This post will have a slightly different format because I am letting Mike join in with the blog post-or as he may say “forcing him” to be apart of it. Since this quest was originally his idea, it seems only fair that his point of view be included periodically, as well.
Karen: Early on in our quest to run a road race in every state, we arranged to spend a weekend in Connecticut to run the Fairfield Road Race. I believe we chose it because it was a convenient weekend and it sounded like a good race.
Mike: We decided to do the 5K. We were pleased to find that Fairfield was an attractive beach area that was not overdeveloped.
Karen: There was a half marathon associated with this event which was run the day after the 5K.
Mike: The race was well organized and the flat course helped everyone’s running times.
Karen: Bag pipers played at the start and finish of the race which added a festive air.
Mike: The post race social with free beer at the beach was enjoyable. We chose to take a refreshing dip in the Atlantic after the race.
Karen: We loved being right on the beach at the end of the race. Later in the day we ventured to Silver Sands State Park which had another scenic beach that we arrived at after a stroll down a long boardwalk.
That evening we traveled through picturesque New England towns to Branford where we found Lenny’s -the apparent hot spot of the town.
We opted for a table on the deck and savored the views of the marsh while we ate our seafood dinner.
Mike says he doesn’t remember exactly which beer he was drinking. He’s pretty sure it was a local beer and he’s positive it wasn’t a Bud. Sampling local beers when we travel to new states has become a little side-bar to our running quest. (The pun was unintentional but acknowledged!)
Karen: On our way back to our hotel we stopped for an impromptu game of mini golf at the impressive Sports Center in Shelton. Our trip to check Connecticut off of our quest list ended up being a fun mini-vacation with a terrific race.
Quest Race #: 9
State: Connecticut
Date Run: 6/23/12
The Bottom Line: Registration for the 5K (June 27, 2015) and the half marathon (June 28, 2015) is still open as of today. The race website states that it is “annually chosen by running magazines as one of the best races in America”. We would definitely recommend it, as well!
I wasn’t running yet when you ran this one, but my sister-in-law lives on one of the streets that the 5k course goes through. I haven’t done the 5k yet (done the half 3 times in a row), but I’m thinking about doing the shorter race next year. I love a race that ends on the beach 🙂
It really is a great race. Congrats on your triple half marathon runs of this event! Doing the 5K will give you more time at the beach ;).