I raced in the Groton Labor Day 5K today. It was a perfect late summer day for a race, and I enjoyed zipping along the roads and rail trail of downtown Groton, though I was working hard. Homemade cookies, fresh apples, and chocolate milk, plus seeing friends, capped off the morning. Good going to @miajs123 - she and I passed each other several times during the race, but she got ahead of me on the slight uphill to the final effort on the track and I was unable to catch up again. Mia is a few years older than me, so I won in my age group! I also ran a sweet 1600 on the track to warm up and another 1600 on the track to cool down after the awards ceremony.
Here is the finish line photo that Adam took (Mia was just out of site across the line), and an awards ceremony photo that Andrew Flyak took.
I’ve done that race twice while pushing my kids. (Alas! They’re too big now and we sold the stroller.) 19:53 is a very solid time given the amount of energy needed to push that thing uphill and over the uneven terrain on the half-mile rail trail. Congrats!
Both boys and I walked the 5k at the Ithaca 5&10. They were tired out but happy to get the nickel coin medals. Better yet, this was the tenth and final course for each of them in the Challenge, each earning his FLRC Personal Challenge finish for the third year in a row. Afterward we celebrated with Purity and haircuts.
Jamie and I ran the Airport 5K this morning in the middle of our 16 mile long run. In addition we were able to run a Duck Trails loop both before and after the race. And we both won our age groups, and saw some cool planes and rescue helicopters.
I was in Copenhagen for a conference and learned that a World Athletics Road Running Championship (WRRC) was happening right after. So today I got a PR in a 5K race at the WRRC! I finished in 19:02, breaking my previous PR from less than 2 weeks ago at the Groton Labor Day 5K by whooping 55 seconds. Highlights: perfect cold weather, the palpable energy of the thousands of runners, cheering crowds from start to finish, the PR bell, and the DJ party!
I ran the airport 5k today with a gun time of 18:56, but the course seems slightly short. Very good weather. First road race in which I did not blow up in some way.
Today I raced a 5k with FLRC’s cross country team. We went to Bassett Park near Buffalo, NY for the first of five races in the Pete Glavin XC series. Our XC regulars know that this is the best series in all the land.
The course was two laps around the edge of a park plus some extra running from the start and back to the finish. Like most XC races it was primarily on grass with a few sections on dirt paths through the woods. There were a few short hills, but nothing serious by Ithaca standards.
I ran a decent first mile but let off the gas a little bit in mile 2 and never really got going again until the very end. I ended up finishing 35th overall in 18:17. After the race I did a cool down jog with a few teammates and then went to lunch with my family and most of the rest of the team.
Like Patrick, I ran the PGXC 5K this morning outside Buffalo. I wasn’t sure what to expect going into the race as I cycled 109 miles yesterday at the Ride for Life around Cayuga Lake (more than double my previous longest ride ever). I was a little stiff when I got up this morning, but everything felt fine by race time. I took things out a bit conservatively, but, nonetheless, I faded somewhat in the second half as I began to feel fatigue from the ride in my legs. Ultimately I crossed the line in 17:37, putting me first for High Noon and only three seconds (and two places) behind my time for this course last year (but it was a bit cooler this time around).
Yesterday I ran the Sock Out Cancer 5k to support the Broome oncology and supporting services. Speaking from personal experience, they are a tremendous help and resource for families in the area with a loved one going through treatment or end of life care.
I’m glad I was able to participate and didn’t chicken out because of the rain … Race started dry but didn’t end that way.
Thanks to @SarahG and @Petorius for reporting that the trail on the lake side of Treman Marina is closed due to erosion. I spoke with Jim Brophy at New York State Parks, and he said they hope to fix or reroute it within the next week or two. In the meantime, if you’re going to run this course, just extend the distance at the end until it’s the right length.
While running the Lakefront Loops yesterday (10/4/2026), there were barricades about the northernmost path being closed for construction. Since it was Sunday morning I ignored the posts and the path was good, just a bit battle-scarred from construction machinery putting new rocks along the northern shore to reduce erosion. And it was a lovely autumn day for one of the prettiest runs in the course list.
You know you’re getting old when you have all these thoughts during your run about what you’ll post in the forum, but when you go to write something, you have no idea what you were going to say!
It was drizzling more than I thought it would be. My glasses were fogged up for at least half of the run … reminded me of the months/years of wearing masks!
Speaking from personal experience, they are a tremendous help and resource for families in the area with a loved one going through treatment or end of life care.
