This morning we made our way a few towns over to Rockland, Massachusetts for the Rockland XC/T&F 5K. This race was a fundraiser for the Rockland High School cross-country and track and field teams and started and finished on the school grounds. It was a perfect morning for a run with the sun shining and a nice breeze keeping the course quite comfortable.

The race kicked off at 9AM and runners quickly made our way up a short hill before heading into the downtown Rockland area. The Rockland Police patrolled the open course in car and motorcycles and did an expert job ensuring runners had a smooth course experience along the way.

The course took runners through residential roads of Rockland and if you enjoyed some hills in your 5K this is the race for you. A couple nice, gradual climbs made it feel like you were climbing for a good chunk of the race before turning back into the neighborhood near the high school where things leveled out in the final mile.

Felt strong out on the course and had a good morning of running. Officially, finished the race of 23:11, good for 7:28/miles. My watch had the course a bit short of 3.1 miles but still a really nice morning of running today in Rockland.

Special thanks to Baystate Physical Therapy for being on hand and providing a nice quad, hamstring and calf stretch post-run!

Today was an absolutely perfect day for a run and when a race takes place just down the road from your house even better. And when that race raises funds for a cause that is important to you, talk about a win/win/win!

This morning it was off to the campus of Bridgewater State University for The Well 5K: A Run for Hope and Healing. It was the inaugural year for the run which went off without a hitch and seemed like they had been doing this race for years. The sun was shining and a nice contingent of runners and walkers toed the starting line and made our way out onto the course which largely stayed on the grounds of Bridgewater State University except for a quick stretch on an adjacent street.

The first mile of the race featured a nice chunk of climbing up a very appropriately named Great Hill Drive. This hill is on my regular running routes so I knew exactly what to expect and crested the top of the climb feeling pretty good. After reaching the top, it was then downhill toward the MBTA Commuter Rail stop and back through the BSU campus; a water stop was just at the bottom of the downhill stretch which came in handy today. A couple of other sneaky hills mixed into Mile 2 for good measure and then it was back toward the BSU football/soccer stadium as runners finished on a stretch of crushed stone before making a sharp right onto a brief grass stretch heading into the finish line.

Great day of running at The Well 5K and finished with a time of 24:51, good for an 8:01/mile pace.

Funds raised from this race will benefit The Well. With two locations in Bridgewater, Massachusetts and one in East Bridgewater, The Well offers holistic services, programs and events that address the needs of the mind, body, and spirit while exploring the interconnectedness of all three. To learn more about the amazing services offered by The Well, please visit their website by clicking here.

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This past weekend it was off to the coastal community of Marshfield, Massachusetts for the Beach and Back Half-Marathon. Though I keep pounding the pavement with good regularity, this was going to be one of my longer runs in quite some time so I was excited to stretch the boundaries some and tackle a half-marathon.

Shoutout to the race for giving out a hooded sweatshirt as the race swag for the half-marathon. A nice addition to the post-run wardrobe rather than another tee-shirt!

Mrs. Running Griffin decided to run together for the race to keep each other company, be able to push each other at the right times and catch up while out on the run. The weather the morning of the run was overcast and temps were not too cool and not too hot; it could be argued that these were some pretty awesome running conditions for a half-marathon.

The race kicked off a bit behind schedule but then once out on the course the half-marathon was a great run. The course wound throughout Marshfield and had some nice residential stretches, some waterfront runs and a good hilly section mixed in right around the halfway point of the run. There was plenty of water out on the course and each mile was marked. Because the half-marathon went through some residential neighborhoods, local residents were out cheering on the race course at certain spots along the way.

The Beach and Back Half-Marathon was a nice race and I would definitely recommend running it if you are looking for a half-marathon next year. Mrs. Running Griffin and I finished the race with a time of 2:22:45, good for 10:53/miles.