Tag Archives: road race

I, Claus: Santa Sightings 5K Fun Run

Posted on December 13, 2011 | 7 comments

I’ve spent more time than I would have thought necessary trying to figure out how to dress for cold runs. So I was grateful for the folks at last weekend’s Santa Sightings 5K for removing the uncertainty, although I was still in two minds about having to wear a beard.

Santa Sightings 5K Fun Run

The Santas gather in downtown New Bedford, MA.

The Santa suits were provided and mandatory at this New Bedford event. Which meant 1,600 men, women and children decked out in full jolly-fat-man regalia, including pants, jacket, belt, hat, and the aforementioned facial hair. The “Santa Run” is apparently a worldwide phenomenon – one that appeared to have passed me by in the Before Time (i.e., when the thought of running even a single block was hysterical) – and this was its New England premiere. Trust me, Santas en masse is amusing, but Santas running en masse borders on hilarity.

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My own private Everest: Pentucket Pride 5K

Posted on November 28, 2011 | 2 comments

After the massive crowd and silly millinery of the Feaster Five, the Pentucket Pride 5K, at Pentucket Regional High School, in West Newbury, MA, was a laid-back affair, with 223 runners gathering on a foggy morning to support the high school’s athletic programs.

Pentucket Pride 5K

Runners at the foggy start of the Pentucket Pride 5K.

The course had been described as “challenging,” which, as my avid readers (!) know, puts the fear into me. In road race language, “challenging” always means “hilly.” Just once I’d like there to be a water hazard or something. You know, to shake it up a bit.

This helpful poster at the entrance to the high school cafeteria, where we gathered pre-race, did little to comfort me …

Pentucket Pride 5K

I may have peaked.

Sure, it may not seem so steep if you look at the numbers, but trust me, on a damp and chilly day, it was basically Everest.

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Will run for pie: Feaster Five Thanksgiving Day Road Race

Posted on November 25, 2011 | 8 comments

This was a momentous Turkey Day – for reasons that had nothing to do with Pilgrims and very little to do with turkey. Rather, Thanksgiving 2011 occasioned my running the Feaster Five in Andover, Massachusetts, which was not only my first 5K since early October but my inaugural attempt to run in the big chill. It was also my first time playing human dodgem.

This was a big run.

Feaster Five Thanksgiving Day Race

The start of the Feaster Five. At this point, half the runners had already crossed the start line (the banner in the distance). It took me a full six minutes to get there.

For a novice like me who has thus far dabbled in warm-weather races of a few hundred people, it was quite something to be among the 10,000 or so folks – clad in sweaters, gloves, beanies and, in some cases, hats shaped like turkeys (disturbing) – who had gathered on this gorgeous but frigid morning.

I was nervous about the cold. Though my hatred of heat is well documented, the chilly air has been known to wreak havoc on my asthmatic lungs (which of course is why I choose to live in New England).

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Best. Series. Ever.

Posted on November 12, 2011 | 6 comments
willrunforbeer.com

Now this is a goal I can meet. http://www.willrunforbeer.com.

Although I’ve been on a bit of a running hiatus during my sojourn Down Under, there will be no rest when I get back to New England (which during my five-week absence has nastily decided to morph from late-summer bliss to early-fall bone-chill). I will scarcely have time to draw breath before I am back scarcely drawing breath in a nose-hair-freezing 5K run.

But that’s OK, because Hubby has discovered something wonderful: the Will Run for Beer 2012 Race Series.

That’s right. Will. Run. For. Beer.

Now, I’m more of a G&T girl myself, but I say cheers to any event that combines running with post-race glass-hoisting (experts say you need to stretch out those arms, after all). This series, which has been going since 2008 (the Before Time), is put on by a New Hampshire company called Loco and sponsored by Portsmouth, N.H.’s Smuttynose Brewing Co. Need I say more.

There will, of course, be updates from the series as I go along, but our presence will definitely be felt at the Smuttynose Palooza in Milford, N.H., on January 14. One, because it’s a relay half-marathon (I can just run a bit!) that’s indoors; and two, because the website asks the probing question: “What is a Palooza?”

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A return to the site of my running shame

Posted on November 5, 2011 | 1 comment
Brooks Spring Into Shape Sydney Series

The setting doesn't get more Australian than this. The start of the Brooks Spring Into Shape Sydney Series Race 2, in Parramatta Park.

When I was in high school, some (ahem) years ago, I got a zero on my report card for failing – twice – to run the mandatory cross country (I can’t recall the precise distance; it was a few kilometers masquerading as an eternity. All I know is I had to get picked up in a car). For someone who prided herself on doing well in school, this epic fail was unacceptable. I never quite got over it.

So it was with mixed feelings that I returned to the site of my shame –  Parramatta Park, in Sydney’s western suburbs – to run one half of the Brooks Spring Into Shape Series, benefiting the Heart Foundation.

But this time I was ready. No knee-length skirt and sensible brown shoes for me (I was forced to run my second attempt in my Catholic school uniform. Not that it really mattered; I failed wearing sneakers too). No, this time I had eight 5Ks under my belt, a pair of brilliant shorts and an iPhone. And it was only a 4K. I was going to triumph.

In your face, Parramatta Park!

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