This morning I ran the Granara-Skerry 5K Race in Medford, MA.
The rain held off and we ended up with just about perfect running conditions. When I drove home through Medford Square one of the bank clocks said 55 degrees.
The course is an out and back that starts at The American Legion Hall on Winthrop Street. It is mostly a flat course with a few rises in the road that help sort out the field a bit.
Over all there were 96 runners and I managed to come in 15th. My official time was 22:57 and my pace was 7:24! A new PR for me that beat my previous 5K PR, also set on this course, by 16 seconds.
The top male finisher was John Wichers of Arlington with a time of 17:58 and a pace of 5:47. And this young man is 45! The top female finisher was Ashley Bock of Wakefield with a time of 21:22 and a pace of 6:53. Very impressive times, I hope they are happy with their results.
7 of the 14 people who finished ahead of me were under 30. Jim Ryan of Medford ran a strong race and came in 9th overall and first in his age group. Jim ran in a time of 21:52 and a pace of 7:03. Not bad for a young lad of 61!
The race was managed by FiveKsport.com out of Scarborough, Maine. There was plenty of water at the finish line and plenty of snacks in The Hall. As a fund-raiser there were all kinds of raffles going on and face painting for the kids.
This was a nice local race raising money for a very good cause. This link will take you to a brief write-up about the Granara-Skerry Trust, and this link will take you to their website if you would like additional information.
© anagelin 2012
