The Road to Boston SLR 2

Celebrating twenty years since my first training run, I ran the second Sunday Long Run with the Melrose Running Club and guests.

The Road to Boston has begun with the second Sunday Long Run. The Melrose Running Club has been sponsoring these Sunday runs for the past twenty years and all runners are invited.

The Road to Boston SLR 1

Since January 1st was the first Sunday of 2023 we didn’t have an organized club run that day. Many of us ran various New Year’s Day races, such as the Hangover Classic in Salisbury Beach.

Because I was running a New Year’s Day race I decided to do my first long run on December 30th.

For that run I started at my house, ran through Malden and out on the North Spur bike trail to Saugus.

This route in almost entirely flat, so it was a great way to start ramping up the miles. I ran 10.3 miles that day at a comfortable 10:05 pace.

Idle Hands Craft Ales Vienna Lager - Emelyn, Brew Pub — Idle Hands Photo

On the way back I stopped in at Idle Hands Brewing and had a nice half liter of Emelyn, their Vienna Lager. I also had a nice conversation with the bar tender, John. I was the only customer in the bar!

The Road to Boston SLR 2

January 8th was the first official Melrose Running Club Sunday Long Run. And since it is technically the second week of Boston Marathon training, we ran the week 2 route which was 12.5 for the long run and 7.1 miles for the half distance.

I know, not great math there. But when you’re not up for almost a half marathon, 7.1 still feels like half of the full. Or a short run.

Group photo on the 2nd Melrose Running Club Sunday Long Run — Julie Galvin Photo

We had at least 44 people show up for this chilly run. I think a few more people joined us after this photo was taken.

When we started it was 24F and it really felt like it. We were lucky in that there was no wind or rain. That makes a big difference in the comfort level.

In this photo you will notice that several of us have our hands stuffed under our arms. Even with gloves my fingers were freezing.

It was so cold that I headed out with the first runners. I knew I would warm up eventually. And if I was in the lead pack all the faster people would catch up and I’d get to talk to everyone. I’d also not be at the end of the pack.

At mile one my fingers and toes were feeling a little better, but I was trying to figure out if they were warming up or if I was loosing feeling in my fingers and toes!

At mile 1 we were close to the intersection of West Wyoming Ave and the Fellsway East. The road was clear so we crossed the Ave like a stampeding heard of beast breathing frost into the air.

At the intersection we took a left and headed for the hills of the Fellsway East.

At this point I began to adjust my running pace and approached the hills by my self. I’ve been doing this twenty years and I know what running hills can do to you if you’re not prepared.

As I made my way up the first hill our former club President, Bobby Taylor, caught up to me.

He noticed that I was wearing trail shoes on a road run and asked if I always wore them for road runs.

I told him I have been for the past few months.

I started wearing the Brooks Cascadia shoes about 10 years ago. At the time I was looking for a shoe to keep my feet warm in the winter. At the time these shoes featured Gore-Tex which helps insulate the shoe.

Trail shoes are generally stiffer and heavier than road shoes. The outsoles are designed to give you extra traction and support. They do not flex as much and are good for landing on stones and tree roots.

But they are stiffer, don’t have as much cushion, and are very loud on the road. Like many runners, Bobby prefers more cushioning. I agreed that I should pick up a pair of road shoes to use on nice days. It’s good to rotate shoes and the Cascadia are a bit much for a road run.

Eventually Bobby moved along and the group prepared for and made our move across the Fellsway so we would be ready for our next turn onto Highland Avenue.

Highland is a nice wide avenue with a wide bike lane to run in. It’s also a hill for the first half mile.

5K and Water Stop One

Shortly after turning onto Highland we hit 5K. Only 9.4 miles to go!

At this point all of us still felt good and both the long and short runners were still together.

Julie and Gail had the first stop set up for us. When you get a group of runners together, it can be hard to get them going once again. We have so much fun catching up.

Zelia Magliozzi had run down the Fellsway and met us at the water stop. She was doing a recovery run after doing her long run on Saturday.

Sunday Long Run at the first water stop. — Zelia Magliozzi Photo

I left the water stop by my self. If you hang out too long the muscles tighten up and you get cold.

As I headed out of the Fulton Street rotary I could see a few runners ahead of me heading up the Elm Street hill. They had crossed the road already and were moving along nicely.

I put my head down and dug into the hill. About half way up the hill I made my crossing to be in position for our right onto the Fellsway West.

As I approached the turn I saw a runner in a 2017 Boston Marathon jacket. He was standing there looking at his phone.

When I reached him I asked if he was okay and he said he thought he was lost. He had downloaded the half-map and thought he needed to turn left.

I assured him that we were taking a right and off we went. His name was Eric and he was with The Mystic Runners. Eric is also training for Boston 2023.

This piece of road has a number of challenges. The breakdown lane is nice and wide in most places, but there is hill. There is also a ramp to Rt. 93 South and if someone is coming up behind you and doesn’t care about hitting you, it can get dicey.

Fortunately we waved someone on who was coming towards us to take the ramp.

The run over the Rt 93 bridge wasn’t too bad. Some days this wide open area can be windy and cold.

Shortly after the bridge we hit mile 5 and approached the exit ramp from Rt. 93 North. People come flying up this ramp, there isn’t a cross walk and no one would expect to see runners crossing their path.

Once again, we were fortunate and there wasn’t any traffic.

10K and Water Stop Two

Just as we hit mile 6, we made our turn at Straw Point for water stop two.

Nicole Jacob was our goddess at this stop. We weren’t especially parched or anything but it’s always nice to see a friendly face.

After a quick drink we continued on our way and hit 10K before we left the parking lot.

Eric hadn’t run much beyond 10 miles in quite a while and as we told Nicole, “it’s beginning to feel like a run.”

We ran down Pond Street in Stoneham and made our way past the Stone Zoo. Running past the parking lot we had to run another hill.

Shortly after we hit mile 7 the road turns into Woodland Road. This is one of those curvy, hilly roads that our forefathers designed for Sunday driving in the suburbs. We managed to stay pretty close to our average pace running the hills they designed for amusement.

As we approached Flynn Rink we hit mile 8 and it felt like a gift. I hardly noticed the mile. I still felt pretty good but both of us had become more focused on putting one foot in front of the other.

We negotiated the Fulton Rotary again and headed for water stop 1/3.

It’s always nice when the club can use a water stop twice. It’s often challenging to get enough volunteers to man all of our stops. Sometimes one person will cover more than one stop.

Four miles to go at Water Stop Three

Eric and I were the only two runners at the stop this time.

Julie and Gail said they ran out of cups and had to go buy more. Based on the cup count they figured 40 runners were on the course. Amazingly, there were a few people behind us.

We didn’t hang out long. We were both sweaty and tired and didn’t want to get cold and have our muscles tighten up.

Stiffly we started out and crossed the road to get ready for our next turn.

This was onto East Border Road which is a hilly piece of road on the south side of The Middlesex Fells Reservation.

As we ran down the hill approaching the Fellsway East we hit mile 9. Only 3.5 miles to go.

The turn onto The Fellsway had us running up hill immediately.

Drivers tend to fly up this road also. Seems to be a common theme here!

But the pavement is only a few years old and there is a pretty good break down lane for most of this section of The Fellsway.

We continued to chat as we made our way over these hills. As we crested the second hill we hit mile 10 and still felt pretty good.

As we ran down the hill I knew I needed to make a pit stop at the Dunkin Donuts.

Eric asked if I wanted him to hang out, but I told him to go on and I’d try to catch up.

Fortunately the restroom door wasn’t locked and I was back on the road in no time.

As I left Dunkin’s parking lot I didn’t see any other runners. But I knew where I was going.

As I crested yet another hill I saw Joe Winslow ahead running on the sidewalk. It took me a bit to catch up with him, but when I did we ran the rest of the distance together.

Joe and I haven’t run together in probably three years. We did chat after a club run a few weeks ago, but it was still fun catching up. Both of us once had little girls and are now empty nesters.

As we approached West Foster Street I made sure we got to 12.5 miles. This early in a training program, you don’t want to be taking short cuts. Training is about doing the work.

Apre SLR 2

Before COVID we used to hang out at Brueggers after a long run. They had a few long tables and we could get twenty or so people seated. It was great and we left some cash in the till.

But Brueggers removed all of their tables during COVID and still hasn’t replaced them.

So we headed to a new coffee shop called Café Nero. It’s in a new building on Main Street and is a new shop in town. I think they are a local chain.

There menu looks like Starbucks but they have a wider variety of food and the décor is a bit more modern and hip than Starbucks.

I was celebrating twenty years since my first ever training run. So I got a grande coffee and an almond cressant.

As one of the last long-runners to come in, I found the table full. But AJ Drummond was gracious enough to offer his seat. He had to head out.

It was fun to hang out with everyone. Some people I knew, some I recognized and some I didn’t.

I finished my cressant, said my good byes and headed home. While I sat there my muscles had tightened up and I knew that I needed to get home and stretch.

Run well My Friends!

Andy

Melrose Running Club Virtual Relay

We finally got to run with our friends and stay safe. All this on a beautiful November day.

Like all runners, members of the Melrose Running Club have really missed in real life (IRL) races.

Due to State and Local Public Health Department rules, we suspended all club runs in March. Mid summer we started Tuesday night runs for members only with strict rules and pre-registration.

Everyone missed getting together on Tuesday nights and we all really missed racing. Virtual races are just not the same thing.

Melrose Running Club Virtual Relay

While the weather is still good and with all precautions observed, Jim Carson organized the Melrose Running Club Virtual Relay.

Jim manages our Sunday Long Run program and was elected Club President in October.

With an eye towards safe club activities where we can get together and do what we love, Jim organized this relay as one of his first acts as President.

Here are some photos taken by several club members including Bobby Taylor, Jim Carson, Mary O’Connell, Jose Viveiros. Some photos I wasn’t sure who took them so thank you to everyone.

These were all poached off of Facebook and are in no particular order.

I did minimal editing and please feel free to save any that you like. My apologies if I missed anyone.

Great Stew Chase 15K 2020

It’s amazing to think that The Great Stew Chase 15K has been around for 46 years!

Several times over the years the race has changed a bit. Their web site doesn’t gave a lot of details, but in 2002 they started using the current Lynn/Peabody course and in 2010 they started using the current turn around spot.

Twice the race was postponed due to weather. It is a January race in Massachusetts, so you have to expect that once in a while.

When the race was postponed, participation dropped off substantially.

In the late 90’s into the 2000s the race drew between 200 and 300 runners with a high of 376 runners in 1998.

Since 2010 the Great Stew Chase has had more than 300 runners only once, in 2014. In 2018 and 2019 the race drew less than 200 runners.

I don’t have official numbers for 2020 yet, but I believe that the count was around 150 runners.

I can make a few educated guesses as to why participation is declining.

First, it is a 15K. This is an unusual distance, half-way between a 10K and Half Marathon. It’s too long for people who enjoy running 5Ks and are reluctant to make the leap to 15K.

It’s also too short for people who are training for Boston. At this stage in most training plans, runners need around 15 miles on a Sunday.

Second, the race takes place in January in Massachusetts. It’s not unusual to have ice and snow on the ground and cold winter air blowing in your face.

Third, this race is known for it’s hills. They are not really that bad, but it seems that’s what people hear and remember about the race. The total elevation gain for this race is about 250 feet with the greatest gain of 86 feet in mile 5.

This is the mile we make the turn around and people are starting to feel the race.

Who runs The Great Stew Chase 15K?

2020 marks my 4th running of this north shore race. From my experience, I think I’ve got a pretty good idea of who runs this race.

When I first showed up in 2017 I was surprised to see tables full of local running clubs. Each club had a table or two. There were a few unaffiliated runners, but 75% wore club colors.

I’ve come to understand that this is a club oriented event which is fairly unusual. Many races now encourage building teams to get perks like a pop-up tent, but I don’t think Stew’s does this officially.

There are no awards for the largest team or any recognition at all for team size.

Maybe because this is an unusual distance it takes a club to encourage runners to come out? Maybe it’s been a club race for years?

All I can tell you is that there are about six or seven clubs who bring most of the runners to this race.

There are a lot of young hot shots who run this race and do well. There are also lots of older runners who do very well and would be competitive in lower age brackets.

Besides belonging to a club, I think many runners who show up are real runners.

By that I mean people who train in any weather and may have run in high school or college. This is what they do. Some people golf, these people run in any conditions and love it.

This hard core group of runners looks for the challenging races and runs races all twelve months of the year.

When I look around the table at the Melrose Running Club crew, that is what I see. Some of us ran while in school, but most of us came to running later in life and this is what we do.

Less than 10% of our club runs this race, so it is pretty much the hard core runners who show up.

Enthusiasm for running has ebbed over the past five years. There was a surge after the Boston Marathon bombing, but that surge has crested.

Participation in many races has declined and some races have faded away.

While many casual runners now stay home, the hard core runners still turn out in all conditions for races like The Great Stew Chase 15K.

So I believe it is the core of the running community that continues to come out and support races in January that might have an unusual distance.

Melrose Running Club at Great Stew Chase 15K

We had twenty runners this year. This is our lowest turn out over the past four years, but it was mostly our hard core runners. People with grit and goals.

The people who ran this year had a good time even if the course kicked their asses. We’re funny that way.

Lynda Field and Mike Sikkema both won their age group and Marianne Chmielewski placed second in her age group.

Many others placed in the top five of their age group.

Paul Locke, Marty Hergert, Regina Curran and Linda Giesecke all set new PRs for the 15K.

I was just over a minute away from setting a new PR and really thought I had it. My early miles were good and I kept pushing on each hill.

When ever I felt like letting up I kept telling my self that this is the hill that will make the difference. If you let up here you will miss your PR by seconds.

My watch showed my average pace at 8:29 which would beat my PR of 8:33. But I ran 9.53 miles on a 9.3 mile course, and that made all the difference. Oh well.

Overall it was a great day. We had great weather, a challenging course and great people to hang out with.

What’s not to love?

Run well my Friends!

Andy

Melrose Fire Fighters Father’s Day 5K 2019

Melrose Fire Fighters Father’s Day 5K was another fun family event, and we even out ran the rain!

The Melrose Fire Fighters Father’s Day 5K is a great family event for runners of all ages and capabilities!

The Kid’s Fun Run began at 9:00 and there must have been thirty kids. That’s a really good turn out and shows how much of a family event this is.

We stood across from the fire station and cheered them on as they ran by. Some had great looks of determination on their faces and were clearly taking this race seriously. It was great to see all of those future Melrose Running Club members striding by.

Running the Melrose Fire Fighters Father’s Day 5K

Just before 9:30 the race director gave us directions and thanked us for coming. Then he walked back through the crowd about 50 feet and gave the instructions again. Then the Greater Boston Fire Fighters band marched through the space with staccato drums and waling bagpipes.

With the clanging of a fire bell we were off like a fire company to a call.

This being Melrose, we hit the first incline about 100 feet after the start line. Garmin only shows 3 feet of elevation gain for the entire first mile. It seemed like we had more than that right out of the gate! Oh well.

The Club runs most of this course for some of our Sunday Long Runs, so most of us are very familiar with these roads.

The race started at the top of Melrose Common on 6th Street and wound down Swains Pond Avenue and swung around Swains Pond.

We hit mile one just after the pond. I didn’t feel great but my muscle strain wasn’t bothering me and nothing else hurt. That’s about as good as it gets! Mile one came in at 7:32.

The air was warm and humid and the sun was peeking at us from behind mostly cloudy skies. It felt like the summer race I’ve been waiting for.

As we ran down Swains Pond Avenue towards Lebanon Street I kept pouring it on. I wasn’t sure how long I’d be able to keep up this pace or if my heart would blow up, but I kept on going.

At the first water stop I took a cup. I figured I wouldn’t be able to get near the table, but it was a piece of cake. They even gave me a full paper cup.

I did a marathon grab, pinched the cup and managed to get two gulps and soak my shorts! All this without breaking my stride or drowning my self! Sometimes it just works.

There were a few people out cheering us on and people in their cars were patient. I didn’t hear a single honk or holler.

Lebanon Street runs along the backside of Pine Banks Cemetery. I half expected to see the police band in there, I don’t know why. Strange things go through your head when you’re running.

Just before the intersection with Sylvan Street my watch hit mile two at 7:31. I was holding up pretty good but began to slip into bargain mode.

Did I want to beat a 24 minute time or not? Could I beat a 24 minute finish? Of course I could. All I had to do was run.

So I kept running.

About a half mile after Sylvan Street we took a right onto Grove Street. I thought, wouldn’t it be cool if someone pasted another “o” on the sign to make it “Groove” Street? All kinds of craziness in the noggin today! I guess I was in my groove.

“Groove” street had more incline as we approached the turn onto Larrabee Street at the bottom of Melrose Common.

We ran past The Common and took a right onto 1st Street for a bit more hill and then another right onto 6th Street for a bit more hill.

As we approached the finish the road flattened out and a guy behind me kicked and pushed past me. From where I was I could see that the clock still had a 23 on it and I was only about 100 meters away.

I managed to keep up my efforts and had an official finish of 23:37. I beat last week’s pace by 24 seconds on a much hillier course.

Melrose Running Club at The Race

The Melrose Fire Fighters Father’s Day 5K is the June Melrose Running Club Race of the Month. We had 34 runners participate this month for our best turn out so far this year!

Not only did we turn out, but we did pretty well also.

Mike Sikkema was the first place male runner at 18:14 and was the only male older than 40 in the men’s top 10!

Andrea Twomey was the fifth place female runner at 23:27. We traded places on the course a few times, but she ran the hills a little better than I did.

Andrea was also first place in her age group.

Cynthia Berger was first in her age group.

Judy Dolan and Jeff Rushton were second in their age groups.

Kristi Taylor, Diarmuid Cahill and I were third in our age groups.

RACE RESULTS

On top of that The Melrose Running Club was the largest team this year and won the American Flag award! The flag is hand crafted from old fire hoses and is pretty cool! It also weighs about 100lbs.

Happy Father’s Day to all the Dads out there. I hope you had a great weekend.

Andy

American Flag, Melrose Fire Fighters 5K — Melrose Firefighters Fathers Day 5K 2019 American Flag

Great Stew Chase 2019

Great Stew Chase 2019 was the 45th running of this classic 15K. The 3rd oldest 15K in the USA. Great weather for a great run in Lynn, MA.

The Great Stew Chase 2019 15K was run on January 27th in Lynn, MA. 2019 marks the 45th running of this classic race.

Billed as the 3rd oldest 15K in America, the race has seen better years.

In 2017 there were 262 finishers, 2018 there were 198 finishers. For 2019 there were 172 finishers.

This race has traditionally been a running club oriented race. There are usually about six local clubs who make up the bulk of the runners. This year I would say that 90% of the runners were with a local club.

To keep the tradition alive it is important for the local running clubs to encourage their members to participate. The race director mentioned the declining numbers and the need to increase them to keep the race viable.

Great Stew Chase 2019

This year The Melrose Running Club had 22 runners, which is down from 29 runners in 2017, but about the same as last year. This late in January you never know what conditions you may end up running in. In 2015 the race was postponed to March due to snow.

We had some new faces this year, which is always great to see. Dave Bryson and Marty Hergert are two of our newer members who decided to brave the cold for a January 15K!

I ran with Durm Cahill like I did last year. In 2018 I had knee problems and took it pretty slow. Durm stayed with me even though I’m sure he could have run much faster.

This year I had been feeling pretty good until about a week ago. My right foot has been bothering me. I think it’s a combination of too much treadmill running and wearing old shoes. I’ll be making some changes.

The first two miles we ran too fast, 8:06 and 7:53. My goal was 9 minute miles so I tried to slow us down. Shortly after mile two Durm had to stop running due to a calf cramp. I asked if he was okay and and he told me to go on and he would catch up.

Running The Great Stew Chase 15K

Running on my own didn’t make pacing any easier. Each time someone passed me I had to resist the urge to speed up. I kept telling myself that a 9 minute pace would give me a PR. All I wanted was to finish with a PR. They are rare these days and I didn’t have a single PR in 2018.

The course is mostly rolling hills. Nothing too aggressive. Then at Mile four we approach the I-95 overpass. For mile four we gained 42 feet in elevation and my mile came in at 8:20. Not bad.

Mile five goes over the I-95 bridge and ends after our hill climb up to our turn around point. After the turn the hills are pretty much over. Mile five came in at 8:47. My slowest mile but also the hilliest mile.

I slowed down to get a cup of water off of the table and handed my cup to a volunteer. As I ran back out to the main road I saw several MRC runners. A few people called out my name but my glasses were so dark I couldn’t tell who they were!

Back on the main road we ran mostly downhill until we reached the I-95 overpass. Going up this hill was a bit more challenging now that my legs were tired.

We were now more than half way. Mile six chimed in at almost the exact spot where we hit mile 4. Mile six had 60 feet of decline and Garmin didn’t register any elevation gain. But I know we ran up some hills!

My watch was hitting the miles before the mile markers. Just after the mile six sign, I glanced at my watch and saw that we were at the 10K mark. I was running at an average pace of about 8:20.

We had 5K to go and I hoped I could keep my 10K pace going to the end.

Finishing The Chase

At this point in the race my legs were tired and my right foot hurt. I contemplated walking and tried to calculate my finish time based on my time so far and how fast I thought I could walk. Neither the math nor my guess were very good. I decided to keep running.

The only thing that hurt was my foot. I’ve run in much more pain and with much less juice left. Why would I give up?

Most people who run this race are competitive. The race seems to draw the die-hard runners. At this point in the race we were very well sorted. No one was passing anyone.

Mile seven had us running back through Centennial Park. I used to work in this area and there isn’t much to see. Mile seven chimed in at 8:32. Only two and a half miles or so to go.

How many miles is 15K? It turns out it’s 9.3 miles. But I was hitting the miles before the markers and I wasn’t sure if it was 9.3 or 9.5. But I was pretty sure I was going to run long.

Mile eight chimed in at 8:41 with only 26 feet of elevation gain. I was fading.

I decided to push as hard as I could for the last mile or so. I knew that I was close to a PR and didn’t want to miss it by 15 seconds. I didn’t want to miss it period.

That last 1.3 miles winds back through the neighborhood off of Rt. 129. There were some hills, pot holes and sloped road. If I ran at a bad angle it put too much pressure on my right foot. At this point in the race it was really sore.

I managed to avoid branches and pot holes and kept on pushing.

When we got out onto Rt. 129 I knew we were close and didn’t want anyone to pass me in the last few hundred yards.

I pushed through and mile nine came in at 8:40. My last 0.53 mile came in at an 8:01 pace. As I approached the finish area I saw John Mulroy and Katherine Kulig walking off their race.

Approaching the finish I saw the clock was close to 1:19. I didn’t have anything to kick in so I just tried to maintain my pace.

My finish time was 1:19:37 for an 8:33 pace. I was 90th overall and 12 out of 16 in my age group. It’s a tough crowd!

Garmin had my distance at 9.53 miles and a pace of 8:22.

Mary O’Connell and I scored course PRs for the day. This was Mary’s second PR for 2019 and it’s only January! Lot’s of other MRC runners achieved a course PR but I think it was because it was their first time running the race. I’ll update this if I hear differently.

Apre Chase

Due to the smaller crowd, there was plenty of room. The MRC was seated at two table on either side of the hall. Going over to say hi was a good excuse to mingle a bit.

I thought the soup was pretty good and enjoyed the roll and cookie. I could have eaten several of those cookies!

When the awards came around, The MRC did pretty well.

Katherine Kulig came in 3rd in her age group. She had a baby last year and this was her longest run in a year.

Michael Sikkema came in second in his age group and Audie Bridges placed third in his. They received a Great Stew Chase blanket. Definitely preferable to a trophy! Audie had already left and I’m not sure if they will mail the blanket to him.

As soon as the awards were over we all headed for home and hot showers.

Great Stew Chase 2019 FULL RESULTS

2018 Great Stew Chase Recap

Run well my Friends,

Andy

Melrose Wakefield Healthcare Stride for Healthy Communities 5K

A great day for the Melrose Wakefield Healthcare Stride for Healthy Communities 5K. Race re-cap.

Melrose Wakefield Healthcare held their Stride for Healthy Communities 5K on Saturday, September 29th.

The race started on the Lower Common at Church Street at Lake Quannapowitt in Wakefield.

The Melrose Running Club is a community sponsor of this Wakefield 5K race. This year we had about half a dozen volunteers and about half a dozen runners participate. Most of us pulled double duty and had twice the fun!

Dan Slattery, MRC Club President, was the point man this year and pulled together the crew of volunteers and runners. This is the Club’s second year as the community sponsor and our participation continues to grow.

Melrose Wakefield Healthcare Stride for Healthy Communities 5K

I pulled into the parking lot around 7AM. It was still a little cool so I had three layers on including my running jacket. I was manning the bib pickup table and wandered over and meet the crew.

One of the people I met was born in Limestone Maine! We had a good conversation about Maine, Mainers and our idiosyncrasies. We’ve both been away for many years so we have some perspective and fondness for our home state.

Most of the volunteers are nurses in the Melrose Wakefield Healthcare System. What an organized and motivated team! Our little team gelled quickly and we had fun talking and working together. Things went unbelievably smoothly. We had the usual and expected issues and no one missed a beat smoothing things along. You’d think we did this every weekend!

Melrose Running Club, Melrose Wakefield Healthcare Stride for Healthy Communities 5K

The Melrose Running Club all stopped by to say hello and headed out for their assignments. We manned the tables, the water stop and were course marshals.

Running The Healthy Strides 5K

About quarter of nine I noticed most of my friends were either doing a warm up jog or stretching. By now the box of bibs was mostly empty and our job was mostly over.

I did some stretching at the table and then took off my jacket, stuffed it into my drop bag and jogged to the start area. Thuy Dang and Mary O’Connell were waiting for the start and we talked about the MRC Racing Series. Neither one of them was too excited about running the Howling Wolf Half on October 28th. But I’m not adding a November race!

The lady from High 5 ‘Em made some announcements that I couldn’t really hear. Just after 9:00 we were off. I wasn’t expecting it, but as I crossed the start line I saw a timing mat. They said a “shot gun start” which I thought meant they yelled go and we went. No timing at the start. Not that I mind, but I was ready to run outside of the cones!

As I crossed the mat I started my watch and the race. There were only about 100 runners and we had one side of the street. As we crossed Church Street we went down to the side of the road and sidewalk. The crowd had thinned enough by the drop down to leave plenty of room for all.

I was running the Smuttynose Rockfest Half the next day so I tried to back off from my usual 5K pace. My goal pace was around 9:00 minutes but I knew that would be a challenge to keep.

I tried to settle into a comfortable pace and before long I was passing people! At times I’d try to settle in behind someone and back off my pace a bit. But after a bit I’d be almost in their shoes and would have to pass.

As I ran that first mile I thought how anyone can run a fast first mile. And that my first mile would feel easy and fast. I had to keep it cool or I’d pay on Sunday.

As we ran down North Avenue we had the nice wide bike lane, probably 6 feet wide. I really did think about my pace. But I wasn’t breathing hard and my legs weren’t getting tired.

We hit mile one near the entrance to the hotel on the lake and my pace was 8:36. Slower than I could have run that mile but faster than I should have run that mile!

Soon we made the turn onto Quannapowitt Parkway. Traffic was light and many of us ran in the street. The bright sunshine warmed the air into the low 70’s and it actually felt a bit warm!

As the Parkway turned left to go around the office building, we went strait down the sidewalk to the path around the lake. There were some walkers on the path and we were a little more crowded than before.

Instead of cutting through the park we ran out to Lowell Street to square the corner to make a full 5K course. There were a few people cheering us on as we ran by the park.

After the park the sidewalk narrows and the street is too busy to run in. So we got crowded a bit. When we turned onto Main Street, Wakefield, we had to run on the sidewalk.

This area is popular with both runners and walkers. Most people out walking seemed to be oblivious that there was a race going on. I certainly wasn’t the first person to yell “To The Right!” as I approached. People with dogs seemed to pay more attention and kept their dogs out of our way.

We hit Mile Two just before we turned off of Lowell Street onto Main Street. My mile pace was 8:38. There wasn’t any hill at all on this mile, so I had successfully managed to slow my pace.

Runners were pretty well spaced out now. I was running behind a woman and we kept pace together pretty well for about a quarter of a mile and then she seemed to slow down.

When I got to a spot where I could get onto the dirt path between the sidewalk and street I passed her. We were now at about 2.5 miles and I knew I could run this thing in.

As we got close to the turn into the Lower Common I got onto the dirt path between the sidewalk and the lake. Dan Slattery was there holding a big pointing hand sign. I yelled out “nice way to lend a hand!”

Coming off of the sidewalk there is a crushed stone path that goes down a short hill. My footing felt sure on the smooth path, so I ran down the little hill.

I could see the finish line and was running strong. I couldn’t hear anyone behind me but I still thought someone was going to blow past me.

My time at the finish was 26:15 for an average pace of 8:33. I’m sure I’ll pay for this during the half marathon.

Apre Healthy Strides 5K

They had plenty of water in kiddie pools at the finish. A great idea. The bank who was sponsoring even had their name on the label. Pretty cool.

As I drank my water I chatted with other runners and my friend Liz Emerald. She thought the course was short and asked me what I had for a distance. I had 3.07 miles. Just 0.03 miles short. About 158 feet short.

She seemed upset. I reminded her that The Olympic Committee was not here awarding medals today. She didn’t seem to appreciate the humor.

I don’t get too worked up about 0.05 miles or less of a deviation. I can screw up an accurate 5K distance on my own.If I run 3.15 miles, I’m okay with that. I can find the extra 264 feet all on my own.

Most races are measured with a high degree of accuracy. I’m pretty sure that this is an USATF Certified 5K also. If the race is off by 50 feet and I’m off by 100 feet you end up with 3.07 miles.

As I turned to head to the vendor tables and pick up my gear I looked around for a recycle barrel for the water bottles. None to be found!

A race run by a healthcare organization and no recycling? JRM Hauling and Recycling had a table so I headed in their direction. On the way I stopped to chat with my friends from Ameriprise. They thought recycling would be a good idea at a race also. Erica took my bottle and headed for the JRM booth.

By the time I got there she was in a conversation with the two ladies from JRM. They said that no one provided a barrel for them to use. I was puzzled by that response.

I told them they should have a large barrel that they take to all of their events. They could put all of their display items in the barrel for easy transport and then use the barrel to collect plastic bottles.

I hate to be critical, but this should not have been a novel idea. They are a waste disposal and recycling company.

We did have a good conversation about the challenges to recycling. Between the low cost for some materials, the decreasing use of glass and how some condo complexes do not want to pay anything extra to add recycling to their disposal options. It was a discouraging conversation.

Healthy Stride 5K Awards

Team MRC gathered in front of the awards area. None of us expected to win anything but here we were crowding the pedestals.

I managed to maneuver us off to the side a bit. Soon the person from High 5 Em announced they were doing awards and a crowd gathered around us.

Lisa Tysall won first place in her age group and finished 13th overall. Rose Fisher, the Race Director, won 3rd place in her age group and came in 29th overall. I won third place in my age group and was 21st overall. I purposely did not run my fastest at this race and getting an award was a total surprise.

Lisa Tysall, Melrose Wakefield Healthcare Stride for Healthy Communities 5K 2018 — Lisa Tysall AG 1st Place

I felt odd getting 3rd in my age group, but he guy who came in 4th place walked with his wife. So I didn’t feel like I kept someone else from placing.

As people started to leave I spoke with Steph Lawson about some running club business that the board has been discussing. She had an awesome idea. When our club President, Dan Slattery, wandered over I let Steph explain her simple, elegant solution to him.

Like the solution to a complex mathematical problem, her solution was truly simple and elegant. Stay tuned!

FULL RESULTS

Run well my Friends and enjoy the fall running season!

Andy