 5k is also a celebration of pride month, with runners and volunteers decked out in pride flags before, during and after the race.
For the last seven years, the Carrier Corporation has helped direct the race. But, with new job responsibilities at the company, the former race director had to hand over the reins to SAGE Upstate, Genton said.
Before working on this year’s 5k, Genton helped organize other races in central New York like Race for the Cure and the Mountain Goat Run. CNY Gay 5k is a smaller event in comparison to her previous work, yet it attracts a crowd that comes every year. Central New York local Michael Koval first participated in 2016.
“It draws a much more diverse group than your typical 5k, just because it’s a pride 5k,” Koval said. “It brings in a lot of people that aren’t regular runners. People bring their pets. Everybody dresses up more flamboyantly, rainbow colors. It’s just a feel-good race.”
Koval now runs marathons and returns to smaller races to see his improvement. On Saturday, he connected with his friends and came in fourteenth overall, winning his age group.
Genton hoped to grow the number of participants while also creating a guide for this specific 5k so that future race directors can be successful. She used her teaching background to record everything about the race in a one-and-a-half inch binder. For increasing participants, she had a different strategy.
“I took a blank card; I put down the number of participants I was hoping would show up and the number of sponsors and the amount that SAGE would see from their sponsorship of this event, and I took that card and put it under my pillow,” Genton said. “I know it sounds silly, but that’s what I did.”
On the last day of online registration on June 14, Genton surpassed her goal of 300 signups. On Saturday, 361 participants raced, 34 of whom ran virtually and timed their runs.
Koval and Genton both called the race something that Genton struggled finding years prior: a community. Everyone at the race wore rainbow gear like headbands, tank tops, tutus and sunglasses.
“We have many allies, many families. They just want to get out and have a good time and especially this is a beautiful course as it runs along Onondaga Lake,” Genton said.
Mary Scouten spent her Saturday handing out water to the race’s many runners, though she was originally slated to cheer them on. As a volunteer looking to support the LGBTQ community, she said it’s important to be flexible and help in any way you can.
Scouten, a straight and cisgender woman, wanted to be an ally by directly providing support to events like the CNY Gay 5k.
“I think it’s one of the more heartwarming races,” Scouten said, “and you can feel that love,”
