On Saturday morning I was heading out to Western Massachusetts for an event that evening so made the best of my two hour commute and stopped midway in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts for a 9AM road race. The 2nd Annual Duck Dash for Camp Wonder kicked made for the perfect stopping point along the drive out to Western Massachusetts and the race is definitely one runners will want to consider next year.

The race starts and finishes in front of a school and runs through residential streets in the neighborhood surrounding the school. The course for the most part is relatively flat with just a few minor hills mixed into the course from time to time. Each and every turn along the course had volunteers directing runners along and a water stop was available around the midpoint of the course immediately following a brief stretch through a paved path between different neighborhoods.

The course was a very scenic, residential run and the 9AM race time allowed runners to get a race in nice and early. At the end of the race, awards were handed out quickly upon completion of the race and I was able to take home the 2nd place medal in my age division!

I finished the race with a time of 23:29, good for 7:33/miles. I felt rather strong during the race and some of the recent health issues I have been dealing with did not seem to interfere much with my racing.

To learn more about the work that the Duck Dash supports, check out this article from last year noting the background information on the race.

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On Saturday morning it was off to America’s Hometown of Plymouth, Massachusetts for the 3rd Annual Heroes Live Forever 5K. This 5K takes place right in the middle of American History and kicks off and finishes adjacent to Plymouth Rock and brought out a nice group of runners tackling the streets of Plymouth for a good cause.

The race supports fallen first responders who passed in the line of duty and several of the runners had close ties to law enforcement. Even for those who are not personally connected to law enforcement a a general appreciation for all they do certainly was noted amongst the crowd.

The family of Massachusetts State Trooper Thomas Clardy will be the recipient of the Maloney Family Pay-It-Forward fund for the 2016 race.  Trooper Clardy lost his life in the line of duty on March 16, 2016 during a traffic stop on the Massachusetts Turnpike.  In addition to his 11 years of service as a State Trooper, he served for 13 years in the military including 11 years in the Marines.  Funds will support his family; his wife, Reisa, and their six children who are between the ages of 4 and 17.

Earlier this week, Officer Ronald Tarentino of the Auburn, Massachusetts police department was also killed in the line of duty, shot during a routine traffic stop. Moments of silence were held for Clardy and Tarentino and all of those who have died in the line of duty.

The race day temperatures were quite warm with the thermometer hitting the 90 degree mark therefore it was a warm and sunny race course. The course has a rather gradual incline the first two miles that while running is certainly more pronounced than one would expect. The last mile of the run brings runners back into the Plymouth Harbor section of Plymouth and features a rather fast and flat final stretch.

I’ve been battling some health issues recently which Thursday had me at the cardiologist and with a CAT scan followed Friday with an echo-cardiogram. Though I still have some more health things to deal with ahead, running is a good way to free up the mind from some of those issues and I wasn’t going to let that hold me back from racing on Saturday.

I finished the 3rd Annual Heroes Live Forever 5K with a time of 24:59, good for 8:02/miles. Not my best time of the season but with the heat and health issues to contend with, I am happy with that time. Plymouth is an absolutely great place to run, particularly in the summer, so keep an eye out for races taking place there and sign up to tackle the streets the Pilgrims walked if you can!

The 3rd Annual Race the Lake will be held on Saturday, June 11, 2016 in the Greater Cooperstown, New York region. Featuring both a full and half-marathon option you definitely want to check out this race!

The race will circle clockwise around the picturesque Otsego Lake. Runners will travel through Cooperstown, Springfield, Middlefield and the Town of Otsego. You will have views of the lake almost all the way as you pass Glimmerglass Opera, The Farmers Museum, The Otesaga Resort Hotel and several other landmarks. Both of the races will be challenging, not only for the mileage, but also the elevation changes. It’s the perfect setting for a marathon!

The 26.2 will start and end at The Clark Sports Center. The 13.1 race will start on Route 80, just past the Glimmerglass Opera. Half-marathon runners will merge with marathon runners shortly before the 5 mile marker on County Rt. 31. Both races will finish together at The Clark Sports Center.

To register for the Race the Lake Marathon or Half-Marathon, please click here.