HOLYOKE, MA (WGGB/WSHM) - The starting gun is less than 24 hours away for the annual Holyoke St. Patrick’s road race. You could just feel the excitement in Holyoke earlier on Friday as folks get ready for a busy Saint Patrick’s Day weekend.

All the runners we spoke with say they’re pumped and ready to take their mark — right where we’re standing now, “there’s bands everywhere and people cheering the whole time it’s honestly my favorite weekend of the whole year I love it.”

Over 6,000 runners are expected to run through the streets of Holyoke on Saturday... For the biggest running event in western Massachusetts. Many of them saying the race is as much about the atmosphere as it is the finish line.

For some families, the event has become a tradition years in the making, with pre-race routines that are just as festive as the event itself, “we do Irish glam in the morning at my house we have glitter and face paint going and tinsel going. It’s just such a fun time, we get a beer we walk around then we run it take some Jello shots wave to everybody.”

Others are lacing up for the first time, like Gregory Boisvert, who said he’s excited but can’t ignore what he’s heard about that famous hill, “excited, a little nervous definitely signed up for this when I was like yeah I’ll do it now and now right before I’m like it’s cold and I’ve also heard really bad things about the hill about this race but I’m excited,” said Boisvert.

While he’ll be out running with the pack, thousands of onlookers will be cheering from the sidelines. For Boisvert, events like this bring people together, at a time when community connection can be harder to find.

Saturday’s race kicks off at 1 p.m. with runners lining up at the beginning of Maple Street.

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