Narragansett Running Festival

Narragansett Running Festival 10K Race Recap

Happy Friday!

It’s time for another edition of Fit Five Friday! My schedule was cray, cray last week and I missed posting in the linkup, so I’m happy to be back this week. And, I’m back with a race recap from a live race! Last Sunday, I ran the Narragansett Summer Running Festival 10K with my brother – my first in-person race since February 2020!

Narragansett Summer Running Festival 10K Recap

This was my 3rd time participating in the Festival. My son and I ran it in 2013 as my son’s first-ever 5K and I ran the 10K with my husband and brother in 2019. The Festival is usually a 2-day event held on the Stonehill College campus, with the 5K and 10K on Saturday and the half marathon on Sunday. This year, thanks I’m sure to the uncertainties of Covid, the race was condensed to a 1-day event and the 5K was eliminated. I had registered long before the state gave the green light to in-person races, knowing that the race organizers had committed to giving everyone a refund vs. switching to a virtual option if the race wasn’t allowed to go forward.

Pre-Race

My brother and I planned to meet at the race around 6:30 am. At that early hour, Stonehill is a quick 20 min drive from my house, and there was ample parking designated for the runners. Bib and t-shirt pick-up was quick and easy, a short walk down the hill from the parking area. It felt so good to see so many runners! We had a lot of time until the 10K’s 8:00 am start (half marathoners started at 7:30) so we headed back to the cars to drop off our shirts, grab more water, and try to stay cool. While it was relatively cool (upper 60s) you could feel the humidity creeping up fast. We hung out chatted with some of the other runners and eventually decided to make our way down to hit the porta-potties and get to the start line.

Pre-race and ready to go

As we headed to the start line, it was nice to see that this year they had added pace markers to encourage people to self-seed. I think everyone had the same thought as we did of taking slow and easy because it seemed like most of the runners were hanging in the back. So much so that the race announcer was actually trying to encourage people to move to the front. The humidity was rising and my brother and I both knew once we stepped out of the shade of the start that it was going to get uncomfortable really fast.

The Race

The 10K course is two 5K loops through the campus with a mix of paved paths, gravel, grass, and two wooden bridges. It’s mostly flat with a couple of moderate inclines at the end of each loop. While I had worried about how my hip would deal with running across the gravel in the first mile, it seemed to take the uneven terrain just fine. In fact, my hip proved not to be a factor throughout the whole race. The humidity, on the other hand, proved to be the real challenge!

I’ve been running with 5:1 intervals and my brother was fine with that so we ran together through the first 4 miles. By the time we headed down the hill to start the second loop I was really starting to struggle with the humidity. My brother was holding up pretty well so I urged him to go ahead while I continued my humidity shuffle. While there were not a lot of spectators, those that were out there were really enthusiastic – I would have never guessed how much I missed the sound of a cowbell! The volunteers were also super upbeat and encouraging. At the 5 mile marker, I started targeting runners to pass, and soon I could hear the music at the finish line. One final push and I was done!

No medals for the 10K, but I appreciate the gender-specific cut

Post-Race

My brother was waiting at the finish line having come across just a few minutes before me. We were handed a couple of bottles of water and then headed down the green to the beer garden. Each runner received 2 beer tickets and there was a range of ice-cold Narragansett beers to choose from.

Everyone spread out on the grass and enjoyed the live music. There were several vendors, but we were content to hang out on the lawn for a bit before packing up and heading home for breakfast.

Post-race glow!

Overall this is a really fun race with a great atmosphere! I think I will always have a love-hate relationship with this race because it offers so many pluses, but summer running, especially the humidity is my nemesis. But I’m almost certain that I’ll run this again next year. 🙂

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Narragansett Summer Running Festival 10K Recap

Last Saturday I ran my second race of the summer – the Narragansett Summer Running Festival 10K!

Narragansett Summer Running Festival

The Narragansett Summer Running Festival is a two-day event held on the Stonehill College campus. The 5K and 10K were held on Saturday and the half marathon on Sunday. Runners also had the option of running the “Beat the Heat” challenge – combining either the 5 or 10K with the half.

Knowing that the access road into the campus could get a little congested, J and I had planned to meet my brother by 6:45. I love that this race was just a 25 min drive from my house and we breezed in and parked with no issue. We took a short walk down the hill to pick up our bibs & t-shirts and then went back to the cars to hang in the shade & stretch.

No medal but a cute shirt design

About a half-hour before the 5K start, we made our way down to the start area. Despite having about 15 porta-potties there were just two really long lines. With the clock ticking, one of the race staff finally got the lines reorganized into multiple lines and things moved a lot better.

The Race

The 5K was set to go off at 8, with the 10K starting at 8:30. Final announcements were made, a recording of the national anthem played, and the 5K started right on time. The sun was already intense and we did what we could to hide in the shade of the buildings for as long as possible. The 10Kers were called to line up by 8:20, took a group photo (I kid you not), and we were off promptly at 8:30.

The course was a winding loop through the campus – a mix of paved road, gravel, grass, and even a couple of wooden bridges. Without any form of self-seeding, the start was a bit jumbled. To get out in the open, I knew I had definitely started out way too fast, and would probably pay for it later. J’s hamstring was giving him trouble so he dropped back to take a walk break while my brother and I continued on. As we circled back to the start area, we reached the course’s only hill which led to the finish line and the start of the 2nd 5K loop. We powered past runners on the hill and could hear the music coming from the race’s after-party.

I will admit it was tough to see many of the 5kers already done, enjoying the after-party, and knowing we had another loop to run. By now it was getting really hot, and the second loop became a game of “run for the shade”. At about the 4.5-mile point, we were once again out on an open field and I was ready to be done. We both took a short walk break before making another push. We fell into conversation with a woman named Katie who we had been leapfrogging along the course. My brother was feeling pretty good and when I took another short walk break I encouraged him to keep going. I had hoped to catch up with him but didn’t see him again until the finish line.

Katie was still with me as we approached the hill and one of the race staff told us we only had 600 yards to go. I made one more strong push up the hill and passed a couple of runners as I made the final turn towards the finishing chute. I was happy to finish 3 minutes faster than last month’s 10K. We waited for J to finish and then it was time to hit the beer tent!

All smiles post-race!

Each runner got two beer tickets and there was a choice of 5 beers. I opted for the watermelon shandy which was so refreshing! There was live music and a small collection of vendors, including a massage therapist offering free rubdowns. With plenty of shaded areas to sit and hang out, no one seemed in a rush to leave. Katie and a friend of hers who had also run found us and the five of us hung out for a while enjoying the beers and trading running stories.

Final Thoughts

Race organizers did a great job with pre-race communications. Parking and bib pick up was super easy. And, despite the winding course, it was well marked and there were enough volunteers at all the key points to avoid confusion. The volunteers were also super friendly and encouraging.

While I wasn’t a fan of running over the gravel, the course is fairly flat, with just the one hill at the end of each loop and the Stonehill campus is really pretty which made for a nice backdrop.

My only criticisms are that it would have been helpful to have one volunteer stationed at the porta-potties earlier to avoid the long lines, and I would have preferred some form of self-seeding at the start. Post-race it would have been great to have more food options other than granola bars.

Overall, this race had a fun atmosphere and was really well organized, and I definitely look forward to running it again!

I’m linking up with Kim and Zenaida for Tuesday Topics.