2018
USATF NE Grand Prix
03-18
New Bedford Half-Marathon New Bedford, MA: http://newbedfordhalfmarathon.com/
This
year will mark the 21st time
that New Bedford has hosted the half marathon championship. The Law
Enforcement (Melrose, MA) was the championship five times between 1998 and 2003
(the race was last held in 2004). The only other races to host the
half-marathon championship were the now defunct Newport Savings (Newport RI)
and the Bay State Half (Lowell, MA) in 1996 and 1997 respectively.
The
Good: Closed course, mile splits, plenty of parking.
The
Bad: Worst post-race food of any race EVER. Fish sandwich?
The
Ugly: I’m not saying that New Bedford is ugly...I’m saying big cities are ugly
and New Bedford is a big city.
03-31
Boston Tune-up 15km Upton, MA: http://www.tri-valleyfrontrunners.com/tuneup/tune-up.php
This
year marks only the ninth time the Grand Prix has included a 15km (I’m not
counting last year since the race, which was selected, was not actually
held). The distance was part of the GP from 1985-1991, then not included
again until 2014. In 1985 there were two 15k’s, the Butternut 15k (Great
Barrington, MA) and the NEAC Women’s 15k in Wellesley. In 1986 the
Tewksbury “Run your turkey off” hosted. In 1987 the selected race was the
City of Worcester 15k. For the years 1988-1990 the Wilton 15k played host
and in 1991 Douglas Vending/Juice Bowl (Webster, MA) did. The 15k
returned to the scene in 2014 when the Green Mountain Athletic Alliance hosted
the championship in Burlington VT. None of the
races are currently contested.
The
Good: $15 discount if you entered in 2017 (the race was cancelled due to snow)
The Bad:
It could snow again!
The
Ugly: “Rolling hills” is a nice way of saying this is a tough course
06-17
Ribfest 5 mile Merrimack, NH: http://www.millenniumrunning.com/ribfest5
This year will mark the 31st time the 5 mile
or 8 kilometer was part of the Grand Prix. The split has been pretty even
with the 8k conducted 15 times and this year will be the 16th 5
mile. The 5m has been a staple of the series being included every year
from 1987-present with the lone exception being 2010 when the selection
criteria were changed and the distance was not selected. Oddly the 5m/8km
has twice been contested over short courses.
The Ollie (2009) and Dubliner (1991) both came up short of the stated
distance. I believe that only the Carver Cranberry (Carver, MA), Ribfest
(Merrimack, NH), and Bobby Doyle (Narragansett, RI) races still survive. The
races which were the championships the most time include Rojacks which hosted
the championships 8 times, Ollie 5 times, and Riverside Twilight 3 times.
This will be the third time Ribfest has been the championship.
The
Good: Millennium Running puts on a professional race. I LOVED the
count-down clock. This race starts exactly on time, no dicking around.
The
Bad: Nasty narrow start with a 180 degree turn less than 100 meters into the
race. No ribs unless you pay for them, and us non-beer drinkers are
subsidizing the beer drinkers. How about a discount if I don’t want the
beer tickets?
The
Ugly: Nothing scenic about this course, go down the highway, turn around, come
back.
NH 10
mile”r” 08/25 Auburn, NH: http://www.millenniumrunning.com/newhampshire10
This will be the 24th time that the Grand Prix
(1985-2018) has had a 10 mile as part of the series. It has previously been
held in Newburyport (8 times), Amherst (7 times), Worcester (4 times), Harvard
(2 times), and Auburn NH once.
The
Good: 8am start (minimize the heat), great post-race food, probably the nicest
place to warm-up or warm-down at any of the GP races (https://www.manchesternh.gov/Departments/Parks-and-Recreation/Parks-Facilities/Recreational-Trails/Rockingham-Trail)
The
Bad: Hard to find ANYTHING bad about this other than the name of the
race. “10 miler”, everyone who runs it would be a 10 miler. The
race would be a 10 mile.
The
Ugly: The hill at 9 miles kicked me in the nuts (and I’m still sore).
Downtown
5km 09-16 Providence RI: http://www.cvsdowntown5k.com/
The 5km distance has been contested in all of the Grand
Prix series (1985-2017). During that time Rhody has been the host eight times,
Greenwich RI hosted four times and this will be the fourth time that CVS
downtown has been the championship. It seems RI has been a popular destination
for the 5km.
The
Good: Fairly wide start with half the road for women, also a very flat course
with the exception being the tough hill in the last tenth of a mile. Very
professionally managed race with plenty of parking and a lot of post-race food
choices.
The
Bad: 11am start, which seemed to take forever to arrive with all of the speeches
(although in all fairness my Garmin said the start was 11:03).
The
Ugly: Serious lack of bathrooms for the number of finishers, especially
difficult in a city race with no handy woods.
Lone
Gull 10km 09-23 Gloucester MA: http://cccbsd.org/news-events/lone-gull-10k/
The 10km distance has been contested in all of the Grand
Prix series (1985-2017). This will be the seventh time Lone Gull (Gloucester,
MA) has hosted the championship. Nashua (NH) and Winthrop hosted the
championship five times with no other site hosting more than three times.
The Good: Big parking lot, wide start, course closed to
traffic, quick accurate timing/scoring, fantastic post-race food.
The Bad: Is there anywhere to warm-up or warm-down that
doesn’t involve running on a narrow road with speeding cars?
The Ugly: Race website leaves a lot to be desired.
Not much info and zero history.
Baystate marathon 10-21 Lowell MA: http://baystatemarathon.com/
The marathon distance has been contested in all of the
Grand Prix series (1985-2017). This will be the sixth time that Baystate has
been the championship. Cape Cod has hosted the championship twenty-two
times. Manchester hosted three times and Burlington (VT) once.
The Good: Plenty of parking in Lowell (even free on
street parking if you are early), superbly managed, nice little expo the day
before, wide start with marathon getting a separate start from the 1/2, fast
course, plenty of aid stations with enthusiastic support.
The Bad: City race means lack of bathrooms at the start
(and lack of woods for a quick stop).
The Ugly: Winner of the ugliest race t-shirt in 2017 (in
my book).
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