Saturday brought unseasonably warm temperatures to New England and the beautiful 62 degree temperatures were the perfect calling to run a 10K around town. However, all good things must come to an end so Sunday kicked us runners on the South Shore of Massachusetts right where it counts as Sunday graced the area with ice, snow and frigid temperatures. What. The. Heck.

Despite the snow and icy temperatures a road race was on the books so it was off to Weymouth for the Barrel House Z Pre-Game 5K. Held at the Barrel House Z brewery, the 5K is held annually on Super Bowl Sunday and takes runners on a 5K jaunt through a surrounding neighborhood near the brewery.

The course has a nice hill mixed in right around the one mile marker and then in the final mile there is another sharp incline making your way back into the finish line. The course was in rather decent shape despite the bad weather and only a few spots were icy while potholes added a nice New England feel to the race as you dodged the snow covered craters.

Post-race runners were able to enjoy one free beer from Barrel House Z as part of the registration fee and could purchase extra offerings and/or enjoy some food from a local food truck and a separate empanada vendor, as well. Not a bad way to kickoff Super Sunday for those looking for a true pre-game experience!

Even with a bit of slush, ice and snow I ran a pretty solid race and finished the race with a time of 25:03, good for 8:04/miles.

Sunday morning it was just a quick trip down the road to Raynham, Massachusetts for the Colonial Road Runners Winter Series 4 Miler run. During the summer months the Colonials put on a Monday Night 3.25 mile race series each week that during the winter months adds on a touch more distance and takes runners on a 4 mile jaunt around Raynham. The winter series is similar to the summer runs in that each week the runs are timed and cost a very reasonable $2. That’s right! Two bucks for a timed race. Not bad at all!

The first mile and a half of the race is the same for the winter version of the run but then runners stay keep straight and tackle a few different streets on the winter course. The first two miles are relatively flat while in the third mile you start climbing pretty well. From about 2.5 miles in to just past 3 miles the climbing becomes much more noticeable but I felt strong yesterday on both the flat and uphill sections of the run.

The final mile of the run features a rather nicely downhill stretch where leaning forward like an alpine ski jumper allows gravity to help pull you down the hill before leveling off in the final half-mile into the finish line.

I was quite pleased with my running yesterday and finished the race with a time of 31:45, good for 7:56/miles. For a hilly course and bundled up rather nicely due to the winter chill, happy to hit that pace on the four miler.

Later in the day while my youngest was at futsal practice, I also tacked on another 3.1 miles to the running total for the day bringing Sunday’s miles to 7.1 miles.

This morning it was off to the Cape Cod town of Bourne, Massachusetts for the Weary Traveler Road Race. This iconic January run is a great race usually followed by merriment inside the Weary Traveler lodge complete with chowder, clam fritters and cold pints but the most recent COVID surge certainly slimmed down the race field and post-run I made may way back to the car to head on back home upon finishing.

Kudos to the organizers of the race, the Cape Cod Road Runners, for taking runner safety seriously and moving registration outdoors complete with masks being worn while at the table. At the starting line many runners ran masks or gaiters while heading out on the course and all in all the race went off without a hitch despite the COVID world around us.

The race time temperatures were certainly warmer than they have been in some years past with temperatures in the mid 40’s upon toeing the starting line. There was an interesting wind to contend with throughout the run which at times felt to be at your back, at other times was right in your face and other times seemed to be just swirling around you.

The Weary Traveler Road Race takes runners past the Monument Beach section of Bourne and is a tricky, hilly 4.9 mile course. The first mile doesn’t seem as downhill as it is but later in the race the uphills can certainly be felt and noticed much more.

Felt good running on the course and tackled the hills pretty well. I finished the 2022 Weary Traveler Road Race with a finishing time of 41:26, good for 8:23/miles. Having run this race a number of times over the years, not my best finish at the Weary Traveler Road Race but not too bad of a result!

It was a perfect afternoon for running on New Year’s Eve in Norwood, Massachusetts and a 2 PM race start was a great way to close out 2021 with the running of the First Night 5K. The race had a very friendly $10 registration fee (more races should take note of this) and the race featured a marked course, professional timing, a long-sleeve tee-shirt and even a post-race pint from Castle Island Brewing!

The race kicked off a New Year’s Eve festival right in downtown Norwood and unseasonably warmer temperatures made for a really nice run. The course of the race was a more-than-challenging 5K with some good climbing mixed into the course for a decent chunk of the race. Though the first mile must have been more downhill than it seemed, the second two miles definitely had a more uphill presence that could be felt. Volunteers staffed a water stop about halfway through the race and Norwood Police did a great job patrolling the course along the way.

My first mile was a strong start to the run clocking in around the 7:25/mile pace. The next two miles I could definitely feel myself dialing it back a bit on the hills and it wasn’t my strongest run but all together not a bad final time of 25:50, good for 8:20/miles on the hilly course.

Definitely would head back to do this race again in future years! Kudos to Winged Foot Running for putting on an excellent run!

The MA Coalition for the Homeless is hosting the 2022 Pajama Run on March 12, 2022. This will be a virtual event for the second year, though they have hopes to hold an in-person event when the timing is right. The Pajama Run is a fun, family-friendly event that generates much needed funds for their program, A Bed for Every Child, which provides beds to children all across MA living in poverty and who otherwise would be sleeping on floors or sofas.

As a small non-profit, and only their second year holding this event, the MA Coalition for the Homeless is hoping to have a great contingent of runners and walkers join for the virtual run and is offering all friends of The Running Griffin a $5 discount off registration valid starting 1/1 and ending on 2/1. When registering, please use the code bedsforkids22 to save $5 off your registration fee.

To register for the race, please click here: https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/weblink.aspx?name=E329855&id=61