50 Fives by Fifty-Five

Our first evening run on the tour took place on Friday Evening, September 16 in Memphis, TN. The Memphis weather cooperated, and temperatures cooled during the day to a very comfortable mid-70s range, and it colled down as the race went on.

A great experience with somewhere near 2000 runners taking part, we started out just about at sunset and finished in evening darkness. All the while we were being cheered on and “illuminated” by hundred of neighborhood residents who had taken to the streets and lined the running route through the very cool Cooper Young part of mid-town Memphis.

Here is a photo of me with two-time 50fives participant David Johnson.

Once again, the weather favored us on Sunday morning, October 17, 2010 as Carly an I took part in the National Law Enforcement Memorial 5k road race in Washington, DC. Okay, we stretched the definition a bit to qualify DC as a Virginia race, but then its only a mile or so away from VA, and we had our share of training runs from DC into VA and back, and so it goes.

The race route took us right by the front of the US Capitol building, and then around three sides of the structure and back again. It was really an inspiring route and I feel honored to have had the opportunity to participate in this way and to honor and support the memorial.

A 45 degree morning quickly turned into a 70 degree day in the mid-morning sun for this 10 am race start, but we caught some shade where we could, and enjoyed the sunshine along the way.

A clear sky and bright sun greeted us early Sunday morning along with 2000 other runs for a very hot run around the streets of the Sea Girt. Nice to have some homeowners along the course in the front yard with their garden house aloft, sending a cooling jet of water out into the course for runners to pass through. The flat course led from the center of the village out to the ocean and back through the seaside neighborhoods. A great day.

Liza and Bob at the SeaGirt 5k Race in August 2010

On the weekend of Saturday July 17, Carly and I traveled 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 Bob at the Manchester, VT 5k run on July 17, 2010

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.

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 !

Although this is only the third of 50 runs, the CVS/ Downtown 5k in Providence, RI has taken the # 1 spot in terms of race event excitement. Over 4000 runners for the 5k, plus another several thousand spectators converged on the RI state house lawn and the Providence Place mall for a very festive morning and early afternoon. Even though I was dealing with the somewhat unseasonable high-70 degree weather, it was definitely a race to enjoy. There were at least three different bands playing live along the race course, and the run through the downtown area of the tall buildings produces plenty of spectators and a fair bit of shade.

My post-race photo at finish line of the CVS/Downtown 5k. September 21, 2008

Next week, it off to NY.

John Bridge and Bob at Somers Road Race

Early on a humid and overcast day, the scene was Somers, CT High School and the  Somers Great Escape 5k Road Race. (see photo’s in the post) I arrived early for the race, (after a 5.30 am departure from home). Stopping first at the home of John “Q” Bridge, we arrived at the race, where John was greeted as the local celebrity that he is.

The race was underway right on time, and we followed a track out past the athletic fields, across the dirt path, and on to a scenic and rolling ”backroad” in the Northern Conncecticut countryside. A great course, down and back, made for an enjoyable run. Although it seemed that I was barely out of the gate when the eventually winner, running sub 5 minute miles, appeared on the other side of the road, heading into to the finish.

Nonetheless, “Q” set a blistering pace for the 50Fives crew, and we managed to clock some respectable times for the 3.1 mile course.

We were joined also by Chuck “Q’ Bridge, who has now been named an honorary member of the 50Fives contingent, even though he has quite a few years yet to reach that 50 milestone.

Chuck and John Bridge

On to Providence next Sunday.

Liza and I after Westford 5k

Sunday May fourth, 2008 marked the official start of the 50 fives campaign. We ran the 9th Annual Westford Road Race in Westford, Massachusets. This race benefits the Westford Charitable Foundation, which supports a number of activities in the town of Westford, a sylvan suburban town about 30 miles northwest of Boston.

It had been raining all weekend, so we were readt for the fun of running in the rain. This race, unlike most that run in the early morning, was an afternoon race, starting at 2:20. Rain all morning, about an hour before race time, the rain stopped, and by race time there was even a little bit of sun.

We had never seen the course before. The first half-mile was flat. The next mile-straight downhill. Knowing the race was a loop, it was not long to figure out that there would be the comparable uphill return. And so it was, the last mile was pretty much uphill all the way. Glad to have the knowledge of 49 more races to keep me going up those rolling hills.

As is often the case, I finished somewhere in the middle of the pack. No surprise there. As you can see in the picture, though, Liza fared much better. The hardware in the photo, of course belongs to Liza, as she took second place among female runners.