The 9th Annual Sonia’s Run 5K Run/Walk and Family Fun Day is in memory of our dear friend Sonia Daly Belcher, who passed away unexpectedly at age 32 due to a sudden heart condition.

Sonia’s Run is USATF Sanctioned, cash prizes offered for the top 3 male and female overall finishers, age group awards for male and female, performance race T-shirts guaranteed for first 150 registrants, complimentary post-race food, team competition, and raffles.

The 5K begins at 9 am, and free parking is available in the church parking lot and surrounding streets. Start and finish at the same location.

Sonia’s Run is a family-friendly event which includes a bouncy house, face painting, pumpkins, clown show and balloon animals, vendor tables and food. Course map, records, registration info and more can be found online at www.soniasrun.org.

All proceeds from Sonia’s Run go to support early childhood education at Theophany School in Needham, MA, a school which Sonia helped to establish.

It’s hard to believe that August is already here and before you know it the dog days of summer will be over and we will be running into fall. For those runners who are looking for a great fall run through a beautiful, scenic New England waterfront course then the Cape Cod Marathon weekend of events is definitely one to check out!

The 2017 Cape Cod Marathon Weekend will take place on Saturday and Sunday, October 28 and 29, 2017. The weekend starts off with the Cape Cod Half-Marathon on Saturday and the Cape Cod Marathon and Marathon Relay taking place on Sunday.

The Cape Cod Marathon Half -Marathon race course is a fast and scenic route that hugs the Falmouth coastline of Nantucket Sound. Designed to maximize runners’ view of Martha’s Vineyard and the beautiful waters of Nantucket Sound this out and back course is limited to one hill.   But don’t be alarmed- this one hill occurs at miles 3.5 and 9.75 and is over before you know it.

The Cape Cod Marathon is a one-loop course that begins and ends at the Village Green in Falmouth center. The first part is easy, the latter is a test. The people who do well on this course follow the following formula: go out easy, take plenty of fluids, and save energy for the hills. Although the course is not closed to traffic, it is run on secondary roads and monitored by the police and numerous volunteers.

I have previously done the Cape Cod Marathon Relay and it is a great event for a group of friends to get together at and have a really nice time. Relay runners take the same route as the full marathon runners and the relay is an excellent way to build camaraderie, have a fun time and get some nice miles in!

For the extra adventurous, the Clam Chowdah Challenge is available for runners who want to run the half-marathon on Saturday and then tackle the full marathon on Sunday. Good luck to those crazy runners!

For more information about the Cape Cod Marathon, check out their website by clicking here. Interested in taking on one of the races Cape Cod Marathon Race Weekend races? Of course you are! Register online for the race you will be joining here.

Registration is now open for the 11th Annual Tavern Trot which will be held on September 17th in Windsor, Connecticut. This race benefits the charity Alex’s Lemonade Stand and features a 3.5 mile road and trail race through historic Windsor Center.

The Union Street Tavern Trot is  USATF certified (#CT09017JHP) and is a Manchester Road Race qualifier with electronic chip timing. The course has water stops and rest stops along the route.

Runners who register before September 8th will receive a race shirt. The race kicks off at 12:30 PM and once runners are done racing the course will be greeted by free refreshments, beer and food thanks to Union Street Tavern! Live entertainment will also be available making for a real post-race party!

To register for the 11th Annual Union Street Tavern Trot, please click here. Please be sure to also “Like” the Union Street Tavern on Facebook by clicking here.

Thursday evening the heat and humidity walloped the Greater Boston area which made for some intense running conditions for the Jim Kane Sugar Bowl 5K. It has been a number of years since I had last run this race and in previous years the race was a five mile course. Thankfully the race organizers at the L Street Running Club changed the race to a 5K a few years back as if the race was still a five miler I might have just keeled over.

With a 7PM race start in South Boston right along the ocean, runners were hoping for a little breeze to come off the water and perhaps take some of the sting of the heat and humidity out of the air but instead the air was remarkably still and made for some rough running for me. Even though there were two water stops on the course and someone holding a hose around the one mile mark, this out-and-back course got the best of me Thursday night.

The course is pancake flat and runs along the water and toward the L Street Bath House and back to the Boston Teachers Union building. This year, about 35 of my coworkers participated in the run as one of our charitable outings for the year since race proceeds go to support local, Boston charities.

Race participants received a tank-top and pint glass and there was plenty of free goodies to take both before and after the race. Upon entering the finish line, runners were immediately handed a bottle of water and a cold, wet towel which was much appreciated!

Not my best showing by any stretch of the imagination but I battled the warm temperatures and finished with a time of 27:05, good for 8:44/miles.