About

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2023 is the first year for The DAM 8. Over the last several decades the number of DeRuyter Lake (Tioughnioga Reservoir) residents and guests walking/running the lake keeps increasing as the value of routine physical movement is recognized.

 The east branch of the Tioughnioga River, one mile south of the lake flows toward Cortland where it merges with the west branch. Together the river flow becomes quite significant especially with. heavy raion, or melting snow, supplying the mighty Susquehanna which empties into Chesapeake Bay.

Our logo represents two famous Admirals of the Netherlands, Maarten Tromp and Michael DeRuyter. Get out your magnifying glass. Their names on on the shoes. The Town of DerRuyter in it's first couple of years was named Tromptown.

Reaching and running the dam has served as the U-turn half-way section for the Tromptown Run at August Fair time for the last 45 years and also for the September Tromptown Marathon, full and half, the last four years. Our estimate is that 9000 plus runners over the years have performed that task. 

For several years the Lake was the midpoint for the bicycle portion of the Syracuse Half Ironman. Lake residents "manned" the liquid, penalty and "breakdown" station. The Lake's 501(c)3, Tioughnioga Lake Preservation Foundation (TLPF), benefitted monies from that endeavor.  

The last decade has also witnessed bicycle traffic increasing from the southern portions of the Syracuse area using the Lake or even the village further south for their turn around point. Motorcycle tours have also populated the village for "pit" stops.

Donate

We offer the opportunity to donate to the Lake's 501c-3 organization. Its' website is:

foundationatderuyterlake.org

The TLPF was formed in 2012. Over the ensuing years it has been engaged in recognizing types of weeds and their percentages and their control. Weed harvesting is a yearly project. A good deal of information is available at its' website, especially their biggest endeavor to date, the watershed management plans. Yearly finanacial reports are available through pro-publica. 

Process to donate: 

When registering for the race the site will offer the option for donating. The donation amount will be sent separately and directly to the TLPF.

With the DAM 8 the DeRuyter area now has three road races. The DAM8 (8 Km, H-M, Marathon).....DeRuyter Firemen's Fair in August (5KM and H-M.....Tromptown Marathon.com (5Km, H-M, and Marathon) in September. 

2025 is the third year for the DAM8. We started with the 8Km, which was well received. Last year we added the half-marathon. Also appreciated. This year we have added the marathon.

The rural DeRuyter area exhibits an amazing display of mother nature, including animal life, over the seasons. Five valleys and streams converge at the village. The village elevation is about 1300 ft,  the same approximately as is the DAM at the Lake. However, the H-M and Marathon are not level. A description could be undulatingl Except for the marathon in September, where. a "heartbreak hill" occurs at about the 20 mile point for two miles, and then downhill for the next three. The DAM8 marathon at the 20 mile point takes another route back to the finish. Sorry, no "heartbreak" section.

The two marathons, spring and fall, share about the same 90% of the courses. The starts and finishes are two different settings. Both courses are located in four different counties. The same can be said for the three different half-marathon courses (spring, summer, fall). However, their route is in only three counties with three different starts and finishes. The four counties are: Madison, Onondaga, Cortland and Chenango! The half-marathons stay out of Chenango.

At the three starts of the Dam 8 courses one looks left, toward the west. The large hill overlooking the lake is the location of one of the largest county parks in the nation. It is in the southeast corner of Onondaga County, Highland Forest