50 Fives by Fifty-Five

On the weekend of Saturday July 17, Carly and I travelled to Manchester, VT for the Komen Vermont/New Hampshire Race at Hildene Meadows. It was a sunny and clear day, and it did not take long for the pavement on the course to make for at least a 90 degree run. We were glad to experience one or more of the misting stations set up along the way to cool things off a bit.

Even with the heat, though, it was a glorious day and a great event for a great cuase, and we were glad to participate and enjoy the morning with at least a thousand other runners, and walkers, from all over New England.

Carly and me at the Manchester, VT 5k run on July 17, 2010

The New Jersey run is scheduled for the beautiful Jersey Shore town of Sea Girt, for the annual Sea Girt 5k. This early morning Sunday run covers a course that is right next to the beach and should be a lot if fun. Could be up to 2000 runners or more for this one.

Saturday morning, January 30th. It’s 7.30 am and its already 72 degrees. Not bad for a Northerner down in Miami Beach for the weekend. It’s all part of the ING Miami Marathon weekend, and we’re taking part in the Tropical 5k race portion of the festivities. All weekend, South Beach is packed with runners from all over the world, together with football fans streaming into town for the ProBowl and the following week’s Super Bowl. What can you send about meeting the one and only Dennis Rodman in the local watering hole on Saturday night.  What a character.

The course was great. All along the MacArthur causeway, with the ocean and bay on either side, there were more than 1500 runners. A nice flat course, starting out by the cruise ship terminal, it was a long run to pass by the four ships in port on Saturday morning.  A little bit of a headwind, but a colling one at that. Done by 8 a.m., and then it was off to the beach and the pool.

Charleston, SC. December 5, 2009. What a great city and a great course. Joined by my pal Paul Heinauer, we ran with 1500 other runners thorugh historic downtwon Charleston on a rainy and brisk Staurday morning. After getting rained on for the first seven or eight minutes of the run, the sky began to brighten and the balance of the race was cool and pleasant.

The scenic course passed through downtown and then out in to an incredible neighborhood with stately old homes kept in mint condition. At the halfway point, the course then turned onto the riverfront for the next mile, and then back through downtown for the last half-mile.

Amazing that this is my sixth waterfront/oceanfront race out of the ten races to date. Ive got to race along the Atlantic, the Pacific and Lake Michigan. Going to be tough to keep that up across the U.S. 

Almost ran straight into SC governor Mark Sanford prior to the race. He was one of the runners, and I had the chance to meet him after the race, thanks to Paul.

Paul Heinauer and Bob at the finish line of the Charleston 19th Annual Reindeer Run

Saturday afternoon - 4pm.  The rain cleared and the temparature rose to a comfortable 50 degrees as 1500 runners gathered at Lincoln Park just north of downtown Chicago for the 10th annual Pumpkins in the Park 5k race.  Great run if you like a flat course - hardly a hill to be seen.

Pumpkins in the Park 5k - Chicago 2009

Lincoln Park in downtown Chicago will be the site for the Illinois entry in the 50 Fives journey. Over 1500 runners are expecetd to participate in this Saturday afternoon event. The course should be fairly flat, and hopefully not too windy, as the park is adjacent to Lake Michigan.

Race number six of the 50 Fives journey took place on Saturday morning November 29, 2008 in scenic York, Maine. The 11 am start yielded fantastic weather for the season - 41 degrees, but a clear, bright sunny sky and open course made it feel a  lot warmer. About 250 runners ran the undulating course that presented some panoramic views of York Harbor out to the Atlantic Ocean.  A good inspiration at the 1.5 mile, to turn the corner and head back up the hill to the finish line in the village center.

Race number 5 took place in New Castle, NH, and it was the perfect weather day for a race.  Not a cloud in the sky, no wind, and a comfortable 60 degrees at race time. And the setting was right on the Atlantic Ocean. A postcard like scene, as the water was quiet in the bay, and the sun glistened over the water along a good point of the route, as we ran along the east and south facing shores of the town.

The race itself has grown to more than 1000 runners, but well organized, with plenty of room to spread out after a fairly tight start.  Turns out, though, for me, the races with lots of runners are just more fun than the smaller races. And the after race food selection is generally a lot better and more plentiful at the bigger races.

Is getting to be time for 50fives to hit the road. We’ve got most of New England and NY covered, and as fall heads towards winter, its time to seek out those sunny and warm states. See you soon.

We competed and completed Race # 4 on Sunday Septmeber 28, 2008 in White Plains, New York. The  run took us throughout the city streets of downtown White Plains, passed at least two malls, under another mall, and back up a long incline along Bloomingdale’s Road( seriously!) and then continuing uphill along Mamaroneck Ave back to the finish line in front of the Galleria Mall and the White Plains library.

For this race, we had four participants running for team 50Fives. I was joined by daughter Carly, and by Steve and Danny Young of Riverdale, NY, by way of our hometown, Swampscott, MA. As you can see from the photo below, the younger team members got the job done for team 50FIves, each bringing home the hardware.

Carly and Danny bring home the hardware in the White Plains 5k

And here’s Steve with the team 50Fives crew, Carly and Danny, shown in front of the presentation stand, just after the race had concluded.

Steve Young and team 50Fives

A great day- despite a cloudy and humid day for running, we avoided the rain that had been forecast, as the path of Hurricane Kyle stayed several hundred miles to the east.  We are now almost 10 percent of the way to 50 !