May Racing

It seems that May officially starts the summer racing season on Cape Cod since there isn’t really a weekend without a race from now until sometime in October.  On the May calendar we have the Brewster In Bloom Road Race, the CapeAbilities 5K, the Cape Cod Irish Village Road Race, the You Go Girl race on the base, the Dare To Be Alive Track & Field Event, the 5K By The Bay, the YPD Blue 5K Run For A Reason, the Barnstable Village Road Race, the Wareham YMCA 5K, the USCG Air Station Duathlon, the Cape Cod Highland Lighthouse Ocean To Bay 5K, the Run Around The Bay 5K, the Oak Bluffs Memorial Day Road Race and the Great Hyannis Road Races.  Phew!  Even though we’d like to do them all, the time and $$ just won’t hold out that long so here are our picks for May (see the Race Calendar for full details on all races): 1) Brewster In Bloom – sure, it’s a small race and it’s a few steps longer than a 5K but it’s a great little winding course that shares some of the Brew Run course. The costume division attracts some interest and the small-town race feel can’t be beat. The entire weekend features all kinds of things to do around Brewster, including the parade on Sunday, as part of the Brewster In Bloom weekend.  2) The Irish Village Road Race – part of the New England Runner Pub Series again this year, features great competition on a virtually flat course. Your biggest adversary? The weather. Wind and rain can seriously derail a race out on Seagull Beach but for those of us who live and train on Cape Cod, there isn’t much that the elements can throw at us that we haven’t dealt with already.  3) YPD Blue 5K – although we love the Barnstable Village Road Race (even though the dirt road section is now paved), we just can’t pass up the Yarmouth Police Department’s race. For one, we’d prefer not to be stopped and ticketed since we didn’t attend their event … but even so, they’re all happy members of the CCAC, it’s a wicked flat and fast 5K course, and they’re doing everything up top-notch including bringing Kathy Curran down as the mascot and putting some money on the table.  4) USCG Duathlon – there just isn’t anything like the feeling of heading out on to that second 2 mile run after a 12 mile bike. And it’s only two miles, right? Four total miles of running – that should be easy! But don’t press too hard and remember to re-hydrate for the rest of the day because tomorrow, you have to get to 5) the Great Hyannis Road Races – this select-a-size race tours Hyannisport and Craigville and can be more challenging than it seems. With the new start down by Hyannis Harbor, course records are again up for grabs – another look at a course that we’re all too familiar with!

  So get rested and get ready for a steady season of racing – it all starts Saturday!