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Scituate Firefighters 5K Road Race
After a long weekend running the Ragnar Relay Series on Cape Cod, yesterday morning it was down to Scituate, Massachusetts for the Scituate Firefighters 5K Road Race. Even though I ran 21.7 miles over 36 hours before the 5K race and slept about 3 hours in a van, heading to Scituate was a must to take part in the May Grand Prix race for the Thirsty Irish Runners.
The race started in the Minot Beach section of Scituate and featured a rather picturesque stretch of running first through a residential neighborhood that led to an amazing stretch along the ocean. Running past the sea wall, runners then made their way into a tough stretch of running on shells and stones that included some gradual hill work before making a loop back toward the finish line. Race time temperatures were rather warm and a little bit of a breeze was really only noticed at the finish line once the race was concluded.
Despite having logged some serious miles the previous two days, I still ran a rather strong race the Scituate Firefighters 5K road race and placed third in my age division with a time of 25:06, or 8:06/miles.
Monday Night Fun Runs are Back!
The Colonial Road Runners do a nice job putting on a weekly race series Monday nights in Raynham, Massachusetts and the event has grown nicely over the past few years. Each Monday night runners take to a 3.25 mile course in Raynham that for a timed fun run that allows you to compete against a lot of the same faces each week but also against your own times from previous runs.
The race costs just $2 and includes water and Gatorade after the race along with official run times posted on CoolRunning after the race. The course is a good 3.25 mile stretch that includes a decent size hill just past the two mile mark before you come to a steep downhill heading toward the mile 3 marker. The series is one of the best running bargains you will find and is something that for either seasoned runners or for new runners alike is a great way to ensure once a week you are tackling a run that is challenging and fun.
For this week’s run, I finished with a time of 23:52, good for 7:20/miles. Not a bad way to start off the Monday night series!
Tackling the Hills Quickly at the Potter Elementary School 5K
With Mrs. Running Griffin away on a girls weekend in Florida, yesterday I loaded up the SUV with the two kids and a babysitter and we made our way down to Dartmouth, Massachusetts for the Potter Elementary School 5K. Knowing that the race started and finished at an elementary school I made an educated guess that there would be some kids events there to help occupy the kids as I tackled the 5K course. Fortunately, my hypothesis paid off as there was a playground, soccer field, bounce house, DJ and donuts all available. What more could a kid ask for?
The race was a fundraiser for the Potter Elementary School PTO and was organized with efficiency and the professionalism one would expect from a much larger race. There was a nice crowd of runners and some walkers that made their way out onto the 5K course and the school camaraderie was good to see.
The starting line was directly in front of the Dartmouth Fire Station just down the road a few hundred yards and after a stunning rendition of the Star Spangled Banner underneath an American flag draped off of a fire truck and hanging over the road we made our way out onto the course.
The first stretch of the race was downhill and fast and just past the one mile mark and water stop the course then began to climb some. After making a right hand turn into a more residential side street, runners tackled a few more rolling hills before leveling off into the two mile mark and water stop. As runners past two miles, a left turn was made to head back onto the main road that offered the gracious downhill start which then meant for the last mile or so you were climbing back toward the finish line. As I made my way back into the finish, a nice crowd of supporters cheered runners into the finish line chute and the DJ rocked some good running anthems to keep the extra kick in your legs going.
Even with the rather hilly and challenging course present, I felt strong out on the race course and knew that I had a good race. I finished the race with a time of 22:34, good for 7:17/miles. Given the success of the race, the Potter Elementary School 5K is definitely a race I will look to head back to next year.
Blackstone Valley Half Marathon
Yesterday morning it was off to Pawtucket, Rhode Island to compete in the Blackstone Valley Half Marathon. The race kicked off bright and early at 8AM in downtown Pawtucket and this was my first time competing in this half marathon event. The race also features a 5K option that started after the half marathoners made their way out onto the course.
The race was reasonably priced and featured a nice technical running shirt, a pair of Asics socks and a rather flashy finisher medal. Couple those amenities with a course that was a scenic and challenging course complete with plenty of on-course support and this half-marathon is certainly one that I would gladly recommend runners look into racing next year. The half marathon course had 11 aide stations on the course featuring water, Gatorade and Gu (Mile 6) and the race volunteers and members of the Pawtucket, Central Falls and Lincoln Police Departments did a great job supporting the race course.
As runners made their way out of downtown Pawtucket a series of small rolling hills were mixed into the first half of the race. Most of this section of the race was competed in residential and business roads but the best stretch of the race was as runners made their way into the Blackstone Valley Bikeway, which is an absolutely beautiful stretch of paved paths alongside the Blackstone River. This path is some of the best running scenery around and the natural beauty made the run all the more enjoyable.
After leaving the Bikeway section of the race, runners made the final 5k course back along the roads and headed back toward downtown Pawtucket for the finish line. The finish line had a healthy amount of fans cheering you into the finish line and a DJ who was playing all the most catchy running-themed finish line tunes.
I finished the Blackstone Valley Half Marathon with a time of 1:51:49 which was good for 8:32/miles. This was almost five minutes faster than my last half marathon in Washington, DC. and shows some nice improvement over the running year already!
The Running Griffin 