UTICA, N.Y. (WUTR/WFXV/WPNY) – After a four-year hiatus, the Boilermaker Walk is back and will return to race weekend.

The walk will kick off on Saturday, July 9^th at Mohawk Valley Community College (MVCC) in Utica, and this year, there are two-course options – a three-mile and a four-mile. Both leading participants through either of the two Proctor Parks.

“The boilermaker is excited about bringing the walk back and tying it to such a deep and rich connection to Utica’s historic past,” said Mark Donovan, President of the Boilermaker.

And because this is the first year back, Boilermaker President Mark Donovan says it’s hard to predict turnout rates, but he has high hopes for the event.

“We could have one, we could sell it out – at the end of the day, if we have one, if we have ten, or if we have one thousand – it’s all good,” said Donovan.

“Getting people out and enjoying nature, seeing something very cool in Proctor parks and off their couches – that’s a win for us.”

This event will also be tied to Olmsted 200 Celebrations. The Olmsted family not only designed Central Park in New York City but also, Utica’s Parkway and Roscoe Conkling and F.T. Proctor parks.

‘Olmsted City’ Chair, Phil Bean, says he hopes this walk will showcase the work they’ve been doing to restore the parks, and educate the community on Utica’s rich history.

“Utica, like places like Rochester and Buffalo, is an Olmsted city and it deserves to be recognized for that, and it should be a point of pride,” said Phil Bean, Chair of “Olmsted City.”

“Outsiders – people in larger metro areas – whenever I tell people from New York or Philly, or Boston that we have all this Olmsted stuff in Utica they’re like, ‘we never knew,’ so they appreciate it,” said Bean.

“And we should appreciate it too, and it should be a reason why we have a special pride in this town.”

To register and learn more about this year’s walk – details can be found on the Boilermaker website.

Registration opened on June 8th but the event will be limited to the first 1,000 participants due to it being the first year back. So be sure to sign up soon to secure your spot via boilermaker.com.