Back-to back race weekend this weekend and after tackling the Middleborough Fire Department 5K on Saturday it was back out onto the pavement to run the Be Inspired Together Spooky 5K in Stoughton, Massachusetts.

The race started from a great neighborhood park and took runners on residential roads of Stoughton and the “spooky” element of this run had to refer to the hills mixed into the course. After Saturday’s surprise climbs mixed into the 5K, more hills certainly added a good challenge to the legs and post-run putting the legs up to watch some football was clearly in order.

There was a challenging uphill climb in the first mile before things leveled off a bit on a loop through a few neighborhood roads. There was a water stop around the halfway point which did come in handy for sure. Heading back toward the finish line in the final mile there was another uphill climb before runners could cruise back down the first hill that was crested on the way out onto the course. It was a flat sprint back toward the park and the finish line and I finished up the race with a better pace than Saturday’s run and finished at 26:18, good for 8:27/miles.

Funds from this race benefited the non-profit organization Be Inspired Together. Be Inspired Together is a nonprofit, created in 2022 in the post-pandemic aftermath, to provide desperately needed mental health services to individuals and families at no cost, reducing the financial barrier that is often prohibitive in accessing services. Be sure to “Like” the organization on Facebook to learn more about their work.

On Saturday morning before the late morning/afternoon rush of soccer craziness took place it was off to Middleborough, Massachusetts for the Middleborough Fire Department 5K. This race took place through the streets of an over-55 community so traffic wasn’t much to contend with and the morning turned out to be a nice one for running after what has seemed to be weekend after weekend of rain for the past several months.

The race had a nice contingent of runners at the starting line and some walkers also lined up making it a nice group of participants heading out on the course. The first mile went by relatively easily and there was a water stop just shy of the halfway mark of the run. However, the second half of the race was a much different story with a whole lot of climbing mixed into the course. One local resident walking his dog noted a hill to be the “Heartbreak Hill” of the course but after cresting that one and leveling off for a bit there was more climbing to be done. The downhill stretches of the course didn’t seem to match the uphill climbs even closely so the race definitely had a challenge to it that was palpable.

After the climbing in the second half of the 5K, things leveled off quickly as you made your way into the finish line complete with a Middleborough fire truck hoisting a large American flag over runners as they made their way into the finishing chute.

With all that climbing, my legs felt junky toward the end of the run but still was able to pull off a decent pace of 8:29/miles for the 5K. If they do this race again next year, definitely recommend it for runners who like a little climbing in their races and supporting a local fire department with a 5K is not a bad cause, either!

Have you ever run in a sauna?

Yesterday it was off to Canton, Massachusetts for the Irish Cultural Centre 5K. The race was the September Grand Prix Race for the Thirsty Irish Runners (talk about a match made in heaven) and a great group of runners toed the starting line on the grounds of the Irish Cultural Centre. Before heading out onto the course, beautiful renditions of the Irish and American national anthems were sung and a moment of silence in memory of September 11th was held.

Yesterday was humid, brutally humid. The race kicked off at 11:30 AM and it was noticeable that the humidity was going to play a factor immediately when just walking from the parking lot to the grounds of the Irish Cultural Centre. Out on the course, the humidity was soupy and the storms that would roll through just after the race concluded could almost be felt with each step made during the run.

The course for this race is relatively flat as other than the short stretch on the scenic grounds of the Irish Cultural Centre you are running through an industrial park. There were a couple water stops around the halfway point of the run which certainly came in handy given the warm and humid conditions. Unfortunately, water was relatively non-existent at the finish line and for future years having some cases of water at the finish line would be a nice addition. Volunteers were working hard to fill one container of water but it simply wasn’t enough.

I felt pretty good out on the course and had a strong finishing time of 25:47, good for 8:20/miles. Some decent running lately and feeling good!