Last weekend it was a back-to-back race weekend with the Spier Family Kindness for Kids 5K Saturday morning in Foxborough, Massachusetts followed by the Irish Cultural Centre 5K in Canton, Massachusetts on Sunday.

The Irish Cultural Centre 5K served as the September Grand Prix Race for my running club, Thirsty Irish Runners, so it was nice to see a bunch of fellow TIRs on the grounds of the Irish Cultural Centre of New England both before and after the race.

The race kicks off with both the Irish and American National Anthems and then runners make their way out onto the course. The course is relatively flat the whole way and there is nary a spot of shade on most of the course aside from a quick little stretch just before the two mile marker. The race takes runners generally through an industrial park adjacent to the Irish Cultural Centre so not exactly a race that screams aesthetic charm but a fun run nonetheless.

I finished this year’s Irish Cultural Centre 5K with a time of 25:33, good for 8:14/miles. Last year I ran 8:20/miles at this same race so never a bad thing to see some improvement!