Off to Weymouth, Massachusetts this morning for the August Thirsty Irish Runners‘ Grand Prix Race, the Barrel House Z 5K. There is a summer edition of this run and a Super Sunday race the morning of the Super Bowl and today brought and absolutely perfect day for running. Temps were moderate and some cloud cover kept the sun away as runners made our way out onto the course with a 9:30 AM race time.

The Barrel House Z 5K kicks off on the road of Barrel House Z and heads out into residential neighborhoods in Weymouth. The course has some nice climbing mixed into it making the 5K a great run with a little bit of a challenge included. There is a water stop at the half-way point which came in handy and each mile is marked with a mile marker. Huge shoutout to the Weymouth Police Department and volunteers who managed the course perfectly.

There was a great showing of Thirsty Irish Runners out on the course which always helps keep the legs moving, especially when you hear a belting “Thirsty Irish Runners Rule” while running along. The race announcer noted that this was the largest showing at a Barrel House Z showing that the running community is really enjoying this course and race. Each runner received a ticket for a free beer from Barrel House Z post-run but given I have given up alcohol for more than a year now I opted for a can of Kit NA Brewing‘s IPA that Barrel House Z had available for purchase. There was some live music post-run and a vendor selling homemade donuts providing a cool post-run vibe.

I finished up the Barrel House Z 5K with a gun time of 26:53, good for 8:39/miles. Not a bad overall finishing time and a great morning for a run!