Registration is now open for the Bridge & Back 10K which is being held in Salem, Massachusetts on August 5th. Faithful readers of The Running Griffin attended last year’s Bridge & Back 10K and reported back glowing reviews of the race so be sure to add this 10K to your race calendar!

With a name like the Bridge & Back 10K you could probably have guessed that there is going to be a bridge involved! Runners make their way over the Salem/Beverly Bridge on this 10K route giving runners a bit of an incline while racing up and down the bridge. Once runners make their way along the 10K route, there is a great post-race party at the Tavern in the Square in Salem where runners can refuel and enjoy a cold pint after the run.

The first 300 participants will receive a short sleeve t-shirt! Race Director Doug Bollen puts on some amazing races and this year’s Bridge & Back 10K is sure to be no exception!

All proceeds from the event benefit the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Salem. Be sure to help pack the starting line to help raise funds for this great organization!

To register for the Bridge & Back 10K, please click here. You can also “Like” the race on Facebook by clicking here.

Registration is now open for the 5th Annual Run for Jess which will be held on Saturday, September 1st in East Bridgewater, Massachusetts. I have run this race a number of times since it has started and can assure you that this is one 5K race you will not want to miss!

All proceeds from the Run for Jess 5K benefit the Jessica C. Thurston Memorial Foundation. Jess was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2011 at the age of 27. After a very courageous battle with the disease Jess lost her life in August of 2013 at the age of 29. Throughout her illness she displayed so much strength and resilience; living her life with hope and a positive attitude.

Jess’s family and friends put on this amazing race that takes runners through the streets of East Bridgewater and the Foundation helps support breast cancer research in Jess’s memory.

The run is a good course on residential roads and there is a water stop half-way through the race. You get a couple of gradual hills mixed in for good measure which helps make the burgers and hot dogs served after the race taste all that much better! The race has a remarkable amount of raffle prizes available so be sure to bring some cash and take a chance on winning some great things to take home with you!

The race is a perfect family event complete with the kids race and the cookout. The race starts and finishes just outside the grounds of the Commercial Club in East Bridgewater so there is plenty of room to kick a soccer ball, run around, throw a football, etc.

To register for the Run for Jess, please click here. You will also want to be sure to follow the race on Facebook by clicking here and give a “Like” to the Foundation’s page here.

Every year it seems as though the Finish at the Fifty is held on the hottest day of the summer and this year was no exception. Though in the past I have opted to run the 5K at 6PM followed by the 10K at 7PM, I am glad this year I chose to only run the 5K course as the heat was downright ridiculous this past week here in New England.

The Finish at the Fifty is held on the hallowed grounds the New England Patriots call home. There is always a significant size crowd for this race given the allure of finishing at the fifty yard line inside Gillette Stadium and this year’s heat didn’t seem to thin the crowd out much. This isn’t a race you are going to PR at; rather, the race is an experience run and one that is quite fun to enjoy.

My daughter, one of her friends and Mrs. Running Griffin also ran this year’s race and deserve a ton of credit for tackling the run with such oppressive temperatures present even at a 6PM start.

The first mile of the race takes runners through the parking lots around Gillette Stadium and the heat coming off the pavement is quite noticeable. There is a water stop just around the 1 mile mark and then again around the 1.5 mile mark before runners head into the stadium. Once runners make their way through the parking lot, the race then takes an uphill turn as runners run the ramps from the ground entrance of the stadium all the way to the top of the stadium. Once the ramps have been tackled up, a quick loop around the upper bowl of Gillette then takes runners down another set of ramps to head back down toward ground level. These downhill ramps can be a nice challenge, as well, given the gravity pulling on your knees while running them. After heading down a set of the ramps, a half loop around the lower bowl of the stadium then takes runners outside quickly before heading into a tunnel to run out onto the field and be greeted by throngs of fans cheering you into the finish line.

As runners are heading into the finish line at the fifty yard line, runners are shown on the Jumbotron and the Patriots cheerleaders and mascot welcome you into the finish line. One disappointment this year is that there was no New England Patriot player available at the finish line as in the past players like Nate Solder or Jerrod Mayo were there cheering you in and available for photos.

After the race, we hung around the parking lot of Gillette Stadium and tailgated with friends and enjoyed a great fireworks celebration once it was dark out.

Even with the heat and the sea of runners and walkers present, I ran a nice race and felt strong heading both up and down the ramps and finished with an overall time of 26:11, good for 8:26/miles.

The Running Griffin would like to welcome Accelerated Performance Rehabilitation as the newest sponsor of our website!

Located in Westwood, Massachusetts, Accelerated Performance Rehabilitation provides  a unique patient/client centered approach to physical therapy and their premier physical therapists work with sports performance coaches to develop individual treatment plans that rehabilitate while also enhancing your sports performance. This combination of sports medicine and sports performance training benefits everyone from the elite athlete to the postoperative patient working to resume their normal lifestyle.

At APR, you will feel valued and respected from the initial phone conversation. Their priority is to provide exceptional care to accelerate your recovery and performance. As a runner, APR will spend the time necessary to get you feeling better and in top performance to ensure your body is in top running form!

APR’s team of highly skilled manual therapists believe in a hands on approach to tissue preparation. Muscle, fascia, and involved soft tissue should be soft and pliable, not only to promote healing but to allow full activation and function before adding stress to these tissues through proper strength and performance training. When these restrictions are addressed, combined with the correct exercise prescription, accelerated healing and performance begins.

I had the pleasure to meet the APR team at the Pack the Pantry 5K and they provided some great post-race stretching and techniques to bring home and help maximize post-race recovery. In the short ten minutes we spent together, I was impressed with the attention and unique feedback they provided to me focused on my own personal feedback as to what areas tended to be problem areas.

For more information about Accelerated Performance Rehabilitation, please be sure to check out their website by clicking here. You can also “Like” them on Facebook here. If you are in the greater Westwood area, please be sure to give them a look today if you need quality physical therapy, massage therapy or group training techniques.

Registration is now open for the 2018 MitoAction Energy Walk & 5K Run which is being held on Sunday, September 16th in the South Boston neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. The race will kick off at the DCR’s Mother’s Rest on Carson Beach in Southie and this course hugging Boston Harbor is one you won’t want to miss!

Presented by Stealth BioTherapeutics, the 2018 MitoAction Energy Walk & 5K Run raises awareness of mitochondrial disease and helps raise funds for MitoAction, a leading patient advocacy organization within the mitochondrial disease community. Mitochondrial disease is an inherited chronic illness that can be present at birth or develop later in life. It causes debilitating physical, developmental, and cognitive disabilities with symptoms including poor growth; loss of muscle coordination; muscle weakness and pain; seizures; vision and/or hearing loss; gastrointestinal issues; learning disabilities; and organ failure.  It is estimated that 1 in 4,000 people has Mito.

With a goal of raising $150,000 for MitoAction at this year’s race, runners will tackle a chipped time 3.1 mile course along the water and the race route is a perfect course for runners of all levels. The course is a nice, flat stretch of road that makes for a great opportunity to run a strong race and support an amazing cause.

To register for the 2018 MitoAction Energy Walk & 5K Run please click here. Be sure to also give the race a “Like” on Facebook by clicking here.