This was my first year running the Boston Run to Remember and I LOVED IT! I don't know whether this was a new addition this year, but the race actually consisted of a half marathon and 5-mile option. I had run a marathon 3 weeks earlier, so I decided to opt for the 5-miler.

The Course: Right outside the Seaport World Trade Center (where the expo was held), I lined up at the start with a few of my coworkers who were doing the half marathon (it’s a group start). Right on time at 7 am, we were off! If I had really wanted to race this, I definitely would have needed to line up closer to the front. There was quite a bit of congestion as we wove through Boston’s narrow streets. Luckily, I was taking it pretty easy, so it didn't really bother me. All I wanted to do was run fast enough to warm up since there was a cool breeze coming off the water. The course took us on a great tour of downtown Boston - through the financial district, past Faneuil Hall, to the Boston Common, where the 5-milers split from the half marathon. In the last 2 miles of the course, we ran back into the Seaport District where there were plenty of spectators lining the course and cheering for everyone - it was a great way to end the race! After crossing the finish line, all the runners were funneled back into the Seaport World Trade Center where they had TONS of post-race food, vendors, and bag check. Considering it was such a cool morning, it was kind of nice to be back indoors where it was warm. They had a great variety of food and my absolute favorite – chocolate milk!! There were also a bunch of vendors left over from the expo who were still selling merchandise. I was able to buy a really nice Saucony running longsleeve for 40% off :)
I hung out for a while, and finally checked my results. My official time was 41:25, which comes out to an average pace of 8:17/mile. I was also 31 out of 499 runners in my age group! If I had been 100% uninjured (was dealing with some hamstring issues at the time), I think I could have done better, but even so, I was really happy with this result.

The medals were also really cool at this race – The circular piece in the middle is actually a “coin” that is magnetized to fit into the medal itself. They had different coins to represent Police and Fire.

Overall, this was an awesome race – very well-organized, great expo, and a cool course that did a great job highlighting the city of Boston.

For a more detailed account of my experience, check out my race recap at https://2gensrunning.com/2016/06/01/boston-run-to-remember-5-miler/