HELDERBERG TO HUDSON HALF MARATHON

A virtual run through the course - past and present

This presentation shows three things: The view from each mile (or kilometer) point; interesting neighboring sites; and historic photos of the immediate area.

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THE START to MILE 1

Wallace (New Scotland) Town Park

Pre-Start

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(Very) Swift Road

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MILE 1 to MILE 2

Mountainview Street

CSX Bridge - a very key part of a rail town - now and c.1900

Cross over Vly Creek and note the Rail Trail in the distance

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MILE 2 to MILE 3

Voorheesville Avenue

TWO QUICK RIGHTS AND YOU'RE ON THE RAIL TRAIL

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Crossing Over Vly Creek

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MILE 3 to MILE 4

Hilton Road / Hilton Barn / Melon Farm Preserve

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MILE 4 to MILE 5

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MILE 5 to MILE 6

The Slingerlands Station Area

Slingerlands Original station (later) freight depot

Slingerlands Station in the 1930s

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Things looked a bit different in 2023 when the 1912 bridge over New Scotland Road was removed and the current temporary structure constructed.

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MILE 6 to MILE 7

Approaching Cherry Avenue Extension Bridge

Under Cherry Avenue

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MILE 7 to MILE 8

Hudson Avenue on left

Adams Street - Site of Adamsville/Delmar Station and Depot

Heading for Delaware Avenue

Bethlehem Veterans Park at Delaware Avenue

The neighborhood of the Elsmere Station (at site of shed)

Elsmere Avenue - Site of Elsmere Station

Elsmere Station 1930s - Located on right after Elsmere Avenue

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Starting a long downhill run

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MILE 8 to MILE 9

Ellsworth Avenue on left

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MILE 9 to MILE 10

Normans Kill Bridge - Albany City Line

Normans Kill

Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy's Noonan Preserve

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MILE 10 to MILE 11

Normans Kill rapids - Thruway then Route 9W bridges ahead

View in the 1960s

Passing under I-87 (Thruway) and Route 9 Bridges

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As you run out of the area with the steep cliffs, you enter a very history-rich area. At the top of the hill to your left was the mansion of Joel Rathbone, which was replaced by the Convent of the Sacred Heart (and Kenwood Academy and the Doane Stuart School). They were destroyed by fire on March 23, 2023.

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The street at the bottom of the hill is Old South Pearl, which was once the Albany-Bethlehem Turnpike, running under the railroad and into the thriving Hamlet of Kenwood (now the large empty space off to the right). The Turnpike was actually US 9W, the only entrance to Albany from the south.

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South Pearl Street / Albany-Bethlehem Turnpike / US 9W

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Kenwood Mills on the Normans Kill in the Hamlet of Kenwood - 1890s

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Entering the Albany South End Connector

End of ACH-H Rail Trail - Begin the Albany South End Connector

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MILE 11 to MILE 12

Ezra Prentice Apartments - Mt. Hope to left

Mt. Hope in the 1930s - Most of the hill was Ezra Prentice's estate

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On the South End Connector between I-787 and the Kenwood Rail Yards

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As you cross Church Street, the course swings left and goes under I787. However, just several hundred yards to the right lies Island Creek Park, a vastly underappreciated gateway to the Hudson River.

Under I-787

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The 2026 race is from unusual in that the "enclosed" portion of the course is detoured to avoid a significant project to secure the highway.

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MILE 12 to MILE 13

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This whole area was once Albany's active port

Ferry Street and Riverside Park

USS Slater (DE 766)

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Dunn Memorial Bridge 1931 - X approximates KMpoint 20

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In the Corning Preserve

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MILE 13 to FINISH

FINISH LINE - The ponds at the right are the remnants of the Albany Basin - the end of the Erie Canal

THE POST-RACE FESTIVITIES

Photo Credit: Peter Thomas, AREEP, and archival sources