WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — This traffic jam in downtown Wilkes-Barre on Sunday left drivers parked on West Market Street.
“I feel like I'm in a big city not cause of crowds but because of all the traffic tied up from this terrific 10-mile race that went on today,” explained Richard Arnold, from Mountain Top.
Runners and walkers made history Sunday, taking part in the first-ever Wyoming Valley Run; a 10-mile-long race that starts in downtown Pittston, goes through seven communities in Luzerne County, and crosses the finish line on Public Square.
“Public Square is traditionally tight with traffic to begin with and then when you put a thousand runners all converging on the same place it tends to be a little chaotic,” Arnold added.
So chaotic, Richard spoke with Newswatch 16 to make the wait for his ride go by a little faster.
“After what we just went through, it seems like an hour,” he said.
And he's not the only runner in shock over the traffic delays.
“I guess I thought there would be less on this street so we may consider walking home,” Patty Buzinkai, from Kingston said.
Patty and her husband Buzz live just over the bridge in Kingston and are pushing off their five-minute commute home, till the roads clear up.
“Even though my car is parked on this block, we'll come back for it later,” Buzz Buzinkai, from Kingston said.
Many drivers were asking this question:
“I don't know how long they're going to keep the roads closed for because the race should be over right?” Buzz Buzinkai added.
To accommodate for participants who were walking or running, officials kept the barricades up until everyone made it to the finish line.
“It's such a distraction for drivers so we really want to make sure where the runners are, there's no cars whatsoever because we don't want the drivers to be distracted and we don't want to be distracted,” explained Ben Robinson, Wyoming Valley Run Race Director.
Something the runners say made this race stand out to others they've done in the past.
“I think they shut down the least amount of streets that they could so they avoided areas that were higher traffic with church,” mentioned Patty Buzinkai
And loved the route not just because of the view, but because they felt safe.
“I have to give kudos to the authorities because they had every street blocked off so the runners could focus on the race and not worry about dodging cars the whole way down,” added Arnold.
Saying running in the first-ever Wyoming Valley Run makes this traffic jam worth the wait.
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