Yesterday was a beautiful spring day with temperatures in the high 50’s/low 60’s and the sun shining down upon the historic New England town of Lexington, Massachusetts. Most remember Lexington as being home to one of the most iconic American Revolution battles on Lexington Green but the small, quaint town was known yesterday for the Cure is Coming 5K race which served as a fundraiser for ALS research.

The Cure is Coming 5K is a nicely organized 5K race that takes runners through residential neighborhoods of Lexington as runners make their way out of the downtown area. The course is well-supported by the local residents who are out doing yard work or playing in their front yard as they transform into race fans and support you with a clap or a cheer. Volunteers staff each and every turn corner of the course showing runners which way to go and the local police department directs traffic at the major intersections runners cross.

The course is a rather challenging 5K race as there is a high percentage of what I call “residential rollers” along the course; those little up and down hills within residential neighborhoods which can quickly take a toll upon the legs. However, the finish is one of the fastest finish sprints you will find as there is marvelous downhill finish that allows you to just let the legs go free and race down the hill into the finish chutes.

I ran the same race last year and finished with a time of 23:58 good for 7:44/miles and was pleased to improve my time this year to 23:37 which equates to a 7:36/mile.