Last Sunday morning it was over to Weymouth, Massachusetts to run the Barrel House Z 5K. This race served as the August Grand Prix race for my running club, Thirsty Irish Runners and it is always nice to see some running friends before, during and after the race.

This 5K course I have run a number of times before having done both this race and the Pre-Game 5K which is held the morning of the Super Bowl before. It is a tough, challenging 5K course with a nice climb mixed in just as you hit the one mile marker and then an uphill stretch in the final half-mile that is far more noticeably uphill coming in than it is downhill when you are heading out.

The course this year was very crowded at the start and for the first half-mile of the run it didn’t thin out much. There wasn’t much space to maneuver through the crowds so the first half-mile went a bit slower than I would have liked. Out on the course the morning heat and humidity certainly were a force to be reckoned with and thankfully there was a water stop about half-way through the run that was certainly needed given the conditions.

I finished up the Barrel House Z 5K with gun-time of 27:01, good for 8:42/miles. If there was chip timing it would have been a touch better but still not a bad overall time given the crowds, heat and hills.

After the race, I checked out Slow Coffee in Weymouth and the peanut butter iced latte with oat milk was the perfect post-run treat. Be sure to check them out if in the area!

It’s been a while since I have run one of the Monday Night Fun Runs hosted by the Colonial Road Runners in Raynham, Massachusetts but the calendar was open this past Monday evening so it was just a hop, skip and a jump over to the starting line for this week’s run. Hosted weekly, this 3.25 mile run kicks off at 6:30 PM and takes runners on the same course each week. The race is the best bargain around with just a $2 entry fee which comes complete with timing and post-run refreshments, as well!

This Monday was an intense night to pick to return to the course as the humidity and heat was something fierce and certainly something to be contended with. It was roughly 90 degrees and the humidity made things feel like you were running in a sauna for the race. The course has some nice hills mixed in for good measure and thankfully a water station was right around the halfway mark hosted by Dennis Gallagher for State Representative.

I’ll take the hot weather over the cold any day of the week and the sweat accumulation post-race was not for the faint of heart. I finished up the race with a time of 27:49, good for 8:33/miles. Hope to be able to make it back over to Raynham soon enough for another one of the Monday night runs!

You ever have one of those mornings as you are making your way to a race and you know rain is on the way so you think to yourself (or perhaps even say out loud), “How about we just go out for breakfast instead?” Well, today was one of those mornings but with the race being the Little Compton Road Race there was no turning back and we made our way to the starting line.

The Little Compton Road Race is one of my favorite races around. The course is an absolute gem and kicks off next to an idyllic, New England town green in Little Compton, Rhode Island and takes runners on a closed down course complete with some generous hills, some sweeping coastal farm views and more. There is a summer festival at the finsih line complete with local vendors, live music, some food options, a yard sale at a church and more. The race simply screams New England and I love everything about it.

The race kicked off right on time at 9AM and the heat and humidity of July was ever so present. It wasn’t raining at the start of the race but right as I made my way past the 5K mark of the race, the skies opened up with some biblical rain absolutely pouring down. The faucet was on for the rest of the race and by the time I crossed the finsih line my clothes and sneakers were downright soaked.

The most challenging part of the race is in the 4th mile as you climb, climb, climb! With the rain pelting runners heading up the hill you would have though some folks would be miserable but this race has a way of making you feel good regardless of conditions and the hill this year melted away for me each step of the way. Felt pretty strong cresting the hill section before turning right and heading back toward the downtown finish line area. There is a sneaky, quick uphill stretch in the final two-tenths of the race just to keep things fun.

I finished up the 4.8 mile Little Compton Road Race with a time of 41:38, good for 8:40/miles. With he hills, heat, humidity and rain not a bad result at all and glad we kept on driving to get there instead of going out for breakfast. But don’t worry, we checked out a great little coffee shop Coastal Roasters on our way back home!

Felt like running in a sauna this morning but finished up the Running Over MSA-Dan Cavanagh Memorial Virtual 5K option bright and early! Good luck to all the runners running the in-person 5K later this morning in Chatsworth, Illinois.

Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by a combination of symptoms that affect both the central nervous system (which controls how a person moves), and the autonomic nervous system, which controls involuntary functions such as blood pressure or digestion. MSA was formerly known as Shy-Drager syndrome, olivopontocerebellar atrophy (OCPA), or striatonigral degeneration.

The symptoms of MSA reflect the progressive loss of function and death of different types of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. MSA is one of a family of neurological disorders known as an atypical parkinsonian disorder.

My father continues to battle Multiple System Atrophy so I applaud and appreciate the family who helps pull together this race and all the runners who run to raise funds to help find a cure for MSA. Funds raised from this race benefit Mission MSA.

Let’s find a cure for Multiple System Atrophy soon!

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!