The Running Griffin is pleased to be partnering with the Marathon Park Prep Half-Marathon to offer all of our readers a discount code for this upcoming half-marathon.

Set in mid March, the Marathon Park Prep Half 13.1 mile race is the perfect prep race for the Boston Marathon. The MPP Half-Marathon winds its way along a 13.1 mile figure 8 course through the town of Ashland Massachusetts.

The half-marathon course is a mixture of flats and hills, at some points running parallel to the Sudbury River and at others skirting Ashland State Park. The route includes the stretch of the traditional course that Boston’s spring marathon follows through the town of Ashland, about 25 miles west of Boston. The 5K course shares some of these features. With its picturesque and challenging course, its veteran organizers, Squanto Productions of Natick Ma, a spring pre-marathon event competitive runners crave, easy access by public transportation with the Ashland stop on the Boston-Worcester MBTA line just steps away from Marathon Park as well as plenty of free parking nearby.

Each year a portion of the races proceeds go towards making improvements in Marathon Park and the development of a museum nearby dedicated to “The Ashland Era”.

To register for the Marathon Park Prep Half Marathon, please click here. All readers of The Running Griffin are eligible for a $10 discount and should use the code rg2016 when checking out.

There’s still time to register for the  MA FOP Lodge #28 Annual New Year’s Day Frozen Five Mile Run. Join The Running Griffin at the race and start off the New Year with a great five mile race to kick off a new season of running in stride.

This race helps to support the Fraternal Order of Police (a charity organization) and comes complete with an ALL YOU CAN EAT breakfast after the race for only $25.00.

Trophy for first place overall Male and Female winner. Awards given to first and second place Male and Female in six (6) different age categories, 0-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59 and 60+. Water station and timing provided. T-Shirts will be provided to all PARTICIPANTS. Bring a guest for breakfast at no extra charge!!! (Just not the whole family!!!!)

Register for this race online by clicking here and I will see you on New Year’s Day!

Today was Walter’s Run in West Roxbury, Massachusetts and who would have thought we’d be graced with temperatures in the mid 50’s for a race that hands out free gloves. This race is put on annually by the Parkway Running Club and is a fan favorite when it comes to 5K races in the Greater Boston area in December.

The course is a good, challenging 5K course that features a humdinger of a hill in the third mile that is not for the faint of heart. Today, my calves were tight the entire race and my shins had some interesting twinges of pain while running. Nothing too terrible, just more of an annoyance than anything.

I ran alright today but certainly not my best showing of 2015. I finished Walter’s Run today with a time of 25:05 or 8:05/miles.

 

Sunday morning started off as a rainy fall morning but as luck would have it the skies stopped raining just in time for the 11AM start time of the 5th Annual BSU Turkey Trot. The race takes place on the grounds of Bridgewater State University and features a 5k run and a 3k walk option and comes just in time for burning off some pre-Thanksgiving calories.

The race course is a 50/50 split of both paved roads and trail running through all within the Bridgewater State University campus. Though I have lived in Bridgewater for over a decade, I never have run the trails on campus. The trail system is a great running resource and even though it rained that morning the trails were in very good condition for the race. It was an interesting proposition to mix trail and road running for the race and the course forced you to really mix up your running style as you made your way up and down the section of campus known as Great Hill and then ran on dirt and dodged roots and rocks. After finishing up the trail system an then heading back up Great Hill, the last stretch of the race was a steep decline followed by a flat straightaway heading into the finish line.

This was my first race back since the New York City Marathon and I was pleased with my time of 24:25, good for 7:51/miles.

All proceeds from this race benefit the Old Colony YMCA’s Family Services division. For more information about this organization, please click here.