On Memorial Day Monday we headed to Boylston, Massachusetts for Katie’s Memorial Scholarship 5k Road Race. The race is organized in memory of one of my co-worker’s daughters who passed away a few years ago due to complications from an injury she sustained in an accident. The money raised from this road race goes directly to a scholarship fund and last year the scholarship awarded an $8,000 scholarship to a high school senior heading off to college.

The race started and finished at the town common in the center of Boylston. The town common has a very traditional, New England feel to it and there was a Memorial Day celebration taking place with food, music, a handful of vendors and a plant sale all taking place that morning. The race started right on time and the first mile was a really fast and substantial downhill grade that allowed you to start the race off on the right foot.

There was a water stop half-way through the race and the second mile had some rather flat terrain to it which inevitably meant the last mile would have some climbing involved to get back to the finish line. The grade of the last mile was not as significantly uphill as the downhill was in mile 1, but the rolling hills certainly had a steep upgrade heading back to the finish. It was a good morning to really push it up those hills and I felt strong as I crested each one of the hills.

I came across the finish line with a time of 23:32 good for 7:36/miles. Given the hills involved, I am quite pleased with this result but knowing that the race is going to help out students heading off to college in memory of someone who was taken far too young was the real victory for the day.

As previously noted on The Running Griffin, the record-breaking heat of the Boston Marathon certainly took a toll. One of the worst parts was the post-race blistering that I had on the bottom of my feet given the scorching pavement and the water that ended up soaking through along the course. It probably would have made sense to take some time off to allow my feet to heal, but you can rest when you die.

Last weekend, I headed down to Cape Cod to take part in the Irish Village 5 Miler. The race starts at the Cape Cod Irish Village in Yarmouth and is a great 5 mile course. The course moved when the Irish Village moved just a bit down the road from its previous location and the new Cape Cod Irish Village is quite nice with a welcoming entrance, great gift shop and remarkable pub. My feet were absolutely killing me at this race and there were times that I simply had to stop running to walk given the amount of pain shooting up my feet. Needless to say, this was not a great race for me and I finished with a time of 45:11 good for 9:02/miles. The only thing worse than my time and the pain was having to sit in traffic trying to get over the Sagamore Bridge for 2.5 hours.

This weekend it was a back-to-back weekend with two 10k races on the schedule.

Yesterday, I traveled to Plympton for the Strawberry Shortcake 10k. The course itself is a rather scenic 6.2 miles along some country roads, through residential neighborhoods and past some cranberry bogs. Pre-race I still had the pain in my feet, but figured I’d go out and push what I could along the course. I felt pretty good along the course and even on the double hills, though the pain was still present, I maintained a pretty good pace heading up them. My time improved pretty substantially from last week as I shaved nearly a minute per mile off my pace and finished with a time of 50:08 or 8:05/miles. I felt much better about the way I ran the race and ended with still some pain in my feet, but not as much as I previously had. Nothing like a refreshing strawberry shortcake when you cross the finish line, too!

This morning, it was off to Norwell to take part in Evan’s Run, which raises money for autism research in memory of Evan Henry, an 11 year old with autism who accidentally drowned in 2000. The course for this 10k was one of the tougher ones in the area, with rolling hills basically throughout the entire course and a couple of sizable uphills mixed in along the way. The course had plenty of water, which was great given the fact it was pretty hot at race time. The one thing missing was mile markers which would have been a nice addition especially given the amount of hills and the sort of need to know where you were along the course.

Today the pain in my feet felt much better and I felt strong cruising up and down the rolling hills. Still not at 100% yet, but it was a good day in terms of the pain in my feet. I finished the race with a time of 50:38 good for 8:09/miles. A couple seconds off pace from yesterday but all things coupled with the fact this was a back-to-back weekend, I will take it!

Let’s hope the feet continue to improve and I am back to racing form soon!

The course of American history was forever shaped thanks to the Massachusetts Minutemen who fended off the British at battles like Lexington and Concord during the American Revolution. Today, a great group of runners came together in Lexington to help raise money to fend off another enemy: ALS. The Cure is Coming is dedicated to raising ALS awareness and raising funds for ALS Therapy Development Institute, the largest non-profit biotech solely focused on finding an effective therapy for ALS, Lou Gehrig’s disease.

The Cure is Coming 5K for ALS took place in historic Lexington and was a well organized 5K on a course that started right at the historic Lexington common. Right from the registration on through the post-race reception the race organizers did an exceptional job making the race a truly impressive event. There was face painting, temporary tattoos, coloring and corn hole available for the children and plenty of tables and chairs to grab a seat at. Plenty of food and drink was available post-race for runners and walkers alike. Fitting for the location, the race commenced upon the firing of a rifle by a man dressed in the historic Minutemen garb and the runners headed out on the course.

The course traversed predominantly through residential neighborhoods within Lexington and crossed the Minuteman Bikeway at a couple of points. There were volunteers at each and every turn along the way and there were two water stops along the 5K route. The course was a moderately challenging 5K and there were a couple of pretty sharp uphill climbs along the course. However, as we all know, what goes up must come down and there was a brilliant downhill finish to the race which really allowed you to let the legs go into the finish.

I finished The Cure is Coming 5K for ALS with a time of 23:58 good for a pace of 7:44/mile.

The emails from the days leading up to the 2012 Boston Marathon basically told you, “Due to the severe heat coming to Boston, should you choose to run the marathon there is a good chance you might die.” Of course the race directors needed to get the point across that the heat was going to be a force to be reckoned with, but when I read the email to my poor mother at dinner on Saturday night before the marathon she basically stopped eating her meal.

We headed out to Boston nice and early the morning of the marathon and found a parking garage strategically located near the finish line. We walked over to Boston Common to hop on the school buses that would be our ride out to Hopkinton. I must say, even though I was riding on a school bus I felt like royalty heading out to the starting line as police officers held the traffic and allowed the buses to run red lights and head toward the Mass Pike.

When we arrived in Hopkinton, an impressive organization was laid out before us. Some last minute waters, sunscreen, bagels, nipple guards and more were all available for free and we found some prime real estate in the shade to hang out in and avoid whatever sun and heat we could.

When it was finally out turn to head toward the starting line, there was a certain sense of “Oh my God, we are doing this” that sunk in. Beth Ann and I marched proudly toward the starting line and made a few comments about how hot it was just standing around and how we planned to run the race with the end goal of finishing the marathon at the finish line rather than Newton-Wellesley Hospital.

We met a great lady named B.B. who came up from New Orleans to run her first Boston Marathon. In between her cheering of “Who Dat” in homage to her New Orleans Saints she made a comment that basically summed up the morning: “This is like Christmas.” Her energy was infectious and helped but whatever nerves we still had at ease.

We crossed the starting line and headed out on the course. The crowd support was absolutely amazing along the course and the first few miles went really well. We maintained a good pace (Beth Ann and I agreed to run the race together) and felt pretty good. It sure was hot, but we were doing it.

At Mile 4, we ran into our running club The Thirsty Irish Runners who do an amazing job manning the water stop at Mile 4. Call me biased, but their water and Gatorade was hands down the best tasting along the course!

The miles kept on coming and we knew that my parents were planning on being in Natick around the Natick Town Common. We knew despite the heat that we agreed to look for them on the right hand side of the road and they had strict instructions to have water and an energy gel available. However, what we weren’t expecting was that they had hands down one of the best signs on the route. For those who don’t know, Beth Ann pledged to run the Boston Marathon in honor of our daughter Cailin who was born at 2 lbs. 13 oz. in August and less than a year after Beth Ann was hospitalized for over 2 months and less than a year after Cailin was born premature at the aforementioned weight, Beth Ann was doing just that: Running for Cailin!

We got to the half-marathon mark and both sort of looked at one another and agreed that was not so bad and pledged to keep on running. After all, our options were either keep running or stand on the side of the road in the heat and hope for the best. Might as well keep running since our car was in Boston, after all.

As we continued along the course, things just kept getting better and better. We ran past the girls of Wellesley College, we made it to Heartbreak Hill, we got to the 20 mile mark. At times, running was scary as people were significantly being impacted by the heat. Runners fell, at times there was not enough water on the face of the planet it seemed, but we continued to head toward Boston. The weather forced us to run/walk portions but we still continued along. Folks that had ice, Twizzlers, pretzels and oranges along the course, I have already written to the Pope and asked for consideration for sainthood for each of you.

Mile 24: We knew my brother and his friends were planning to be there and thanks to the miracle of the World Wide Web he was able to track us to plan for when we would be arriving. Even though the weather was torture and given the fact that there was what seemed to be an endless amount of fun and libations to be had at every bar lining the route, like clockwork we saw them. Pretty cool that he and his group of friends were there with signs, Gatorade and gummy bears; seeing them cheering us certainly helped us carry on for the final 2.2 miles.

Now, having grown up and lived in Massachusetts my entire life the Citgo sign has always had this famed history given its close proximity to Fenway Park. However, when we saw the Citgo sign running toward the finish I almost fell in love with a Venezuelan oil company and felt emotional looking at a large neon billboard. We are so close.

The Boston Marathon has a sort of saying, “Right on Hereford, Left on Boylston” which reflects the final two turns that you take coming into the finish line. When we turned right onto Hereford, I got goosebumps. When we turned left onto Boylston, I looked at Beth Ann as she was running next to me and was overtaken by perhaps some of the most intense pride one could ever imagine. Less than a year ago, Beth Ann beat severe preeclampsia and she is now sprinting toward the finish line to finish the Boston Marathon.

When the race directors of the Boston Marathon sent out their heat advisory emails, they focused on the importance this year (given the 88 degree temperatures) to run the race not as a run but an experience. Perhaps they didn’t know it when they sent it, but “experience” is just about the best word that comes to mind when thinking about my running of the 2012 Boston Marathon. Beth Ann and I crossed the finish line together as planned with a time of 6:07 and the six hours of running that we completed will now allow us a lifetime of memories and stories to share about the 2012 Boston Marathon.

I am now a proud Boston Marathon Finisher. Not many people can say that. And no one ran with a better running partner that day!

Today it was off to the Warwick, Rhode Island area for the Scott Carlson Memorial 5k. This race is held in memory of Scott Carlson and all of the money from the race goes to the ALS Society’s Rhode Island Chapter to provide support to individuals and families struggling with the ALS disease and to work to find a cure for the disease that affects so many people.

The 5k was held on the absolutely beautiful grounds of the Goddard Memorial State Park. The park hugs the water and is a sensational place to hold a race. For the most part the course was pretty flat and kudos to the race staff for having volunteers out in force. Each mile had a time split, there was a water stop 1/2 way through and the post-race amenities were great. The bouncy house was a great addition to the race and since the whole family headed down for this race, our four year old greatly appreciated this touch!

Having done the Boston Marathon in the record heat on Monday, all week I struggled with some blisters and foot pain however was determined to go out and run this race. I was going to be happy just crossing the finish line but while I was out there felt really good! I finished up the race with a time of 23:46 good for a 7:39/mile pace!

This is a race that would certainly be one to make sure you put on the calendar for next year! See you then!