Tag: Massachusetts

Monday Night Fun Runs are Back!

On By The Running GriffinLeave a comment

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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!

34th Annual Boston Tune-Up 15K

On By The Running Griffin2 Comments

ImageYesterday morning it was off to the small hamlet known as Upton, Massachusetts for the 34th Annual Boston Tune-Up 15k. This race falls about 2 weeks shy of the Boston Marathon and the challenging 9.3 mile course is a good training run to work out the legs during the taper phase of training. Several of the runners lined up at the starting line with me are in fact joining together at the Boston Marathon and the pre-race chats brought runners together.

The race started and finished at Nipmuc Regional High School and the annual race is sponsored by the Tri-Valley Frontrunners.

The course is a nice challenge and some of the hills mixed into the course feel like some of the terrain along the Boston Marathon course. There is a really nice climb leading into the five mile marker that requires most runners to drop a gear or two in an effort to get up the hill. Water stops were available around miles 5 and 7 however the one that was supposed to be at the mile 3 marker was not there making the water at 5 taste all that much better.

The road of the course is pretty residential and quintessentially New England as you race past homes, farms, baby sheep and wooded areas hiding rushing streams behind them.

I felt pretty good while out on the course and wanted to push myself a bit for the 9.3 miles but not do anything stupid which could result in being injured for Marathon Monday. I completed the race with a nice pace of 8:28/miles good for an overall time of 1:18:53. It’s always a nice treat to have some great running fans cheering you into the finish line, as well!

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