The winners of Sunday's Wineglass races will have a little more sparkle in their trophy cases! Specially designed Steuben Halo Awards with imagery depicting Historic Market Street will be presented to the top men's and women's finishers in the full and half marathons.
The Corning Museum of Glass proposed the idea to Wineglass organizers in early May as a fitting tie-in to the design of this year's finisher medal but with the trademark clarity and brilliance Steuben is recognized for. "My jaw dropped when they showed me what they'd done!" said race co-director, Sheila Sutton. "Having Steuben awards for our race just takes our CMoG partnership to a whole new level." The Wineglass Expo and Bib Pick-Up moved to The Corning Museum of Glass for the first time last year and will be held there again this year in the CMoG Auditorium on Friday, October 2 and Saturday, October 3.
The Corning Museum of Glass President, Karol Wight, will be presenting the awards to the winners on Sunday. "Steuben's rich history in Corning, along with its expertise in developing world-class commemorative works like those being awarded to the Wineglass Marathon winners, and Steuben's commitment to quality makes this a fitting collaboration," said Wight.
In addition to the first place awards to the race winners, CMoG is offering the Steuben commemorative pieces to other runners who want to commemorate their Wineglass experience. Runner names and finishing times will be engraved on the granite base and available for purchase for $495.
This year's Wineglass full and half marathons set new records for participation with nearly 6,500 runners registered for the two races. The field is expected to be fast as it includes several Olympic hopefuls trying for Olympic trial qualifying times. The full marathon starts in Bath and the half starts in Campbell. Both races finish at on Historic Market Street in Corning. This year marks the 34th year of the marathon and 5th year of the popular half marathon.