For the past year I have given up alcohol but thankfully the non-alcoholic craft beer scene is booming and there are plenty of really good options available. This personal decision by me has been driven by both general health reasons and simply a desire to feel better and for runners cutting out a bit of alcohol is never a bad thing. Even if you are not going to go full non-alcoholic, it’s nice to have some options available if you don’t always want to go the fully leaded beer route.

One of the nice things about non-alcoholic beers is that they are able to be shipped directly to your doorstep, something that for other craft beers in certain states is not available. I came across RationAle Brewing recently and ordered some of their offerings and was highly impressed with the quality they bring to the table.

Brewed in California, RationAle Brewing has a solid lineup of non-alcoholic offerings including a New England IPA, a Citrus Hazy IPA, a Mexican Lager and a West Coast IPA. I ordered all four of the brews to help fill the fridge and each offering was exceptionally crafted and tasted amazing. If you provided one of these to someone who enjoys a good craft beer, they may be hard pressed to determine that these brews had no alcohol in them. The New England IPA and the West Coast IPA were probably my two top favorites but honestly you couldn’t go wrong with any of them.

If you’re looking for a a good non-alcoholic beer option for whatever the reason, be sure to check out RationAle Brewing today! Be sure to use code runninggriffin at checkout to also save 10% off your order!

I’m pretty sure I won’t be around for the next centennial celebration in East Bridgewater so how could I pass up running the East Bridgewater Bicentennial 5K last weekend? Just a town over from where I live, 200 years is nothing to sneeze at so Happy Birthday, East Bridgewater!

The race was part of a group of fesitivities commemorating the bicentennial of East Bridgewater and a nice crowd gathered the morning of the run. The race was familiar to me as it was the same course as the Run for Jess so I knew there’d be some climbing along the way and planned for that heading out of the starting line. The course takes runners through the town of East Bridgewater and though the roads were open to traffic the local constabulary did a great job patrolling the course and keeping runners safe along the way. There was a water stop about half-way through the run which came in handy as even though it wasn’t scorching hot there was a bit of mugginess in the air so the water hit the spot.

Felt good out on the course and maintained a relatively consistent pace along the 5K route. I noted the course to be long (3.22 miles) and other runners commented on same but given this wasn’t an Olympic trial or anything I didn’t sweat pounding out the extra .12 mile for the race. I finished up the race with a time of 25:21 which is good for an official 5K pace of 8:19/miles.

Right in the heart of the West Roxbury section of Boston is an Irish pub (not surprising) called the Corrib. The pub is owned and operated by a family who has the same last name as me (Bligh) which is a bit surprising given there aren’t a whole heck of a lot of Bligh’s running around.

The pub puts on an absolutely great 5K road race that raises a boatload of money that is put right back into the local community thanks to the charitable foundation that the race supports. There’s a great atmosphere at the race with many local dignitaries present, food and beer post-run, ice cream trucks and games for the kids and more.

The Corrib Pub Classic 5K was the June Grand Prix race this year for my running club, the Thirsty Irish Runners, so there was a sizable contingent of TIRs present which always makes the run more fun. Race time temps were pretty ideal for running and on the cooler side for a race that has had some really hot days in its history.

The course for the Corrib is a rather challenging 5K course through West Roxbury with some rather tricky uphill climbs mixed into the residential neighborhoods for good measure. I love to see local politicians and families hosting more than enough water stops along the course as it builds a nice neighborhood feel to the run. People are out cheering, runners are smiling and it’s an all-around great race. There’s an awesome downhill finish where you lean forward and let gravity help you along that is a perfect way to end a race.

I finished the Corrib Pub Classic 5K with a time of 27:15 good for 8:47/miles.

A little bit of a delay with this race recap but a few weekends ago it was off to Stoughton, Massachusetts to run the Once a Knight Always a Knight 5K. This race is held in memory of four high school students from Stoughton who were tragically killed in a car accident and funds raised from the 5K support youth activities in town sponsored by the Stoughton Recreation Department.

The race takes place on the town’s school campus where both the high school and other schools are located and runners remain on campus for the entire race. The race takes you quickly through the parking lot before you make your way onto a crushed stone path for a bit and then head onto a grass section of the course. Runners make 4 laps on the crushed stone and grass section before heading back quickly into the parking lot to make your way to the finish line. I haven’t run on grass in a while so that was an unique addition but the course was precisely laid out to ensure runners hit the 3.1 miles before heading into the finishing chute.

Post-race water and bananas were provided by the local Ikea store.

I finished the Once a Knight Always a Knight 5K with a time of 25:59 good for 8:22/miles.

Our hectic kids’ soccer schedule (which I wouldn’t trade for the world) has certainly slowed down the number of road races we are able to run however yesterday the soccer calendar called for a 3PM game so we were able to make our way to Norwood for the Run for a Vet Five Mile race. This race also happened to be our running club (Thirsty Irish Runners) Grand Prix race for the month of May so it was great to see so many familiar faces at the starting line.

The race kicked off at 10AM after a few speeches by some veterans, the national anthem performed by a local high school band and an introduction to the non-profit organization 22 Mohawks.

It was sneakily warm as the race kicked off as runners made their way down a nice downhill stretch before some of the real climbing began. The course was part of the same route as the Norwood Turkey Trot but then went off on its own course. The course was very well marshaled by police and volunteers alike and there were more than a few hills mixed into the run which made for some pretty decent climbing along the way. With the heat, the one water stop on the course came in handy but after climbing toward the Mile 4 marker an extra water stop really could have been used.

I cruised into the finish line feeling pretty good along the way and finished with a time of 45:18, good for 9:04/miles. Not too shabby given the warm weather and the hills and overall a result to be relatively pleased with.