Register Today for the West Island 5K

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Registration is now open for the West Island 5K Race and this is one race you definitely do not want to miss out on! Join The Running Griffin on April 28th in Fairhaven, Massachusetts for this race that takes runners through the scenic West Island part of Fairhaven.

The race is billed as being a mostly flat race but starts off with a good downhill sprint and ends with an uphill finish. Be sure to keep plenty of energy in your legs as you head into the final stretch so you can kick it into the finish line and get up that hill.

Proceeds from this road race go to the Fairhaven High School Cross Country program and the Crispin Demers Memorial Scholarship Fund. Crispin Demers was a Fairhaven High School alum and former cross country coach who recently lost a long battle with cancer and the scholarship was formed in his memory.

The New Bedford Guide wrote an article on the West Island 5K Race which you can read by clicking here.

To register for the West Island 5K race, please click here. Additionally, please like the race’s Facebook page by clicking here.

When life gives you snow…

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Though I was scheduled to run a ten mile road race today, snow and whipping winds caused the race to be wisely postponed. With such weather bearing down for the second weekend in a row, it would have been really easy to brew another coffee and hunker down with flannel pants and make a big old breakfast to chow down on however I made a wiser decision and headed downstairs and hit the treadmill for a ten mile run.

I usually despise running on the treadmill however there was no option but to suck it up and use it this morning as the conditions were too dangerous to run in. Running on a treadmill is never as good as hitting the pavement however at the end of the ten miles there was a certain sense of satisfaction with completing the run that really felt good. When I Tweeted out about the ten mile run being complete, the Buffalo Marathon account replied to the Tweet applauding the efforts and noting that “Ten miles on the treadmill is better than no miles at all.” Some really good advice for when you dread hopping on the treadmill to get your miles in!

Cold Winter Run in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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Every year my brother and I pick a different location to visit to catch a college basketball  game, enjoy a couple of craft beers and eat food that likely is less than what most running coaches would call ideal. But tradition is tradition and this past weekend it was off to the cold city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin for our annual trip.

The basketball trip included the Big East matchup between Marquette University and Providence College and we quickly came to realize that the rich beer brewing history that Milwaukee is proud to boast still hods true to this very day. With visits to Lakefront Brewery and Milwaukee Brewing Company coupled with a stop recommended by Guy Fieri on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives a good run was well in order.

Saturday morning we bundled up and took a 3-4 mile run through the streets of Milwaukee up toward the Marquette campus to check out what the campus had to offer. The streets of Milwaukee were cold and breezy but the run was much needed and running in a new city is a great way to take in the sites. We ran up toward Marquette which has the feel of being a sort of older campus smack dab in a quasi-urban setting. We ran past the campus church, athletic facility, classroom buildings and frat houses and took in the campus in a way far greater than just passing by in a rental car.

Whenever I am in a new place, running is a great way to see the city and I encourage you that if you are traveling to always pack your running gear and get some miles in. After all, since we usually eat worse when we are away from home, packing the running gear, if nothing less, allows you to really enjoy that diner, drive-in or dive!

2nd Place Overall Finish at CRR Winter Fun Run in Raynham

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This morning it was basically around the corner to the Colonial Road Runners Winter Fun Run in Raynham, Massachusetts. The 4 mile run is held Sunday mornings at 9AM and is on a moderately challenging rolling course. The temperature at race time today was an unseasonable 50 degrees, however the wind was absolutely whipping and was quite tough to contend with.

As I made my way toward the first mile I noticed, “Wow, there is no one in front of me.” Finally a runner came up alongside me and took the lead and served as my pace car until he ran out of sight. But even as I kept on running along I noticed, “Wow, there is no one right behind me” and kept chugging along. It is a different feeling serving as your own pace and at a few times the mind games of slowing, stopping or sprinting were almost unavoidable.

As I made my way up a large hill leading back down to the final mile the wind was blowing directly in my face and getting up the hill seemed almost impossible. My body felt as though I weighed 900 pounds and my legs felt as though no matter how much I pumped they would not move. The wind was some of the strongest I can recall running in and it knocked the wind out of your breath and was a force to be reckoned with.

I finished the CRR Winter Fun Run with a time of 30:52 good for 7:43/miles. I ended up finishing in 2nd place overall in the race and in my book, 2nd place is 2nd place!