Naragansett Summer Running Festival 5K

On July 21, 2013 By The Running Griffin1 Comment

The heat of summer was supposed to break due to some thunderstorms that came through last night. Well, that didn’t happen. This morning (thank God for a 9AM start) it was over to Stonehill College in Easton, Massachusetts for the Narragansett Summer Running Festival. The festival featured a half-marathon, a 10K and a 5K race and having not done a 5K in a while I decided when registering to select the 5K.

Stonehill College is a scenic, New England Catholic College with beautiful grounds and the 5K race was supposed to be self-contained within the campus. Unfortunately, the race took two wrong turns and the course for a while exited the campus. There was a bit of confusion for those of us closer to the front of the pack but I basically just put my head back down and kept on running. The course felt long while running, but I figured it might have just been the heat. Upon finishing, the consensus was the race was about 3.4 miles long rather than 3.1 miles. Kudos to the race director for coming over after the race and talking with runners individually and then making an announcement apologizing. When I spoke with the race director I assured him the race was still awesome.

The course was a mixture of both pavement and compact dirt trails throughout the campus. A good uphill both started and finished the race and kept you honest chugging up the hill with the heat beating down just shy of the 3 mile mark.

The festival was absolutely brilliant for a first year run complete with plenty of vendors, food, live music and Narragansett Beer. The Narragansett Summer hit the spot after the race and seemed to be the fan favorite post-race.

I finished the Naragansett Summer Running Festival 5K with a time of 25:16 which officially put me at 8:07/miles. Adjusted for the additional distance, my per mile time was 7:25.

The Narragansett Summer Running Festival was a great run and certainly will be one that I will be back to next year!

5th Overall at the Huss Dog Jog 5 Miler Today!

On July 13, 2013 By The Running Griffin4 Comments

This morning it was down to Pembroke, Massachusetts for the Huss Dog Jog 5 Miler. This race is held in memory of Steven Hussey and raises money for the American Stroke Association and a scholarship fund.

The race started and finished at the Pembroke High School and part of the course was through a street on the grounds of the school aptly named Learning Lane. After a quick loop through the school’s grounds for the first mile of the race it was then off into the streets of Pembroke for the next 3 miles. Feeling pretty good through 2 miles, I was in third place and running pretty strong. Race time temperatures were warm but not too hot however the humidity certainly crept in along the course in a big way. Thankfully the race started at 8:45 AM or this could have been really tough.

The running through the residential streets of Pembroke was rather tough as there were a good amount of rolling uphills along the way. That said, one would have expected to see some downhill rollers but they seemed few and far between. A really nice climb around 3.5 required you to kick the legs into high gear and with head down looking at the pavement I made my way up the hill pretty strong. The mile 4 marker was back on the school grounds where runners were met by those taking part in the 2 mile walk. The last mile was a loop back down the same loop the race started off on before doubling back toward the finish line.

Kudos to the race organizers who put on a nice race with raffle prizes, post-race snacks and a DJ keeping the mood light. The Pembroke Police Department also did a really nice job supporting along the course with traffic detail ensuring the runners were able to run without much disruption while out on the road.

I finished the Huss Dog Jog 5 Miler with an overall finish of 5th place and a time of 39:29 which was good for 7:54/miles. Always gotta love a Top 5 finish!

Saint Michael’s College Knight Striders Virtual 5K

On July 13, 2013 By MattLeave a comment

Depending on where you’ve moved on to since college, coming home for homecoming isn’t always easy. But thanks to the magic of the Internet, alumni of Saint Michael’s College in Vermont have a way to take part in a Homecoming Weekend event and raise money for their alma mater. This fall, St. Mike’s alumni, their friends and family, and anyone else who just wants to run in support of a great school can sign up for the Knight Striders Virtual 5K.

Knight Striders will take place September 20-22 to coincide with St. Mike’s homecoming weekend. Alumni who happen to be in Vermont at that time can get together for a run on a mountain trail or alongside beautiful Lake Champlain – there’s no shortage of scenery in the Green Mountain State. Those who can’t make the trip can still participate from absolutely anywhere and are encouraged to find other alumni in the area to run with. Just because this race doesn’t have a fixed location doesn’t mean it has to be a solitary event. Find a fellow Knight in your area and run together.

The registration link will be available soon. In the meantime, you can like the race’s Facebook page to stay up to date. Let’s show some Purple Knight pride!

Based in Lexington, Kentucky, Reno Race Promotion offers a range of promotional services to help race directors reach a larger audience for their events.

2013 MAD Scramble Road Race

On June 30, 2013July 6, 2013 By The Running GriffinLeave a comment

Thursday evening after work it was race time! Heading from the office onto the train and to the car it was then off to Milton, Massachusetts for the 2013 MAD Scramble Road Race. This race is annually held on a weeknight at 6:30 PM and brings runners through a rather challenging 5.1 mile course throughout the town of Milton, Massachusetts. Milton is just outside the city limits of Boston and the race brings runners across Milton’s streets as well as some trails and paths mixed in for good measure.

Evening running can always be trick y as you need to watch your consumption during the day (aka, don’t drink my usual 5 cups of coffee) and the weather, particularly in the summer, could be subject to change. Race time temperatures were just shy of 70 degrees but the humidity was certainly noticeable.

The MAD Scramble supports the Detective Michael A Devin Memorial Fund. Proceeds from the race fund scholarships, support juvenile athletic programs, and provide assistance to families in need.

The race starts out quite flat as for the first mile runners quickly make their way off the pavement and head into a park completing a loop along packed dirt along a pond reminiscent of some cross-country trails from back in my high school running days. After completing the loop through this park it is back out onto the pavement for a while. The course is a deceivingly hilly terrain with just enough gradual risers to make your legs really take notice quite quickly. One of the larger hills is just outside of the Milton Libary where runners start heading toward the three mile marker.

Just about the entire fourth mile is within another trail section of Milton and although the summer rains have been hitting us pretty hard lately the terrain for the most part was not too badly impacted. As runners make their way out of this trail system, the final three-tenths of a mile or so is back out onto the pavement racing through a couple quick residential turns and heading into the finish line. As I crossed the finish line, the moisture from the humidity and sweat was pouring off of me and the water at the finish tasted just a bit better than normal. I finished the 2013 MAD Scramble with a time of 41:11, good for 8:05/miles.

Post-race the organizers put on a great cookout complete with burgers, hot dogs, fruit, cookies and more. A local radio station was handing out ice cream and a couple of vendors sampled their products. I also learned I won a raffle prize from Charles River Running which was one of the vendors at the race!

LaceLocker Joins The Running Griffin

On June 25, 2013July 6, 2013 By The Running GriffinLeave a comment

The Running Griffin would like to welcome our newest sponsor LaceLocker!

LaceLocker is a sports apparel specialty device which securely stores tied shoe laces. LaceLocker keeps laces clean and they don’t stick out like other devices. Laces do not flop around and you won’t have to change or alter them. It is durable, washable, light weight and nearly indestructible.

Neely Spence Gracey, eight time NCAA Division II National Champion at Shippensburg University and Brooks-Hanson Elite Mid-Distance Runner, officially launched her professional website. Neely also endorses LaceLocker. “As soon as I started running with LaceLockers, I was committed. They are simply genius and a product with which I am proud to be involved.”

This weekend I took my LaceLocker out for a run. I have the silver with black writing LaceLocker and they look great on my running sneakers. The LaceLocker is light and does not feel clunky or cumbersome and did not interfere in any way with my running gait. The LaceLocker definitely kept my shoelaces in place during the run and when I was done with my run they were easy to remove from the sneaker and they held up just fine during the run. Any concerns I had before heading about how the LaceLocker were certainly resolved during the run and the LaceLocker will certainly be coming with me on future runs!

To purchase a LaceLocker online, you can click here to see the options available and to pick the one for you. You can also “Like” LaceLocker on Facebook by clicking here.