Tag: 5K

Race Recap: Wrentham Turkeywacker 5K

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It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without a turkey trot, right?

The past several Thanksgivings we have headed off to Disney World in Orlando, Florida but this year decided to stay closer to home so finding a 5K the morning of Thanksgiving was a must. This was going to be a full family-affair so all four of us woke up on Thanksgiving morning and made our way to Wrentham, Massachusetts for the Turkeywacker 5K.

The race kicks off at 8:30 AM which allowed the teenagers a bit longer to sleep in before we made our way up Route 495 to Wrentham. Perhaps best known for the shopping outlets there, Wrentham is just next to the perhaps more well-known Foxboro, home of the New England Patriots!

The Turkeywacker is a trail run and certainly running on trails adds a different complexity to a race than running on asphalt. Though we had a touch of rain the days leading up to the run, the course was in very good condition with only a few spots having a couple wet patches. As you can expect with a Thanksgiving Day turkey trot, there was a sea of families at the race as parents, children, aunts, uncles, grandparents and more toed the starting line before heading off to crush copious amounts of stuffing and pie.

I felt pretty good out on the course but knew pretty early into the race that the trail run terrain coupled with more than 800 runners hitting the 5K trail course was not going to result in any sort of PR for me out on the course. But that’s not what the run was about. The run was about spending time with Mrs. Running Griffin and our two daughters and having a good time out doing something healthy together and reflecting on all that we have to be thankful for.

I finished up the Turkeywacker 5K with a time of 28:31, good for 9:10/miles. All four of us had very respectable runs and celebrated hitting up one of our favorite coffee shops on the way home to warm up.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Race Recap: Jim Kane Sugar Bowl 5K

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When you race after a full day of work you never really know what to expect. 7PM races can always be an interesting challenge to ensure you have properly hydrated throughout the day, ate the right amount of fuel but not too much and still have enough energy in the tank to tackle the race well even after putting in a full day of work.

On Thursday, it was out to South Boston for the 31st Annual Jim Kane Sugar Bowl 5K. This is an exceptionally good race put on by the L Street Running Club and takes runners along a relatively flat and typically hot 5K course alongside Carson Beach in Southie. The road is shut down to traffic for the quick time the race takes place and runners have the road to themselves as they make their way out onto the course.

The race is known to have featured some tough warm temperatures in prior years and given you are in the sun the entire way this 5K course can certainly take a toll when the weather is hot. Fortunately, this Thursday night was an absolutely gorgeous night with temperatures still warm but not scorching, absolutely no humidity in the air and a gentle breeze from time to time coming off the water. When compared to the brutally warm conditions from last year’s race, this year was a simply perfect night to run a 5K.

In this year’s Jim Kane Sugar Bowl 5K, I felt strong making my way out onto the course and it seemed as though it was going to be one of those running days where you just sort of know you have it. The out-and-back 5K course allows you to hit the water stop twice which certainly came in handy and through more than 3/4 of the race I kept up a nice pace. I could feel myself fading a little bit as I hit the 3 mile marker but knowing there was just a tenth of a mile left to go I dug deep and finished with a time of 23:07, good for 7:27/miles.

A great result and proving just how nice of a night it was for a run in last year’s scorcher I ran an 8:44/pace so shaving more than a minute per mile off I couldn’t be more pleased with that result!

Be sure to “Like” the Jim Kane Sugar Bowl’s Facebook page by clicking here and I will see you at next year’s race!

Run to End Addiction 5K Run/Walk

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Registration is now open for the 2nd Annual Run to End Addiction 5K which will be held in Bridgewater, Massachusetts on May 19th. This race is a great fundraiser for Teen Challenge Brockton and after last year’s remarkable inaugural run this year is sure to be even better!

Join hundreds of Teen Challenge supporters on the beautiful campus of Bridgewater State University for a day filled with entertainment, food, fellowship, prizes and so much more!

Individuals, teams, churches, schools, and corporations from around the state will join together in support of our efforts to end addiction. You can help make this campaign a success; people from all walks of life are welcome. Your time and enthusiasm are greatly appreciated!

The race festivities will have live music, a Kid Zone with face painting, games and bounce houses and free food!! The race directors look to create an environment where the community can join together in raising awareness and hope for those in our midst who suffer from substance use disorder.

Race Day Details: 5K Run/Walk (rain or shine)

Date: Saturday, May 19, 2018

Time: Registration opens at 8:00am; Race begins at 9:00am; Walk begins at 9:05am

Location: Bridgewater State University- 131 Summer Street, Bridgewater, MA

Donations: Money raised will go towards supporting sponsorships to Teen Challenge Brockton.

Teen Challenge Brockton provides adults, teens and families with an
effective and comprehensive Christian faith-based solution, clinical counseling, and life-coaching for drugs, alcohol, and other life-controlling problems in order to become productive members of society. Find out more about this amazing program by visiting-Teen Challenge Brockton

To register for the 2nd Annual Run to End Addiction, please click here.

 

Join me at the Bamboozled IPA Pre-Game 5K

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The Bamboozled IPA Pre-Game 5K was conceived by a group of friends who share a love of running, beer and football, while sitting around the taproom at Barrel House Z sampling the Bamboozled IPA in November, 2017. The idea was to create a race on the morning of The Superbowl to fill the void during the long wait for the game to begin. Thus the Pre-Game 5K, the only race held on the South Shore on Superbowl Sunday, was born. There was no turning back once they toasted to it and were committed to getting it done. The lesson learned is never to make serious commitments while drinking good beer.

The fast and friendly 5K course was designed by Fitz and Michelle of New England Runner Magazine. Because it’s a new course, the group decided to limit registration to 300 entrants in the first year. It begins and finishes directly in front of Barrel House Z, which was a serious consideration in order to provide warmth to the runners before and after the race. They are also planning to install outdoor heaters and a firepit near the start line. The registration fee was minimized so that it’s one of the lowest priced races in the area. On-line registration will close on Friday, Feb 2nd at midnight and there will be no late registration. Packet pickup will be available on Feb 3rd at Marathon Sports in Norwell from 11-2 and at Barrel House Z from 3-6.

Following the race, participants and volunteers will retire to the taproom for an awards ceremony featuring custom BHZ tap handles to the winners, Marathon Sports gift certificates to overall and age group winners and a Craft Beer Cellar gift card to the runner wearing the best football themed costume. The post race celebration will feature a free Bamboozled IPA from BHZ and a soft shell pulled pork taco from The Sarcastic Swine for all participants. They’ll also be offering a full beer selection of beer and BBQ to enjoy at the celebration or to carry out for the game.

So, get out and run and have some fun at the Bamboozled IPA Pre-Game 5K. For information go to: www.pre-game5k.com

See you at the starting line!

Frozen 5K Lives Up to Its Name

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Word to the wise: When looking for a January road race in New England see if you can find one called the Warm and Balmy Winter 5K in the hopes that a warm spell will grace you at the starting line and the race will live up to its name.

For those brave runners who made their way to Quincy, Massachusetts this morning for the Frozen 5K, we can all attest to the fact that the race certainly lived up to its name. With race time temperatures just shy of zero and wind chills much colder than that it was a challenge, to say the least, to toe the starting line and head out on the course. Thankfully, the race was a 5K and would be over in a short period of time which was just about the only solace you could find when racing in such extreme cold.

Before making it a few hundred yards past the starting line, my fingers were frozen despite two pairs of gloves and the face covering proved to be a unique obstacle to normal breathing. When I took the face mask down half-way into the race, it then froze and breathing without it was even more of a challenge so the icicle covered mask went back on. Today was a day for layers, more layers and a few more layers but no matter how many shirts or pants you had on, it was freezing!

The course was an out and back run complete with some pretty nice climbing mixed into the course throughout. The course was free from snow and ice on the pavement and a coned off lane provided runners a path free from traffic. A huge amount of gratitude goes out to the Quincy Police Department who had the race course covered perfectly and the officers deserve a lot of praise for also braving the elements so us runners could race in such extreme cold.

Proceeds from the Frozen 5K Road Race benefit the YMCA’s Annual Campaign, helping to fund financial assistance to ensure Y membership, programs and services remain accessible to all.

I finished the Frozen 5K with a time of 25:16, good for 8:08/miles. Not a bad result for the tough running conditions! Once I thaw out completely I might start looking for some warm weather races just to begin to erase the chill of this morning’s run from my memory!