The Running Griffin

This past Saturday morning it was over to Norton, Massachusetts for the 1st Annual Thanks to Yanks Veterans Day 5 Miler. This race featured the same course as the FOP Post #28 Frozen Five Mile route so I was familiar with the overall course map having raced here a few times before. The race kicks off from a VFW Post and a ceremony prior to the race featured the national anthem being sung in front of a new flag display featuring the American flag and the flags of each branch of the military; a nice, patriotic way to kick off a race on Veterans Day weekend!

This five mile race is a great run through residential neighborhoods of Norton and features a really great course complete with a few gradual hills mixed in but roads that are not too crowded with vehicle traffic from start to finish. A water stop is at the midway point of the race and the organizers do a really nice job marking the course turns and mileage along the way.

Post-race, the Downtown Cafe provided pizza and boneless wings that many of the runners snacked on and commented how good they were but I opted for an apple and a cup of coffee along with my post-race water.

Proceeds from this race benefit Thanks To Yanks, a non-political 501(c)(3) organization (www.thankstoyanks.org) whose mission is to support military members, veterans and their families.  In 2015, over 94% of Thanks To Yanks donations went directly back to our military and Veterans.

I finished the 1st Annual Thanks to Yanks Veterans Day 5 Miler with a time of 42:29 good for 8:29/miles. Continuing to show improvement after injuring my knee and hope to be back to pre-injury form pretty soon!