Despite the driving rain all morning, I had a great time at the Frank Nealon Boston Tune-Up 15k. This race, held by the Tri-Valley Front Runners, is considered a prep race for the Boston Marathon, and more than half their field this year was club runners, which made for a fast and competitive race. I enjoyed running with the more experienced runners and many of my own club members, which made it easier to push my speed by sticking with runners who were around my target pace.

The only thing that I had conveniently forgotten about this area of Western Massachusetts is that it is hilly. I mean HILLY. My Garmin tells me that the race had a total elevation gain of 323 feet, and I can say that I felt every one of those. This course was not for the weak, but after the first few miles, I actually found myself getting into a good groove. The miles passed by quickly as I focused on getting to the top of one hill, and then rejoiced in a downhill, and then refocused on the next hill. I honestly didn't spend as much time enjoying the scenery as I usually would (and it was beautiful!) because I was so intently focused on the hills and keeping up my pace.

Although I was exhausted by the end, I was proud of maintaining a strong, relatively consistent pace on a rainy day on a difficult course. I was completely soaked when I finished, and couldn't have been more excited to see the race volunteers ladling hot soup into bowls right near the finish line. Awesome! Inside the school gym where the race finished, I enjoyed a slice of pizza and a chocolate chip cookie as well. My only moment of sadness occurred when I realized that I had forgotten dry clothes to change into. Let's just say it was a COLD hour-long drive home...

In terms of race logistics... swag included a soup mug, which I thought was super creative. Race volunteers also had Gatorade and water every 2-ish miles throughout the course, and parking couldn't have been more convenient. Pizza, cookies, soup and many other goodies awaited us at the potluck lunch at the finish. Overall, a great challenging, well-supported race.