Running Melrose Firefighters 5K
Hot Town, Summer in the City
It was a little warm Sunday, but we had a fantastic turn out for the Melrose Firefighters 5K. A total of 344 runners finished the race and 36 of them were Melrose Running Club members!
I think that is out best turn out ever. We came within two people of being the largest team there and winning the grand prize: a flag made out of fire hose!
Check out Tim Gorman’s Facebook album for 136 photos, including one of this cool framed flag.
It was warm and when the sun came out it was even warmer. Garmin says it was 75F, but it felt more like 80F. The race director advised runners to get enough fluids several times. This guy is a first responder, he knows all about this stuff.
Even with the heat, I felt very safe knowing there were so many EMTs and Paramedics around!
Running Melrose Firefighters 5K
They had a Melrose Police Woman sing the National Anthem, which I thought was a nice touch.
The race was crowded at the start and for the first quarter mile. Even through the first half mile it was crowded but thinned out soon after that.
Everywhere you looked there was a purple singlet. I don’t think I ever was out of eye sight of one. At so many race when I look around I see huge groups from other clubs all wearing their shirts.
It was nice to see Melrose make a great showing at our local race.
We ran down Swains Pond Road and looped around the pond. Just after the turn we hit the one mile mark. There weren’t any mile markers for this race.
At about a mile and a quarter we took a right onto Lebanon Street. The road was open, but the police kept traffic on our side of the road to a minimum. I don’t recall having any close calls or issues with traffic for the entire race.
There were some small hills on Lebanon, but nothing major. As we passed Sylvan Street we hit the two mile mark.
Somewhere after this we had our water stop. I usually don’t stop for water during a 5K, but it was so hot that I had to.
I probably could have gotten by without a gulp of water. However, I find that under these conditions that little bit of water really helps in the last half mile.
Lebanon seemed to go on forever! Finally the turn onto Grove Street came into view. As we moved up Grove I started to notice some hill!
I was baked and my legs were getting fatigued. At this time I was glad that I grabbed that water!
As we moved up Grove I was looking for the last turn. Which street would we turn down?
Finally the turn onto Larabee Street came into view. They had a police car in the road protecting our turn and there were a few people cheering us on.
I knew it was a short run down Larabee, but I knew we were west of The Common. I began to wonder how they were going to wind us around.
We took a right onto First Street and ran past the fire station. This had a bit of an incline to it also. As I looked across the common I could see the finish on 6th Street.
As I made the corner I made one last push for the finish.
Melrose Runners Run Well
We had several runners place in their age group. But, they only awarded medals for first place in each age group.
Mike Sikkema won his age group with a time of 17:57. Mark Rosenblum won his age group with a time of 22:23 and Cynthia Berger won her age group with a time of 25:32.
Several others came in 2nd or third in their age group.
While it’s always nice to run well and win a medal or prize, that’s not what it’s about for most of us.
Tuesday night I had a conversation with someone about how our club is more of a social club. Many of us like to run hard and compete, but it really is about the running and friendships.
With less of an emphasis on competition, I think the Melrose Running Club is a friendlier place for new runners to get started and get support.
It was nice to see a few of our Walk to Run team at the race. I don’t think that happens often, especially before graduation.
One of the reasons I picked this race for our series is that I hoped it would attract some of our newest members. It looks like it did.
I hope everyone had fun and that you will join us for our next race. The Jennifer Tinney 4th of July 5K and 5 Miler.
Run well My Friends!
Andy