First Run 5K & 10K (MA)
Lowell, MA
- 10K, 5K
- Road (Paved)
- Official race website
CELEBRATE THE FIRST RUN OF THE YEAR! Don’t drop the ball this New Year’s Day. Join runners and walkers alike for the first road race of the year at the First Run 5K & 10K in Lowell, Massachusetts. While the rest of the world will be sleeping off the champagne, … MORE
Local Historical Weather (Jan 01):
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |
| H (°F) | 44 | 40 | 52 | 45 | 62 |
| L (°F) | 35 | 26 | 36 | 40 | 39 |
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Start the New Year w/ 2 races in 2 state
This is a 5K or 10K produced by Loco Races that is now owned by Ventures Endurance that takes place in Lowell, MA right across the NH border. My tradition … MORE
This is a 5K or 10K produced by Loco Races that is now owned by Ventures Endurance that takes place in Lowell, MA right across the NH border. My tradition for New Year’s day is to do the Millennium Mile in NH which starts at 2pm. I saw this races started at 11am and realized the 5K would time out great for a double. Since I was doing another race later in the day, I chose to do the 5K as the 10K would get a bit tight with time (still doable if interested just more rushed). There was good pre race communication and it was clear where to park and go for start. The start/finish is at a bowling alley which was a great venue as you could wait inside if there was bad weather and it was a fun place for a post race party. Parking was in a business park that was maybe 1/3 to 1/2 mile away. It was a bit of a walk to the start/finish but parking was so easy and it was a nice distance for a warm-up/cool-down. After the issues I had parking at my last race in Lowell I am not complaining. Just account for this so if you do race day packet pickup you have time to go back and forth to your car unless you want to wear the swag. If you don’t want to walk so much before the race utilize pre-race packet pick up. Bib pick up was easy and the swag included a sweatshirt. It was a solid but not amazing sweatshirt though nicer than the typical T-shirt. Start was organized in a corral with signs to line up by pace. Worked pretty well though you always get newbies at races like this that don’t line up correctly. The course is 1 loop for the 5K and two for the 10K. The course was fine. The scenery was not great just kind of boring suburban views of houses and business. I think for a race like this having a great venue for the start/finish and having convenient parking is more important than scenery so I wouldn’t change it. There were about 700 participants for the 5K and about half that for the 10K. The busy race field meant you were always running with people for the 5K but I’d imagine the 10K is a bit lonely on the second lap especially for slower participants. The race had one lane of traffic closed off. For the most part it worked except for a 4 pack of run-walkers who insisted on all running side by side and took up the entire running lane. Please don’t do this. I’d imagine it was very annoying for the fast 10Kers to weave around the 5K runners on their second lap. The 10K is probably the best experience for middle of the packers. There was a water stop in the middle. My biggest production complaint was the mile markers were quite off. This is my third race with this company and every time the mile markers were off. I was pacing myself to finish just under 40 minutes as I wanted to break 40 but save energy for my next race and used the mile markers to help pace. The mile markers were all about 0.05 miles short so I thought the course was probably a bit short. I made the 3 mile marker at 38:30 as I planned but there were about .25 miles after the third mile marker not 0.1 miles and the course was actually a bit long. It’s not the end of the world but details are what separates a good race from a great race. As a result I finished a bit over 40 minutes. Not the end of the world. Finish line was same as start and you get a medal. Not the greatest medal in the world and not distance specific but it’s nice to get a medal for a 5K and it’s a good 5K medal. There was solid post race snacks with granola bars, bananas and smart food which was enough to hold me over until the next race. There seemed to be a fun post race party with free beer (I think?) and a free round of bowling. I didn’t participate since I had another race to get to. Overall I thought this was a good race and a few tweaks could make it great. It times out perfect with the Millennium mile if you want to start the year with 2 races in 2 states.
I must be Loco
Not a bad way to start the New Year. I think you really need to do this double-loop 10K only if you're going with others, as it isn’t a very … MORE
Not a bad way to start the New Year. I think you really need to do this double-loop 10K only if you’re going with others, as it isn’t a very cool event to do solo. The swag and post race food have gone down in quality quite a bit making it a below average experience.
Awesome way to ring in the New Year
There's one main hill in this one but it was well placed in the middle of the run. There were plenty of volunteers and no shortage of toilets, pizza and … MORE
There’s one main hill in this one but it was well placed in the middle of the run. There were plenty of volunteers and no shortage of toilets, pizza and beer after the run. In fact, at the end of the afterparty they were handing out full pizzas to anyone that wanted one! The medal, hat and gloves were all of really nice quality, I’ll be doing this one again!
Best race to start the new year!
2019 was my third year running this 10k and it gets better every time. Parking at the event is free, easy, and a nice warmup walk to the start. Swag … MORE
2019 was my third year running this 10k and it gets better every time. Parking at the event is free, easy, and a nice warmup walk to the start. Swag included a winter hat and gloves, plus a sweet pair of running socks for bringing a goodie to the after party. The course is very nice with a couple of hills. Volunteers are all friendly and encouraging. The afterparty at the elks club is lots of fun, plenty of good food and drinks and a relaxed atmosphere.