Yesterday it was off to Hopkinton High School to take part in the Sharon Timlin 5k for ALS Research. The race brought back memories of April as the starting area was the exact same spot where the Boston Marathon lined up before walking to the starting line. The race raises money for ALS research and is named for former Boston Red Sox pitcher Mike Timlin’s mother. Mike Timlin was in the pace truck for the race along with former Red Sox teammate Tim Wakefield.

The Sharon Timlin 5k is a race that in years to come is going to be one to keep an eye open for. Timlin, Wakefield and another former Red Sox Lou Merloni all sat at a table after the race and signed baseballs, hats and in numbers for race participants. The amount of amenities at the race was a huge benefit and the kids events were perfect for our 4-year-old daughter at the race with a babysitter while we ran. Hands down, this race was one of the finest races put on that we have done in quite some time with a complete lineup of things to do and food to enjoy.

The race itself was a really nice course with a fast, downhill first mile that headed away from the school toward a residential neighborhood. After the first mile there was a bit of a climb through the side streets before leading back out to the main road and again uphill to the Mile 2 marker. After passing there, it was back into the school grounds for a rather flat final mile wrapping through the middle school and the high school grounds.

I felt really strong out there running and finished with a good time of 23:26 or 7:36/miles. Having run the day before, I was still able to shave some time off of my pace which was a great feeling when crossing the finish line.

Saturday morning it was off to Plymouth for the Run for Conservation. Sponsored by The Wildlands Trust, the 5k course raises funds for the preservation of open space across Southeastern Massachusetts. The race takes place within the scenic grounds of the Myles Standish State Forest.

The 5k has both a sneaker category for racers and a barefoot runner category for those looking to mix things up a bit. The race is pretty equally divided between pavement and trail terrain and is a pretty challenging 5k with some good rolling hills mixed into the route. The trail running was pretty loose sand which can slow your pace down a bit but strategically placing runners in the woods for a race that raises funds to help protect the limited amounts of open space we have was a nice touch.

There was a great pre- and post-race set up with some local vendors and like minded organizations similar to The Wildlands Trust and there were a good amount of raffle prizes, post race fruit and water available for runners. The race had two water stops along the course which was perfect for a 5k.

Finished the Run for Conservation 5k with a time of 23:49 good for 7:39/miles.

Join me at the 2012 Run for Conservation in Plymouth! Looks to be a great race! Here is some information about the race.

Wildlands Trust is a non-profit organization dedicated to permanently protecting land in Southeastern Massachusetts. We are proud to announce our 2nd Annual Run for Conservation at 9:30 am on June 9, 2012! This 5k, ½ trail ½ road race is an opportunity for not only runners, but walkers, families, local non-profits, businesses, and everyone in between to come together and support land conservation in Southeastern Massachusetts. Last year over 170 people turned out for the special day – Thank you!

The event will be held in DCR’s Myles Standish State Forest, the state’s largest forest reserve. The first 100 registrants will receive a FREE race t-shirt! **We’ll also be featuring a special barefoot division (with barefoot and Vibram Fivefingers allowed)**

New This Year:

– Pre & post-race Eco-Fair!
– Team Registration: Gather at least 5 of your friends, family members, or colleagues to form a team! There will be a prize for the top finishing team!

Register Today

You can register online by clicking here: https://racewire.com/register.php?id=1779

All proceeds support our efforts to save land in Southeastern Massachusetts. This race is member of the Bayside Runner Racing Series.

Interested in becoming a sponsor or making an in-kind donation? Email: admin@wildlandstrust.org or call 781.934.9018.

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!