Co-Editor of Jog New London, P.A. Smith, on the homestretch donning a drenched pink princess shirt.

Considering it was a grey day, in the low 40s, with pelting rain, there was a surprisingly large turnout for the O’Niantic 5K Jig, Jog and Walk with over 400 participants. The race was well organized, as usual, by the Hartford Marathon Foundation, although the start was delayed a bit. But the course was well marked, with volunteers at pivotal points confirming the way to go and with digital timers at the 1 and 2 mile markers. Despite the conditions, there was still a water station at about 1.5 miles.

The course went from Methodist Street, adjacent to Pro Tek Auto, to Hope Street and then right onto Pennsylvania Ave. Then, after turning onto Grand Street and then Smith Street, the course took you around Camp Rell, looping around the residential streets back out to Smith Street and onto Penn Ave. The home stretch turned back onto Hope Street and Methodist Street to the finish.

Finishers were offered bagels and water at Pro Tek Auto and then a free beer, chili, and cornbread at the Black Sheep Pub.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Mystic YMCA’s annual turkey trot, it’s a very low-key event where people have fun while getting a little exercise in. There’s no official start line. People gather around the entrance way of the YMCA and the Y director greets people from atop an ambulance. Once the director blows the air horn, everyone’s off. There’s a variety of participants – from old pros to energetic little kids to people in banana suits and everyone in between. People bring out their strollers and their dogs as well. The route goes down Mason’s Island Road to the marina on Mason’s Island and back. There’s no official finish line, although I suppose you could count the edge of the water as the finish since you’re supposed to take a dip at the end.

Running amidst the crowd at about mile 6.5 after exiting the Franklin Park Zoo.

The B.A.A. (Boston Athletic Association) is most famous for putting on the Boston Marathon every April. But they also organize a fairly competitive half marathon every fall. While they don’t limit the signups by qualifying times for the half, they do restrict the number of signups to 5000. This year, the race registration opened July 15, and by the next day, the race was completely filled.

The half took place yesterday on a fairly crisp but sunny morning. Although there was a large group of portajohns available at the race start (Roberto Clemente Field near Fenway Park), there were massive lines to use them before the gun went off at 8am. As the start time drew closer, many people abandoned the portajohn lines in favor of relieving themselves in the nearby woods.

But aside from that little snag, the rest of the race was pretty well organized. They corralled people into groups by pace at the start, although I think towards the back of the crowd the pace times were a bit mixed because there were too many people trying to squeeze in.

The race featured digital clocks at every mile and timing mats at the start, 10k , and finish. Race times were recorded via disposable D-Tags. They provided water every 2 or so miles, and they offered Gatorade at miles 6 and 10. At about halfway, they offered gels as well.

The course itself was fairly scenic, starting in the Back Bay Fens area going through Jamaica Plain along the Emerald Necklace and then into the Franklin Park Zoo and back. It was a mix of loop and out and back. Featuring a variety of hills to master, the constant incline or decline of the course made it challenging. Running through the zoo was interesting, though I didn’t see nearly as many animals as I would have thought. I only saw two camels along the way. Other people I talked to said they didn’t see any animals at all. But maybe a huge stream of runners would be stressful for the animals, so they largely restricted the course to parts of the zoo without animals on display.

The finish area featured an array of bagels, chips, bananas, sports drinks, and water. They also handed out vouchers for burritos and burgers.

Because there were several other major events happening in the area that day, including a playoff game at Fenway Park and Tom Cruise landing on a bridge in Boston via helicopter, the course had to be closed 2.5 hours after the start. The finish facilities were dismantled after 3 hours. So for people who can’t complete a half in under 2.5 hours, this race may not be as good an experience since you’d have to run on the sidewalks towards the end, and you’d be in danger of not getting a finishing time. But if that’s not a problem for you, then this is a nice race with a pretty good route that takes place at a particularly scenic time of the year when the leaves are changing.

But despite the rainy conditions and late start, the races went relatively smoothly. The starting lines for both races were located at the parking lot behind the pavilion. The 5K racers and half marathoners had separate starting routes and also staggered starting times, with the half kicking off 5 minutes after the 5K. Both races had chip timing and both start and finish mats, so runners received accurate net times.

Both the 5k and the half marathon courses were relatively flat. The 5k loops around the service roads in Rocky Neck. The half marathon is basically two out-and-back legs from the inside of Rocky Neck to the end of Giants Neck. It is a bit tedious doing two long out-and-backs, but at least you know exactly what to expect after the first loop. Usually the area is very scenic as well, although the overcast, rainy weather today diminished that aspect a bit. The course was completely closed within Rocky Neck State Park for the 5k and for that portion of the half marathon. In Giants Neck, one lane is closed to traffic, separated by cones.

There were plenty of water/PowerAde stops along the way, with some offering gu packets as well. The food at the end was ok, although they did run out of pizza.

The start of the Clinton Bluefish 5K

Today I ran the Liberty Bank Bluefish 5K in Clinton. It was my first time running the race and actually my first time running in Clinton. The race directors prepared well for their growing field of runners. This year’s entrants totalled 438. To avoid parking issues at the start/finish (Jared Eliot Middle School), all runners parked at the Ethel Peters Recreational Complex, which was a short shuttle bus ride away.

Finishing the 5K

The course was a pleasant, moderate loop on back roads with rolling hills. The route started out flat and turned into a descent. Towards the end of the first mile, the course becomes more challenging as you begin a rolling hill climb. But in the last third, you finish fast on a descent and flat stretch.

There was a ridiculous number of water stations throughout the race course, so runners had many opportunities to rehydrate along the way. There were also highly visible mile markers for the first and second miles. The race was chip-timed, though there was no starting mat, so net times were not recorded.

There was a nice spread of food at the end of the race that included bottled waters, bagels, bananas, watermelon slices, cookies, and yogurt cups.

It was a fun, popular race to run, and the field ranged from children 2 years and up to seniors in their 80s.

The transition area of the Niantic Bay Triathlon at the bottom of McCook Point Park.

The Niantic Bay Triathlon is a popular summer event put on by the Hartford Marathon Foundation that takes place at McCook Point Park in Niantic. While I have enjoyed watching the event for the past few years, I’ve never actually participated myself. However, a couple friends did take part in the triathlon last Sunday, and they’ve kindly shared their thoughts about the race.

Here’s what Meghan had to say:

The Niantic Bay Triathlon sponsored by Amica and run by the Hartford Marathon Foundation has been run annually since 2000. It’s a sprint distance tri with a ½ mile swim, an 11.5 mile bike and an advertised 3.5 mile run. It’s a well-advertised race and the short distance encourages a lot of first-timers to participate.

This was actually my 4th triathlon this year. It seemed to be pretty well organized in general. They did little things, like having packet pick up before race day. This was great for me so that it was one less thing to be anxious about come race morning. The transition area was organized in rows by racer number. So each row had an assigned series of numbers, but there was not a specific spot for each person. This was a bit of a problem since there were so many first time racers, who did not know proper transition area etiquette. Once that was sorted out, everyone walked over to Hole in the Wall beach where the swim start was taking place.

The water was pretty calm early on, but the chop seemed to quickly pick up. If you are thinking about doing this race next year, I strongly suggest you do a couple of open water ocean swims to practice. The start was in the water, which at low tide made for a slightly slow start, but we made it. The swim out into the tide was definitely challenging, but that same tide coming back in to McCook’s beach was very helpful.

The bike started at the bottom of a short but steep hill. Being in a small gear was definitely good advice. After this hill though, the bike course was pretty flat, which made for some great racing. There were a couple of hills, but just enough so you didn’t get bored. By far the most challenging part of the bike was trying to run your bike down the steep hill back into transition. The race director recommends taking the bike shoes off. I was skeptical of this at first, but I quickly changed my mind after taking 2 steps and almost falling down the hill. Next year I will not be wearing socks on the bike so I’m not putting wet socks into my running shoes … yuck!

The run was also pretty flat, fast course that wove through the streets of black point. While the race directors claim it’s a 3.5 mile run, I’m pretty sure it’s only a 5k, or at least it seems that way based on my run split. There was only 1 turn around point at the second mile. You didn’t have to retrace steps for too long, before you were instructed to follow a narrow path up over the bluff along the shore. It’s a beautiful part of the run, despite it also being the steepest hill. There were 2 water stops along the run, plus one right at the beginning of the run, as you exit transition. The water stops were strategically placed so you can hit them on the way out and back, smart planning. The finish of the race is a short run on the beach. This made it awfully difficult to have a strong kick with tired legs in the soft sand. It was a great feeling to see everyone hanging out on the beach cheering you all the way in, with people handing you water and Popsicles to enjoy post race!

Overall it was a really fun day, and I know my triathlon buddy and I are excited to compete again next year!

Shawn added:

It was one of the more efficiently-run events that I’ve done. I’ve been to this event as a relay member so many times, and they’ve really streamlined the check-in process. Also, the Niantic Bay Triathlon is one of the most well-supported events I’ve done – so much fan support that it was truly amazing. It was a great first-time triathlon experience, and I just might do another soon because of that.

(Thank you Meghan and Shawn for your reports, and congratulations for having great races!)

Old Black Point Road

Yesterday evening, I ran the annual Niantic Bay 10K, a fairly flat course that starts near McCook’s Beach and follows Old Black Point Road all the way to the end of the peninsula and back.

Along the course, there were several water stations. This was completely necessary because it was HUMID out last night, and large stretches of the course offered little to no shade. I had been hoping to run in the rain, since that had been the case the last few runs I’ve done due to this abnormally rainy June. But as the day went on, the clouds cleared and the sun came out making a bit hotter than I would have liked.

But in terms of the race, it was very well organized and at each mile marker, there were volunteers who shouted the split times. Overall times were calculated using the pull tag method. I think this method sometimes allows for inaccurate results. (My time was off when they printed the results at the end of the race.) But I think they usually sort out the correct times in the end. The (correct) results were posted in a very timely manner on Coolrunning.com.

They had a good spread of food and drinks at the end, though my friend from Run Rhody mentioned the table with the water was really far away from everything else.

All-in-all, the Niantic Bay 10K is a nice race that draws a competitive crowd.

For those interested in doing training runs in this area, a similar route we have on Jog New London is the 6.6-mile Black Point Run. This route is a loop, instead of an out-and-back, that incorporates other sea views in the Black Point Beach and Attawan Beach areas.

Running on Longfellow Bridge with a view of the Charles.

Although this site focuses on races around southeastern Connecticut, I’m sure some people are like me and don’t mind traveling a little farther for larger races. Boston’s Run to Remember, a tribute to fallen police officers, featured a half marathon and 5-mile race that took runners right through downtown Boston. I ran the half marathon last Sunday with my friends from Run Rhody.

Both races started at the Seaport World Trade Center and looped through Government Center and Downtown Crossing. But the half marathon route went up to Harvard and back via Memorial Drive. Aside from a few slight hills to either go over or under bridges and then a mile-long incline at about Mile 11 (half marathon) or Mile 3 (5-mile race), the course was pretty flat and fast.

There were water and Gatorade aid stations at about miles 4.5, 6, 8.5, and 11. I think there were two port-a-johns on Memorial Drive at the 4.5-8.5 aid station which had lines of runners. So increasing the number of port-a-johns would be a huge improvement so people don’t have to wait around for so long during the race.

The course was fairly well marked, and there were split time displays at several mile markers. The start was also organized by pace which was nice, though I think some people really overestimated their projected finish time. But with 4000 people participating in the half marathon, I think a general organization of people by pace is key even if it’s not entirely accurate.

All in all, it was a nice race. For people looking for a fun, well-organized half marathon, I highly recommend Boston’s Run to Remember.

After the race at the Seaport World Trade Center with my friends from Run Rhody.