Recap: Carver Old Home Day 5 Miler

On By The Running GriffinLeave a comment

Have I mentioned that I love early race starts?

This morning it was off to Carver, Massachusetts for the Carver Old Home Day 5 Miler which kicks off at 8AM. Bib pickup started at 7AM so for early birds like me this race was a good one to check out!

Mrs. Running Griffin had run this race with a friend once before but I have never done it so when the calendar showed a nice opening this morning it definitely was well worth signing up for the five mile race.

Carver Old Home Day has been a tradition since 1901 providing a day for the community to come together and celebrate the history of Carver, Massachusetts. The mission of the Carver Old Home Day Association is to continue to provide a relaxing day for families to come out and meet their neighbors and enjoy their families. The day features a full schedule of events including food, a car show, music and fireworks and the five mile road race kicks off and finishes in a small, local park where many of the activities for the day take place.

The morning temperatures were perfect for a road race and you couldn’t really ask for a better day out there. In terms of the course, I really enjoyed the route which took runners along rural roads with almost no traffic out on them. The roads were long stretches which made the miles go by easier and being in the heart of cranberry country, running past cranberry bogs added to the quintessential New England feel to this race. Kudos to the race organizers for having plenty of water out on the route at all the right locations and a special thanks to some of the neighbors along the route who sat out for the morning cheering runners on or perhaps even having a sprinkler set up for those who may have wanted a quick cool down.

Felt pretty good out on the course and given we arrived at the race with plenty of time before the start we were able to do a 10 minute stretch before heading to the starting line. (I know, I know. Stretch more; you won’t regret it.) Even heading up the sneaky uphill climb in the final .3 miles the legs were feeling pretty good; a good morning of running!

I finished the Carver Old Home 5 Miler with a time of 44:08, good for 8:51/miles.

Watermelon Wobbler 5k

On By The Running GriffinLeave a comment

Join me on August 15th for the Watermelon Wobbler 5K in Wrentham, Massachusetts!

The Watermelon Wobbler is a fun 5K trail run/walk/hike through scenic Wrentham conservation land and White Barn Farm property and is the second race in the Farm to Trail 5K Series! It is open to all ages and skill levels. The Watermelon Wobbler comes around in the thick of summer, when the days are long and the fun never ends! A Peak Summer event celebrates just that – summa-summa-summa-time!

The course is thick and green and maybe a little dusty! This event celebrates and supports the sustainability of local agriculture and land management by funding our mission to preserve open land and food security for our communities.

Register by clicking here.

Mattapoisett Road Race

On By The Running GriffinLeave a comment

Happy 4th of July!

If you plan to run a race on the 4th of July you should expect it to be hot. But this morning was next level hot with temperatures hitting 90 degrees at 9AM just as we toed the starting line for the Mattapoisett Road Race. This four miler through the coastal Massachusetts town of Mattapoisett has to be one of the most idyllic courses you will find in the area as runners traverse the four mile route through the absolutely perfect coastal neighborhoods.

We ran this race once previously and the area that the race takes place in is the kind of location that immediately has you checking local real estate listings once you get home from the race. It’s an incredibly beautiful area and the course takes you through the local streets that have a lot of the locals out supporting you as you tackle the race. Because today’s heat is next level hot, an extra big shoutout to all of the local residents who setup their own water stops, had sprinklers and hoses out to cool off runners and cheered runners along each step of the way.

After picking up our numbers and tossing the race shirt back in the car, we found a nice spot of grass near the starting line that was in the shade as conserving energy was going to be the key for the day.

Mrs. Running Griffin and I decided we would run together today to help pace each other in the heat and we made our way out onto the course with the goal of finishing the race safely being the priority. Mission accomplished! It was hot out there and thankfully there were some nice stretches of the race that were in the shade but when you were out in the sun you could certainly feel it. The water on the course was imperative at each station and hitting the hoses and sprinklers helped to regulate the body temperature relatively well.

We finished up the Mattapoisett Road Race with a time of 47:32, good for 11:53/miles. Happy to cross the finish line together where we then took in some water, the cool face cloths being handed out and fresh cut watermelon which helped to bring the body temperature down some. Nice to be able to run together today and kick off our 4th of July with a beautiful race. As we joked on the way walking back to the car, definitely better than running in the snow!

Mattapoisett 4 Miler on July 4th

On By The Running GriffinLeave a comment

Looking for a road race on the 4th of July? Join me in Mattapoisett for the Mattapoisett Road Race, a four miler through the scenic coastal town on the South Coast of Massachusetts.

The race kicks off at 9AM so get your run in before it gets too hot on the 4th of July and before you consume copious amounts of potato and pasta salad. (By the way, let’s keep the onions out of the salads, people. They’re disgusting and no one wants hot onion breath at their Independence Day cookout.)

You can register for the Mattapoisett Road Race by clicking here.

Discount Code: 31st Annual Schofield 5K 

On By The Running GriffinLeave a comment

All readers of The Running Griffin are being offered an exclusive discount for the 31st Annual Schofield 5K which will be held in Wellesley, Massachusetts on June 7th!

This is a fun community event, but it is also a real race: a certified 5K course, professional timing and three starting corrals:

Corral 1: Runners who have completed a 5K or longer at a pace of 7:30 or faster
Corral 2: Joggers and students
Corral 3: Walkers and strollers

There are awards across many age categories, plus the Kids Fun Run has medals for participants. After the races, everyone is invited to stay for the Fun Fair.

For the fast runners: Can you beat the course record? Colin Peddie, former owner of Marathon Sports, set the men’s record in 1998 with a time of 15:05. Kathy Fleming set the women’s record in 2007 with a time of 17:48.

To register for the race, please click here and use the code Griff to save 10% off your registration fee!