Just before an utter deluge of rain hit the area, this morning it was off to Weymouth, Massachusetts to run the Hop Harvest 5K sponsored by Vitamin Sea Brewing.

For years, now defunct brewery Barrel House Z hosted a few road races at this location each year and thankfully now Vitamin Sea, which is just doors down from where Barrel House Z was located, has picked up the torch and kept the races going. The Hop Harvest 5K was the September Grand Prix race for the Thirsty Irish Runners and it was great to see so many familiar faces at the starting line and out on the course.

The race kicked off promptly at 9:30 AM and having run races on this course before I knew what to expect in terms of the route. The first mile has a downhill stretch that then leads to a significant uphill portion that takes runners to the one mile marker and a bit beyond before leveling off some in a residential neighborhood. Just as you loop through the neighborhood, because the course is an out-and-back, right past the two mile mark you get to coast down the same goos hill before leveling off once again. However, the hill that leads up to the finish line, though it feels more gradual when heading out onto the course, definitely can take a toll on wearier legs in the final mile. The race finishes right in the driveway of Vitamin Sea and for those runners who wish to enjoy a beer, one free beer comes with each race entry.

There was no timing mat at the starting line so it was a gun start for everyone and I finished the race in 27:53, good for 8:59/miles. Even though the weather was relatively mild out on the course today, I still think a 5K race needs to have at least one water stop on the route and it was a miss that there was no water out there.

Certainly glad the race kicked off when it did as the rain that started just as runners were hitting the finish line has turned the rest of this Sunday into the perfect day to hang out on the couch!