Sugar Bowl 5K - Polar Cats Series Race #2
About this race
🐾 Polar Cats Winter Race Series: The Bowl Series is Back! 🐾
Originally created by Bill Kehoe in the ’90s, the Polar Cats Winter Race Series returns for another fun, low-frills, low-cost winter running season around Rochester!
Each race has its own “Bowl” theme — and you can run one or all four!
🏆 Race Schedule
Race 1: Holiday Bowl 5K – December 6, 2026 | RACE 1 HERE
Race 2: Sugar Bowl 5K – January 17, 2027 | RACE 2 HERE
Race 3: Super Bowl 5K – February 14, 2027 | RACE 3 HERE
Race 4: Cereal Bowl 5K – February 28, 2027 | RACE 4 HERE
🍪 Race 2: The Sugar Bowl 5K
New Year, same you! Let’s celebrate (or recommit to) those New Year’s resolutions with this fun, mid-winter run — and then indulge in some cookies at the finish line!
📍 Location: Mendon Ponds Park
📦 Packet Pickup:
Saturday, January 16 @ Rochester Running Company – 11 AM–4 PM
Race Day (January 17) – 9-10AM at the race site
🧤 Series Registration Includes
Polar Cats Sweatpants (option to upgrade to Vuori Joggers)
Race T-shirt for the Holiday Bowl 5K (Race #1)
Entry to all four races
Post-race refreshments
Eligibility for age group and overall prizes (each race + overall series)
Keep your bib for all races, or grab a new one at packet pickup if you forget!
🏅 Awards
Top 3 male & female finishers (each race + overall series)
Age group winners (each race + overall series)
❄️ Friendly Note
Polar Cats races are traditionally scheduled opposite Freezeroo Series weekends so you can enjoy both series! (One overlap this year.)
👉 Freezeroo info: https://runsignup.com/Race/NY/Rochester/FreezerooSeriesIndividualRace
Pick your distance
Running
Sugar Bowl 5K- Polar Cats Race 2
Typical race-day weather
Based on 12 years of Open-Meteo archive data for this event's race dates in Rochester, plus the 3 days either side.
The sun rises at 7:38 AM and sets at 5:02 PM local time (EST) in Rochester on January 17, 2027 — 9h 24m of daylight.
Course
No course map published yet.
The organizer hasn't released a route for this event, and we don't publish guesses. If you're the organizer, send us a GPX file and we'll draw the profile.
Reviews
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Results — Sugar Bowl 5K - Polar Cats Series Race #2
Other races near Rochester
Different organizers, within 40 miles, in the next three months
Winter Warrior Half Marathon, Quarter Marathon & Half Marathon Relay
UR Medicine Home Care Hospice 5K - Presented by Fleet Feet
The Feast Thanksgiving Day Run/Walk
Reindeer Run 5K & Kids 1/2 Mile
🏃 Plan Your Next Race in Rochester
Find upcoming events by distance:
- Rochester 5K Races 60 races
- 10K Run Events in Rochester 11 races
- Rochester Half Marathons 6 races
- Rochester Running Calendar 2026 91 races
Where this page comes from. Race details were last updated on . We re-check listings regularly and again in the week before race day.
- Entries, prices, waves and inclusions — the event's official registration page
- Temperature and humidity — Copernicus ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0)
- Elevation and terrain relief — Copernicus DEM GLO-90, ESA (CC BY 4.0)
- Comparisons and counts — Race Discovery calendar, 95 Rochester events
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