Local 5K Race Directories

Looking for a 5K race near your home can be frustrating.
I’ve created these directories for towns in the GBA to make it a little easier.

Over the past few years I have been maintaining local 5K race directories by town. Some towns have quite a few races while many have none or maybe one or two.

I find these races by researching race timing and race management company websites. Quite often I find races on the web site of the organization who is the beneficiary of the fundraising from the race.

The information is all over the place and takes time to gather and maintain.

Local 5K Race Directories

If you google the name of a town and local 5K races, or races near me, you are likely to get a list of links to individual races. Looking at each one can be time consuming and often they are in no particular order. Sometimes the link provided is to a previous years information.

Then there are the other so-called “Race Directories.” I’ve looked at many of these. They are often heavy with ads and light on actual race information. It’s not unusual to look for a race in your town and get a list that includes races in another state! Someone is obviously not paying attention to their work.

In order to provide a useful service to you I frequently update my directories. Several times a year I conduct a far reaching search for any new races. Sometimes they are found by accident. It’s amazing how some races are kept almost a secret.

I look for these races because often these events raise money for important causes and these smaller races are often fun to run.

Why do I manage 5K Race Directories?

I started creating the directories as a result of my own searches for local races. I found that no one site seemed to have all of the races for any given location. Friends would tell me about a race I never heard of or missed because of bad information or no information from the race at all.

I also manage the directories as a way to promote the My First 5K medal. Most 5K road races have awards for the top three male and female finishers and sometimes age-group awards.

I know many people who have managed to encourage their spouse or child to run a 5K with them. Everyone is excited about running the race and I love to see a new runner trying a 5K for the first time.

In most cases a new runner is not going to place over all or in their age group. So they go home without a medal to show for their first 5K.

If a race does give all finishers a medal it is often an inexpensive medal that is easily forgotten.

That just doesn’t seem right to me. All first time 5K runners deserve a medal that they can be proud of.

GBA 5K Race Directories

Here are my 5K race directories for the GBA (Greater Boston Area). Please let me know if I am missing a race or have some facts wrong.

If you are a race director and would like me to add your race, please let me know. info @ omnirunning.com

Also, if you are running with a first time 5K runner, check the race web site to see if they give all runners a medal. If they don’t please order a My First 5K medal for your runner.

Medford 5K Race Directory

Somerville 5K Race Directory

Cambridge 5K Race Directory

Malden 5K Race Directory

Everett 5K Race Directory

There are so many 5Ks in Boston that I have not started a directory for them.

Do you know of a town that has several 5K races that I should create a directory for? Please let me know at [email protected]

Run well my Friends,

Andy

Melrose 5K Race Directory 2022

Melrose is a very active town. There is a YMCA, Melrose Boot Camp and a large and active running club, the Melrose Running Club. Whenever I drive through town I see runners everywhere.

If you are promoting a race that I do not have listed here, please contact me at [email protected]

2020 and 2021 were tough years for races every where. Some went virtual and some just faded away.

Melrose 5K Race Directory

Fitzgerald Physical Therapy Associates Melrose Run For Women

8 May | 9:00 AM | Sunday | Mother’s Day

The Melrose Run for Women is back and in person for 2022!

With Fitzgerald Physical Therapy Associates as the marque sponsor, the race is sure to be better than ever!

Produced by the Melrose Running Club this 3.5 mile women only road race draws around 1,000 runners each year.

All proceeds benefit Melrose Alliance Against Violence (MAAV). Since 1998 over $278,000 has been donated.

Awards are given to the top finishers, the first mother and grandmother to finish, and best mother/daughter team finishers. Awards are also given to top age group finishers.

Registration is open at: $35 per person and $60 for mother/daughter teams. On May 1st prices got to $40 and $70 respectively.

Melrose Firefighters Fathers Day 5K

TBD June | 9:30 AM | Sunday – see you in 2022?

I really thought this race would make a come back in 2021 since the fire fighters are so good at organizing this.

Keeping my eyes open and hopes high for 2022!

2021 would be the 8^th running of this Melrose 5K race which raises money for the Melrose Firefighters Relief Association.

Normally, the fun starts with a free kids race where everyone wins! Music, snacks, and fire trucks will abound.

Melrose Family YMCA Spooky Sprint 5K

29 October | 8:30 AM | Saturday

The Spooky Sprint is alive! Alive and in person for 2022!

This race begins at the Y and travels through charming downtown Melrose and through beautiful Pine Banks. Bring your costumes and family!

All proceeds benefit the Melrose Family YMCA’s Growing Stronger Together scholarship fund which ensures no one in the community is turned away for inability to pay.

In 2015 the YMCA of Metro North provided more than one million dollars in financial aid providing all children, adults and families with opportunities to develop a healthy spirit, mind and body regardless of income.

Registration is open at: $30 for adults and $20 for 18 and under through October 13th.

Assault on Mt. Hood

10 December | Noon

The Assault on Mt. Hood returns as an in person cross country race for 2022.

The location as much as the time of year makes this race what it is, and you just can’t duplicate that at home.

This race has become an early winter tradition for cross-country runners from the GBA and beyond. The race is run on the Mt. Hood golf course and the route is slightly different year-to-year depending on conditions.

The race organizers seek to make the course more challenging each year. So come prepared to climb hills!

This Melrose Running Club production features awards, refreshments, a Huge Post Race Party with plenty of food and a few beers.

And don’t forget about the legendary nutcrackers!

We have a 2022 date, but registration is not open yet.

Melrose 5K Race Directory Updates

Please let me know if I missed a race or if your group is starting a race for next year. I will be more than happy to add your race or make any corrections to the races listed.

Run well my Friends!

Andy

Virtual 5K Races 2020

With so many races being cancelled due to COVID-19, it’s nice to have the option to run a virtual 5K and support local causes that need your support now more than ever.

Have you ever run a virtual 5K race before?

Until April 20th of 2020, I’d never run virtual 5K races or any other type of virtual races. Running a “race” by myself just seems like a training run to me.

On training runs, I never run as hard as I do during a race. And the virtual 5k races I’ve run have felt like training runs.

Virtual races allow us to have some fun. Maybe provide the motivation we need to go for a run and our race fees are helping local organizations who really need our support right now.

Virtual 5K Races

It seems like virtual 5K races are everywhere this year but mainly in your in-box.

If you are like me you get emails for virtual races almost every day.

And like me, you’ve probably gotten way too many emails from races you signed up for, informing you that they are going virtual.

My running club, Melrose Running Club, held two virtual races the weekend the Boston Marathon was supposed to take place.

We had the “Keep Your Distance 5K” and the “Virtual-ly Insane Half Marathon” on the weekend of April 20th. Everyone had a good time with it.

We ran the Cinco De Mayo QuaranTeam Virtual challenge on May 5th and will be running the Stepping Stones for Stella 5K and 10K the weekend of June 21st.

The way things are going we will probably be going virtual for the rest of the year.

Can you imagine crowding into a corral before a race?

How about running down the street behind and betwixt hundreds of other runners? All breathing deeply and exhaling forcefully?

There’s a lot of sweat, snot and spit flying during a race. That’s on top of being in everyone else’s space and breathing their air.

Finding Virtual 5K races 2020

As I mentioned above, you probably have more emails than you want announcing new virtual 5K races, 10K and even half marathons.

I’m running two virtual half marathons. God help me!

So between your in-box and the web site of your local race management or timing company, you can probably find more virtual races than you’d care to.

Since you can run a virtual race anywhere and you don’t have to go anywhere, pick a race that supports a cause dear to your heart. Perhaps one that raises funds to thank and support our healthcare providers and first responders.

A few Virtual 5Ks to choose from

Miles 4 My Community – May 23rd. This is a nation-wide effort to raise money to support local youth sports programs and other local organizations impacted by COVID-19. You can run a 5K, 10K, half or full marathon for a $20 donation. Larger amounts will be accepted.

Registration includes a virtual bib and for $10 each you can order a shirt and a medal.

You track your results with your GPS watch or an app. They are not exactly clear on how to submit your results. That information may be in the registration confirmation email.

Margarita 5K – June 14th. This race was scheduled to take place in Portsmouth, NH but now it can take place in your neighborhood.

For this race they will mail your shirt, bib and medal. So you can run around your neighborhood in the race shirt, with a bib. When you get home you can mix your own margarita and show off your medal.

The 5K is $39. There is also the Margarita Half for $79. Swag for the half includes a nice quarter zip fleece.

2020 Boston Run Fest Virtual – June 19-21 Registration is free and you can run a 5K, 10K or half-marathon.

Boston Road Runners is a local non-profit to inspire youth to run. Our vision is to create a community of runners to support one another while giving back. The Boston Run Fest will benefit the youth to support their runs through youth runs, youth running programs, and create a safe space for youth to gain confidence.

The run is open and free we encourage everyone to make a donation to support our non-profit.

Stepping Stones for Stella – June 21st. This race is free with a donation appreciated to support their work. Click the image below for details.

Stepping Stones for Stella, virtual 5K race — Click to learn more

Smuttynose 5K – June 21st. This race is still scheduled to happen at the Smuttynose Brewery in Hampton, NH. Loco Running does have a COVID 19 notice on the race web page stating that they may have to go virtual.

You will still get a shirt, bib and medal but no beer or BBQ.

I think it’s a safe bet that this will be a virtual race.

Of course you can make up your own virtual 5K race and make a donation to a local food pantry.

Run well my Friends and stay healthy!

Andy

Running Jennifer Tinney Road Race 2017

The Jennifer Tinney Road Race is a set of races including a 5 Miler, 5K, a 1 mile run and a 2.5 mile walk.

The races take place in East Boxford Village, MA each 4th of July. The races are in honor of Jennifer Tinney who was a local runner. One day while she and her mother were out for a run, she was tragically struck by a drunk driver and killed.

Members of the Tinney family, including Jennifer, ran the race when it was the Boxford Athletic Association 4th of July race. Her brother and nephew have run the race since it was renamed in honor of Jennifer.

Here is a Salem News article with a brief interview with Jennifer’s father.

Why I love the Jennifer Tinney Road Race

Back in 2013 I ran the 5 mile race for the first time. My buddy Jeff Rushton drove up with me and of course he beat me in the 5 Miler! At the time, they let 5 Mile runners run the 1 Mile race for free, so I ran that one as well.

The Boxford area is an amazingly rural and beautiful place to run. There are many open fields, pastures and woods to run by. There are also many old houses which I love to look at as I run by.

In 2013 I was struck by the home town feel and family orientation. Runners do come from all over north-eastern Massachusetts to run, but so do many local families.

It’s great to see kids running with their parents and older children going all out for the win.

After the race there is a 4th of July parade. I didn’t stay for it in 2013, and I didn’t stay for it this year either. As we drove home today we passed just about every piece of emergency equipment from the Town of Boxford. What kids wouldn’t love that!

Unlike a big race in Boston or Cambridge, things are simpler and on a smaller scale in a small town race like the Jennifer Tinney Road Race.

This year 84 people ran the 5 Miler and 68 ran the 5K. 49 people ran the 1-mile race.

It’s a completely different vibe than the hustle and bustle of a city race.

As we ran our warm up today, everyone agreed that “serene” seemed to be the best word to describe this day and this location.

Running the Jennifer Tinney Road Race

These races are part of the Melrose Running Club’s 2017 Race Series. I didn’t expect a large turn out, but we ended up with about 14 people. During the awards ceremony the race director said that it looked like Melrose had taken over Boxford for the day!

I drove up with Durm Cahill and we kept seeing people from the club. We even had one of our newly graduated “Walk to Run” runners with us. One goal of the race series is to encourage new members to come out and enjoy racing, so I was very happy to see our newly minted runner.

Just before 8 o’clock the race director gathered us around and tried to make announcements. This being a small town race, he didn’t have a very loud PA system. We could barely hear most of what he said.

But we did hear where the start line was and we headed in that direction. Most of us lined up back from the line expecting other runners to fill in the space. They didn’t, we were all the runners there were! My buddy Mike Sikkema was on the starting line and was all business. Durm and I hung back a bit.

On a verbal command we were off! We headed down Depot Road and crossed Georgetown Road. Soon we were on a cool, tree shaded road.

The air was thick with the forest, streams and swamps. In the sun, you could see the mist in the air.

My phone said it was 67° but it felt more like 80°!

As we approached three-quarters of a mile I could still see the lights for the lead police car. Before the mile, they were out of sight.

Durm struck out on his own soon after the start, so I was running my own race. No need to keep up with anyone or run beyond my feel.

Over the first mile we had climbed 31 feet. Nothing major, just some rolling hills. Mile one chimed in at 7:57. Better than I had expected.

At about a mile-and-a-quarter I could hear running water. Soon I saw a pond with a dam and water flowing over. We crossed Pye Brook and shortly thereafter turned left onto Pond Street.

Runners were spaced apart now and I spent most of the race running alone. A few times I would pass someone, but mostly people passed me.

Running alone can make it difficult to push hard. With someone on your heels it’s much easier to run a wee bit faster.

Just before Mile 2 we took a quick jog onto Kelsey Road. An unmarked mile two chimed in at 7:45. A few more seconds in the bank!

After a quarter-mile we turned left onto Woodcrest Road. At the water stop they had good sized paper cups full of cool water. I was able to grab, pinch and get two good gulps of relief. The rest went down my shirt!

We were only 40% done, but I felt much more done than that!

We were on Woodcrest for most of a winding mile through the country side. I tried to enjoy the sights as mush as possible.

At the end of Woodcrest we turned left onto Georgetown Road. One of the volunteers told us Georgetown ran us right to the finish. That was cool to hear, but we were still short of three miles.

Soon after the turn, mile three chimed in at 8:09! I had robbed the bank on that mile! We had gained another 21 feet, but it didn’t seem that bad.

I still had a shot at a 40 minute finish, so I dug a little deeper.

There were now a few runners around me. Two people kept moving further ahead and I could tell that at least two others were closing on me. I managed to keep one guy behind me and thought I was wearing him down on the hills.

Eventually he passed me and shortly after that a young lady moved ahead also. I was doing all I could, so it didn’t bother me.

Finishing the Jennifer Tinney Road Race

We were now approaching walkers. I thought they were 5K runners who had flamed out and that I was making relative progress. I was wrong. They were the 2.5 mile walkers!

Mile four was mostly rolling hills and I managed an 8:00 mile. Now we were on the home stretch.

I had another guy on my heels so I used the hills as best I could. I could tell he was dieing going up the hills so I pushed. When we got to a downhill I extended my stride and tried to stay in front of him.

He eventually passed and we finished close together.

Somewhere around here we hit the second water stop. A women who had passed me stopped to walk and drink. Soon she passed me again.

I executed a near perfect, grab,pinch and gulp. We were on the home stretch and I was looking for that finish line!

The last mile was mostly flat and I managed a 7:57 mile. As mile five chimed, the finish line was still ahead of me. The guy who passed me was speeding up and so did I.

As I approached the finish I could see 39:48 on the clock. I was running as fast as I could, but the clock was faster. My time was 40:11.

Melrose Carries the Day

As I crossed the line I could see four of the guys hanging out talking. I was that much slower!

When the awards were announced Mike Sikkema was the fastest man in the 5 miler with a time of 30:28 for a pace of 6:06!

Now the truly amazing part of Mike’s win is that he got to run a slightly longer race than everyone else. When he got to the left onto Pond Street, a police car was parked on top of the arrow and the cop didn’t know which way to go.

Mike went strait but said he was pretty sure right away it wasn’t right. Fortunately, Kevin Elwood was close behind and yelled out to Mike. Mike had run about 200 yards in the wrong direction before Kevin saw him.

Even with the extra distance, Mike came in first. Kevin Elwood of Boxford came in second at 31:19.

David Penn was 12th overall and 3rd in his age group.

Matt Kerton was 15th overall.

Diarmuid Cahill was 22nd overall and 2nd in his age group.

I came in 31st overall.

Gail Severt was our top female finisher at 49th overall. This was Gail’s first race of the day!

In the 5K Cynthia Berger finished 23rd overall and Greg Berger finished 24th.

Cynthia was first in her age group and Greg was second in his.

Rebecca Hughes was our Walk to Run finisher today. She ran with her daughter Diana Hughes who came in 3rd in her age group.

FULL RESULTS

We had a good sized group show up and they did very well in both races.

I hope you had a Happy 4th of July and got out there to enjoy the weather.

Andy

Why I Love Saturday Races

Most races that I run are on Sundays and I used to think that most races were on Sunday. For me Saturday races are a nice change of pace. I decided to see how many races are run on each weekend day and write about why I love Saturday races.

Why I Love Saturday Races

I love Saturday races because I can relax on Sunday. Traveling to a race and running it can be quite exhausting.

For a 5K or 10K it’s not too bad, even with a long drive. A Half or full Marathon can consume a full day.

It’s not unusual to travel 30 minutes to an hour for a race. Because most races start at 9:00 or 10:00 AM you have to get up early, get into hustle mode and get on the road.

For a 9:00 AM race it’s not unusual for me to get up at 6:00 AM. There goes a nice lazy morning and a little extra weekend sleep.

I love Saturday races because I can sleep in on Sunday.

When I race I almost always go in 100%. This means near complete exhaustion after the race. For a 5K or 10K the recovery is usually pretty quick. For a half or full marathon it can take a day or two to fully recover. For a marathon it’s not unusual to take a week to get back to normal.

I love Saturday races because I have Sunday to recover. Monday can still be challenging, but having a full day to relax and recover makes those Mondays much easier.

I love Saturday races because I feel like I have accomplished something. How many times have you gone back to work on Monday and felt like you did nothing all weekend? That it was a total waste of time.

When I run on Saturday I always have this feeling that I’ve done something great this weekend. It may be a runner’s high, but I get to enjoy that feeling of well being all Sunday.

Running any race is an accomplishment and especially so if you gave it your all and had a good time. There’s not much better than that!

What Saturday Races?

Since most races that I sign up for are on Sunday, it was my observation that few races occurred on Saturdays.

I only had anecdotal evidence that helped me develop my own notion of reality. But this is how I arrived at this conclusion:

Traffic is lighter on Sunday, so it is safer for runners. Many races do not close roads, so less traffic means greater safety.

Most children’s activities are on Saturday. My kids had soccer games almost every Saturday in the spring and fall. When they were younger they had dance classes. Many kids also swim, do martial arts, music, art or theater on Saturday.

Parents are too busy on Saturday to sign up for races. Race demographics do show that under 40 females make up a large portion of runners. Whiles dads are more involved with their children these days, moms still do most of the child care and many dads go to their children’s events with their wives.

To draw more young parents and enhance safety, I assumed race organizers held most of their races on Sunday.

I was wrong.

Saturday Races are Popular

I did some research to get some facts and test my theory. I went to runningintheusa.com and checked the numbers for a few states.

State	All	SUN	SAT	Marathons	SUN	SAT
MA	1952	692	743	16	9	4
TX	2851	518	2008	154	32	48
CA	2948	969	1589	173	73	82
FL	2502	528	1711	27	19	8
NH	485	180	237	8	4	2
VT	287	89	151	11	5	5
GA	2007	219	1608	15	3	11
NY	2189	748	1130	35	21	12
PA	2668	838	1545	29	20	7
OH	2272	538	1424	30	18	13

I looked at the three states I race in the most, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. Then I added in the top seven states for total number of races. The list is in no particular order.

I was shocked to see that in the states I run in most often there are more races on Saturday than Sunday.

baystate marathon, marathon medal — Courtesy – Chris Hancock

Then I looked at marathons in these three states. In Massachusetts and New Hampshire, more marathons are held on Sunday, in Vermont they are split evenly.

Then I looked at marathons held in the top seven states. In four of them, more marathons are held on Sunday than Saturday.

Why more marathons on Sunday?

With the data at my finger tips it is hard to say definitively. It may be the safety issue with less traffic on Sunday. Getting permits to close roads may be easier on Sundays. Perhaps all of the timing companies are busy managing shorter races on Saturday?

A marathon is a big undertaking. For race organizers the logistics can be enormous. There is equipment and volunteers to get into place. Often a large area needs to be taken over for base camp and this can be disruptive to businesses on Saturday.

It may be easier to get volunteers and permits on a Sunday.

While Massachusetts holds 1952 running events, we only have 16 marathons. That means we often have to travel a bit to get to our races. Many runners like to travel the day before a big race and get a good night’s sleep. Having a marathon on Sunday makes this easier to do.

Most marathons also have an expo and runner’s dinner. The vendors want the runners to have time to shop. Race dinners can be a lot of fun. Rushing to get to a dinner Friday night after work may not seem worth it to many. A nice leisurely dinner with fellow runners on a Saturday night is a great time.

Why more races on Saturday?

Looking at the three southern states on my list, Texas, Florida and Georgia, around 80% of all races are held on Saturday. I can only speculate that this is due to church attendance on Sundays.

In the New England states and California about 40 to 50% of races are held on Saturdays: a much more even split. It may come down to logistics in these states.

Facts is Facts

As a friend’s father used to say to us, Facts is Facts. He meant that the numbers don’t lie, they are what they are.

My theory that most races are on Sunday has been dis-proven by the facts.

This was a casual review of a few states and I’m sure that a more academic review would reveal some interesting insights. It would be interesting to see if marathons break the pattern in a majority of states.

As “Myth Busters” used to say. “Myth Busted!”

Do you prefer to run on Saturday or Sunday? Do you prefer to run marathons and halfs on Saturday or Sunday?

Run well my Friends!

Andy

Race to the Row 5K 2016 Race Recap

The Race to the Row 5K is a celebration of running and renewal.

Sponsored by the Somerville Road Runners, this race attracts runners from all over the GBA. Parents with strollers and college kids out for the win participate in this annual event held at the Assembly Row neighborhood in Somerville.

Now in it’s 4th year, this race has witnessed the renewal and development of a new neighborhood in Somerville. Once the location of a Ford Assembly plant the area went through a period of decline and years of stagnation.

Over the past few years a new T station has been built along with many apartments, retail and dining establishments. Assembly Row is the new place to be in Somerville.

Race to the Row 5K

For me, this is another great local race. The starting line is just over a mile from my house, and you know I love that!

Bib pick up and day-of registration began at 8AM and the race started at 9:30. I had an easy morning of coffee and a leisurely drive over to the race. The Somerville Road Runners had everything set up and ready to go by 8AM, and I picked up my bib and shirt in no time.

By 8:30 AM it was already very hot. My phone said 74° but in the full sun it felt like 85°, at least. I had applied sun screen before I left the house but the Race Cancer Foundation had their sun screen dispensers deployed. I applied another coating!

We lined up on Grand Union Blvd and were off and running shortly after 9:30. The roads are wide and well paved so it was easy to get up to speed quickly. For me it is was more of reaching maximum cardio capacity quickly.

I knew going into this race that my cardio fitness would not allow me to really push. Within the first quarter-mile I was at my max. At about 0.43 miles I looked at my current pace and saw that is was 8:17! I made a conscious effort to back off and mile one came in at 8:31.

At this point in the race the lead runners were coming back from the first loop in the race. They looked pretty strong and many people cheered them on.

We made the loop out on Assembly Square Drive twice and wisely, the Somerville Road Runners put the water stop on this loop. You could easily get water twice and four times if you really worked it.

We got to run through most of the neighborhood at least once, and even ran by the brand new T station. There wasn’t much shade, but I took advantage of any that I could find.

My 5K Race

My splits were pretty even in the 8:31 to 8:39 range and I finished with a time of 27:43 and an average pace of 8:32, according to Garmin.

I ran this race for fun and not to compete. This has been a light summer of running for me, so I’m really not in shape to run hard. But I still like to compete.

At the 2012 Boston Marathon I learned the value of running in the shade, even if it adds a few steps. Over he years I’ve learned about the congestion at turn arounds and this race had three. While I could not run hard, I tried to put my experience to my advantage.

It was fun just to be out running and feel my body working.

Apre Race

Our friends at Harpoon were providing cans of cold beer at this race. I tried the Harpoon Sweet Spot and Harpoon Flannel Friday. Sweet Spot is a golden IPA and not a shandy or anything like that. No fruit juice, but still a nice hope flavor.

When I saw the label for Flannel Friday I thought it would be a brown ale, porter or something else heavy. It turned out to be an amber ale with a nice hop bite to it. Both ales were well balanced and not too heavy.

Ernesto’s Pizza provided generous slices of some of the best cheese pizza I’ve ever had. I love a cheese pizza with cheese! I can’t stand a cheese pizza with sprinkles of cheese on it. I had to go back for seconds and tell them how good it was. Definitely looking these guys up!

How was your weekend running? Any plans for Labor Day weekend?

Run well my Friends!

Andy