The Flying Pig Half-Marathon

On May 10, 2014 By The Running Griffin2 Comments

Last weekend it was off to Cincinnati, Ohio for a guys weekend which included brewery tours, a Reds game, German food delights and a half-marathon known as The Flying Pig. I have always heard a lot of tell about The Flying Pig so was excited when my friend Matt and I were able to parlay our annual guy’s weekend with three other buds into running the half-marathon at The Flying Pig.

The race takes place bright and early on Sunday morning with a starting time of 6:30 AM. The weekend features a number of other races including a 10k and a 5k along with the half-marathon and marathon events being held on Sunday. Notably this year, the 10k race featured Olympian Ryan Hall streaking to a first place finish and besting the course record. Hall did not run the half or full marathon on Sunday, so I bested him in the half-marathon. Matt and I took a Saturday morning 4.5 mile training run over to the 10k course and were able to catch Hall at the start, around the mile 5 marker and coming into the finish line. It was pretty awesome to be able to see a running legend!

The expo took place throughout the weekend and we opted to pick up our number and hit the expo on Saturday morning. An impressive selection of racing vendors, upcoming road races and more were present at the expo and the flow of the event was perfect. A rather impressive expo by most standards.

Sunday morning Matt and I made the hike from our hotel on the Covington, Kentucky side of the river across the bridge to the starting line on the Cincinnati side. A corral setup was present and allowed racers to slot themselves accordingly. Security was noticably present and gave runners a feeling that safety was a key priority of this race.

Once the starting gun went off, Matt and I were out onto the course and stuck together for about the first 8 miles or so. The race took runners across another bridge back into Kentucky and then across another older bridge back into Ohio. Our buddy Nick struggled to wake himself up and saw us around the 3 mile mark or so. Matt and I ran a fast first couple of miles and were at a pace that was at times faster than either of us had expected given a lack of sleep, an abundance of chowing and a couple of wobbly pops over the course of the weekend. Matt and I split around mile 8 or so as my legs began to feel a little rubbery coming off of the Boston Marathon just two weeks prior.

What was amazing about the course was the amount of fan support along the way. The half-marathon route was jam packed with people and musicians, bands and other performers added to the overall experience of the race. The water stops were sponsored by different groups and runners had to vote on which water stop they thought was the best after the race was over.

Cincinnati is a rather hilly city and the course for the half-marathon definitely did not disappoint when it came to hills. There seemed to be a lot of climbing up until the point of around Mile 10 when all of the climbing elevation seemed to dump into a nice downhill stretch that was fast and furious. Water was available through the entire race, as was Gatorade, but my favorite station was just past the Mile 11 marker where volunteers were handing out Swedish fish! Mile 12 brought runners back into the downtown area and the band there was blasting Fleetwood Mac which got the mojo flowing again and lit a fire for the last mile or so. The final mile headed back toward the waterfront and down toward Great American Ballpark where again fans lined the route and cheered you into the finish line.

I finished The Flying Pig Half-Marathon with a time of 1:54:58, good for 8:48/miles. Thanks to the fine people of Covington, Kentucky and Cincinnati, Ohio for being gracious hosts and for putting on one heck of a run!

Will Run for Beer

On April 27, 2014 By The Running GriffinLeave a comment

Let’s face it: some things are just meant to go with one another. Peanut butter and jelly, corned beef and cabbage, Chinese food followed by ice cream and so on. Add to the list beer and running. After a run, there is often times nothing more refreshing than a cool beer to help you get some calories back into the system and cool down after hitting the pavement. This weekend it was a back-to-back weekend of racing with a 5k on both Saturday and Sunday and low and behold each race had a nice beer theme to it.

Yesterday I traveled to Canton, Massachusetts for the Blue Hills Brewery 2nd Annual South Shore Trail Run. Runners checked in at the brewery and then boarded a trolley to the starting line which was just down the road a bit within the State Park and around Ponkapoag Pond. The race time conditions were quite gross with temperatures in the low 40’s and a rather heavy dousing of rain pouring down on runners. The race was an informal sort of fun run with no real timing taking place and the course not marked or marshaled, causing a couple of other runners along with myself to run a wee bit further than the 5k we signed up for. The course was rather sloppy from the rain but after having done so many pavement miles training for Boston it was nice to mix things up a little bit. Post-race, runners boarded the shuttle bus back to the brewery where everyone was able to enjoy two free beers and some light snacks. One of the best surprises of the race was when the race director gave every single runner a case of Blue Hills Brewery’s IPA. Not a bad deal!

This morning, we headed for Cambridge, Massachusetts for the Spring Classic 5k. This race started just in front of the Asgard Pub and just shy of 3000 of our closest friends hit the streets of Cambridge for a nice 5k run. Having done a race that started at the Asgard before, I liked this course much better since it wasn’t just an out-and-back and instead you hit some residential neighborhoods of Cambridge along the way. I felt quite good at the race, particularly after doing a trail run yesterday and after completing the Boston Marathon less than a week ago. Overall, my time was 24:16 which is good for 7:48/miles.

Post-race, runners were treated to fresh beer being poured by Jack’s Abby as well as cases of cans of 21st Amendment Brewery‘s IPA and Watermelon Wheat. Back in my younger days I would have made a pretty nice dent here but instead after enjoying one IPA, thanks to the generosity of my brother who came to watch us run the race, we treated ourselves to Flour Bakery before heading back home.

The Boston Marathon 2014

On April 22, 2014 By The Running GriffinLeave a comment

Yesterday the big day was finally here. It was time for the 2014 Boston Marathon! After months of preparation, significant effort to fundraise and more cold winter runs than I would have hoped for we loaded the buses at Boston Common to make our way out to the starting line in Hopkinton.

In 2013, Beth Ann was unable to finish the Marathon due to the terrorist attacks at the finish line. You can read more about our 2013 race experience by clicking here. Given what unfolded, this year I pledged to run with Beth Ann for the entire race and promised to her that we would cross the finish line together. What might have started out as just a “nice husband sort of offer” turned out to be one of the best decisions I could have ever made surrounding running a race.

As we lined up at the starting line, the emotion of hitting the Boston Marathon course was pretty overwhelming. I looked at Beth Ann and told her “We’re going to do this” and post fist-bump we were off. The first several miles of the race went really well; we hit a nice stride and the support along the course was nothing short of amazing. The course was jam-packed with supporters and whether they were a casual observer sitting in a lawn chair and clapping or a raucous college student imbibing the same number of beers as we would be running miles, the supporters were screaming from the start to the finish line and helped motivate runners along the way.

Thanks to the Thirsty Irish Runners for their support at the Mile 4 water stop. Perfect timing as we arrived at the water stop as Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’ was blaring on their speakers!

Around Mile 10 or so Beth Ann started to experience some rather bad leg cramping and knee pain which really began to impact the run. As we continued along, there became a point where Beth Ann looked at me and told me to go run without her but I committed to cross the finish line with her. It wasn’t an option to leave her; we were going to do this together. As we continued along the course, we mixed running and walking to help ease some of the pain. After a couple of emotional breaks, I told Beth Ann we would get to the finish together and I was proud of her. We both reminded ourselves of why we were running (raising money for a cause so near and dear to us) and we knew the finish line would get here soon enough.

The Wellesley College girls were amazing as always and their signs were better than 2012 when I ran Boston before. The Boston College students cheered for us with the same fervor as if we were running neck and neck for 1st and 2nd place. The crowds simply did not let up and certainly did not disappoint.

Between Miles 23 and 24 were my brother, my parents and family friends. Thankfully, Owen had the requisite gummy bears to help fuel the last stretch and the cheers of my parents was an added boost. It was awesome to have them there. They spent a long day in the city waiting to see us get to where they were but having them there even for the brief few seconds we stopped to say hello meant the absolute world to both Beth Ann and I.

As we made our way to the Mile 25 mark the famous Citgo sign became visible and knowing the route, we knew we were close to the finish line. Making our way into the Mass. Ave tunnel where so many runners were stopped last year was quite an emotional fete and as we made our final right hand turn onto Hereford Street, I looked at Beth Ann and she said “Let’s do this.” We ran on Hereford and then made the final left hand turn onto Boylston. I’ll never forget the look in her eyes when she challenged me to sprint into the finish line and was so incredibly proud to be joining her crossing the Boston Marathon finish line. Racing down Boylston was quite emotional as we ran past where I was standing last year, the location of the two blasts and the sites that even for non-marathoners became emblazoned in the minds of so many. We did it! We finished the Boston Marathon! The time was 6:02:18 or 13:50/miles. Beth Ann beat herself up a couple times on the course and told me “It’s just not my day.” To that, I say hogwash. We finished the Boston Marathon, an accomplishment most people can only dream of. It was her day. It was our day.

Having the volunteer place the medal over each of our necks was also quite an emotional point of the day and one that I will never forget. We earned the medal this year and Beth Ann received the honor of having the medal placed around her neck this year that was so senselessly taken away from her last year.

So now, with the race behind us, it is time for rest, ice, refueling and thanking all of those who supported us. We have raised over $7200 for Tufts Medical Center and The Floating Hospital for Children. You can read more about our efforts here.

34th Annual Boston Tune-Up 15K

On April 6, 2014 By The Running Griffin2 Comments

Yesterday morning it was off to the small hamlet known as Upton, Massachusetts for the 34th Annual Boston Tune-Up 15k. This race falls about 2 weeks shy of the Boston Marathon and the challenging 9.3 mile course is a good training run to work out the legs during the taper phase of training. Several of the runners lined up at the starting line with me are in fact joining together at the Boston Marathon and the pre-race chats brought runners together.

The race started and finished at Nipmuc Regional High School and the annual race is sponsored by the Tri-Valley Frontrunners.

The course is a nice challenge and some of the hills mixed into the course feel like some of the terrain along the Boston Marathon course. There is a really nice climb leading into the five mile marker that requires most runners to drop a gear or two in an effort to get up the hill. Water stops were available around miles 5 and 7 however the one that was supposed to be at the mile 3 marker was not there making the water at 5 taste all that much better.

The road of the course is pretty residential and quintessentially New England as you race past homes, farms, baby sheep and wooded areas hiding rushing streams behind them.

I felt pretty good while out on the course and wanted to push myself a bit for the 9.3 miles but not do anything stupid which could result in being injured for Marathon Monday. I completed the race with a nice pace of 8:28/miles good for an overall time of 1:18:53. It’s always a nice treat to have some great running fans cheering you into the finish line, as well!

It’s a Great Weekend for the Irish

On March 23, 2014 By The Running Griffin1 Comment

If you are an Irish-American and have never run the Holyoke St. Patrick’s Road Race then you, my friend, are not truly Irish.

Historically, the city known as the Paper City hosted so many Irish immigrants that the city was called Ireland Parish. An old mill town by nature, Holyoke is a rough and tumble city that prides itself on its Irish roots each year the weekend after St. Patrick’s Day with a Saturday 10k followed by one of the nation’s largest St. Patrick’s Day parades on Sunday morning. Mix in pubs filled with people enjoying Irish music, corned beef and cabbage and fresh Guinness and you have yourself one heck of a weekend.

The 10k road race is a hilly challenge with the first 3.5 miles featuring runners climbing their way toward Holyoke Community College. Once there, just past the four mile marker the course takes a dramatic down hill swing where you can really let the legs go. Another small incline is just past Holyoke High School around the 5.2 mile marker and the last mile is another nice downhill to allow you to kick it into the finish line.

This race prides itself on the merriment along the course with fans packing both the starting and finishing line and crowds strategically placed along the course. Parties at houses lining the course play Irish music, a marching band was at the 3.1 mile marker, a bagpiper plays away just shy of 4 miles and spectators genuinely are excited to see the runners taking to the streets of Holyoke.

This year’s race featured Dick and Rick Hoyt at the starting line as they are the JFK Award Winners and will be marching in the parade on Sunday morning.

This year, the first 3 miles or so I was cramping pretty good and had a tough time pushing through it. I felt a little better once through the hills but this was one of the first races I have done in a while as marathon training long runs have consumed a lot of my time. I finished the Holyoke St. Patrick’s Road Race with a time of 54:57 which equates to 8:51/miles. Last year I ran about 4 minutes faster but with marathon training in full swing and stomach cramps not a terrible result.

The winners of this year ‘s Holyoke St. Patrick’s Road Race both hail from Ethiopia with Menitsu Nebsi winning the race overall with a time of 29:42 and female winner Askala Merachi beating the women’s course record with a time of 33:14. Continue reading “It’s a Great Weekend for the Irish” →