L+M Hospital Summer Stride 5K & 10K
New London, CT
- 10K, 5K
- Road (Paved)
- Official race website
The community tradition continues with Lawrence + Memorial Hospital in a 5K and 10K road race for all ages and abilities. The 5K offers competitive and casual runners a great 3.1 mile race while also welcoming walkers and families with strollers on the relatively flat and scenic course. The 10K … MORE
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The Weather is Making me Crabby
This is a 5K or 10K that takes place in New London, CT which is right next to Mystic, CT. It's a little over a 2 hour drive for me … MORE
This is a 5K or 10K that takes place in New London, CT which is right next to Mystic, CT. It’s a little over a 2 hour drive for me which is usually a bit further than I’d drive for a non-half marathon but this race is part of the crabby challenge with the Mystic Half Marathon and Surftown Half Marathon. Since I was doing both those Half Marathons this year and had the weekend off and enjoy visiting Mystic I decided to do this race as part of the challenge. It was borderline too far to drive for the race since I was scheduled to do another race that was over an hour away on Sunday I decided to get a hotel for this race. I stayed at the Holiday Inn in New London which was convenient. Packet pick-up is race day morning and the race takes place at the L + M Hospital and raises money for the hospital. It is produced by Hartford Marathon Foundation which means great production but tight time limits. The time limit for the 10K is 1:30 and basically you have to make it to the split at 2.7 miles in 39 minutes. I knew I should be fine since I finished my July 4 10K just over 1:30 and this race was much easier but also that I would be one of the last finishers. The start/finish area was set up really nice and getting packet was easy. Packet included a really nice tech shirt. It is the only swag item but it’s a nicer shirt than you usually get from a shorter race. The start was separate from the finish and there were signs to line up by pace. Started on time and was organized. The 5K is a lollipop and the 10K does the loop twice with an added out and back the second loop. The race is fairly scenic. The first half of the loop is just through neighborhoods and the second half of the loop is next to the ocean and is beautiful. The race was flat/slightly downhill until the end of the loop where there is a rather large hill. I am having the oddest trend of choosing races with big hills at the end lol. The weather was hot and humid so it was not an easy race but I did run-walk intervals and kept the pace I needed. However while the humidty wasn’t fun at least we lucked out and missed the storms and rain which ruined my plans for tomorrow. I was supposed to do the Narragansett Half in MA on Sunday but it was switched to a 10K due to potential thunderstorms and there were flash flood warnings and travel advisories all along the route to the race so I skipped it. I made it up the hill to the turn around at about 37 minutes so was close to the time limit but had enough of a cushion to not be worried. They did seem strict with making the 39 minute time by the split as I saw the race officials coming to start divert runners soon after me and there were only a handful of runners allowed to complete the 10K after me. The 10K was the same loop with a little extra out and back. This out and back was along the ocean and went to a lighthouse and was the prettiest part of the race so even though most of the 10K course is shared by the 5K you do get an extra treat for completing the extra miles. I then went back up the hill and to the finish and finished a bit under 1:30. They were not strict as long as you made the time cutoff at the split and a couple people behind me got finishing times just over 1:30. There is no medal. I’d like one for a 10K but not completely necessary. There was a nice finish area with good post race treats including delicious ice cream. I then visited the Mystic Aquarium after the race. Overall this was a nice, shorter race. If I lived closed I would definitely do it again but I’m not sure I would drive this far just for this race. If they continue to offer the crabby challenge and I am doing Mystic Half and Surftown half marathons again that year I would come back and do this one again.