This morning it was about an hour and a half up to the North Shore of Massachusetts for the Lone Gull 10k. Held in Gloucester, Massachusetts this race was part of the USTAF Grand Prix as well as part of the Thirsty Irish Runners Grand Prix. Pulling into the parking lot, a sea of cars led us quickly to the realization that this was going to be a pretty big race.

Two early flaws with the race important to note. First is that even though my race envelope noted a large tee-shirt should have been given to me, inside was a medium. I asked to exchange given the error but they declined. Looks like this race shirt will either be a dust rag or used if I ever decide to go clubbing. Second, several runners went to the city of Beverly, Massachusetts as the race website had the wrong address listed. This was a pretty widespread issue that fortunately we did not have to deal with but was a bummer for several racers, nonetheless.

The race course for this 10k was absolutely beautiful. Last time I did a race in Gloucester I ended up having an arthroscope on my left knee so I sort of have some bad memories of Gloucester that quickly faded along the race course. The first mile and a half or so hugged the Atlantic Ocean and made for some amazing scenery to run past. The sun was glistening off the water and the homes along the water gave you something to look at and dream you owned.

After turning away from the water for a bit it was into a residential neighborhood for a little ways and the neighborhood residents cheered us along the way. As we exited that neighborhood it was down a little hill toward a different section of water where people were rowing and sailing and the Boston skyline could be seen just over the ocean’s horizon.

It was then into a gated sort of community which featured homes whose front door likely cost more than my house. Some really nice running terrain with some rolling hills carried runners up to the five mile marker as we made our way back along the Atlantic Ocean. There was a rather decent uphill at the 6 mile mark and the final .2 miles were a fast downhill into the finish line.

I finished the Lone Gull 10k with a time of 49:06 which was good for 7:55/miles. After a nice race pace yesterday, it was an awesome weekend of running!