The Buffalo Subaru 4 Mile Chase starts at 7:00 p.m. sharp near Bidwell Parkway and Elmwood Avenue in Buffalo’s Elmwood Village. It is a Friday-evening July road race over four miles, with its 44th running on the calendar and donations benefiting the ECMC Foundation and P.A.L. The day starts early with registration and an expo, then shifts into happy hour, live music, elite introductions, kids races, and the main race. The setup makes it feel more like a summer block party with a fast race in the middle than a quiet start-line-and-go-home event.
The course is a USA Track & Field sanctioned rectangular out-and-back, starting and finishing near Bidwell and Elmwood. Runners get mile splits and water at roughly the one-mile mark on Delaware Avenue, just past two miles near the Red Cross on Summer Street, and near three miles at Elmwood and Bryant. The race draws competitive runners because it offers prize money, deep age-group awards, and USATF Niagara Open and Masters four-mile championship scoring, with links to the Runner of the Year and Team Grand Prix series. It also keeps room for regular runners and families through a couples division, free kids races for ages 5 to 10, shirts for the first 750 entrants, and a post-race party with food, refreshments, music, and entertainment.