CATSUP & MUSTARD 5K 2014
August 16, 2014, MANCHESTER, CT.
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This is a really great race, and a really great idea. Most 5K races get you up decently early in the morning, with start times somewhere between 8:00 - 9:00 AM. Not this race! This race is a Saturday night 6:00 PM start, which when you get to be my age, is a perfect Saturday night out with the family.
Start and finish right in front of Corey's Catsup & Mustard burger joint on the famous Main Street of downtown Manchester, CT.
Plus, get this, the race starts and finishes on historic Main Street in Manchester right in front of one of the best burger joints in all of Connecticut, Corey's Catsup & Mustard. This was the first year hosting this event, which raises money for the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research. As you can see from this Hartford Courant link over 600 runners participated in this inaugural run, including 3/5 Morosky family members!
Race start with over 600 runners.
The race itself is a lot of fun. After a quick downhill start down Main Street you make a turn for the running path along 1-287. This is a lot of fun because you are safely running against the high-way traffic. There is a good sized uphill to get you back onto Keeney Street which takes you back into town. Don't be fooled - there are two very brutal hills mixed in to the second mile of this 5K race. I saw a very cute sign describing one as, "Manchester's new 'Heartbreak Hill'". Just when you think that you can't take any more, a nice steep downhill puts you back onto Main Street to finish the 0.1 mile uphill sprint to the finish.
All the Morosky's were winners at the finish!
The after-party absolutely makes the event. Catsup & Mustard show up with some serious grills, and hand out some burger bites and beers to each runner. If you haven't eaten here, tasting one of these burgers will convince you to find some time. There is nothing better than watching the division winners get their awards while eating a delicious burger and drinking a well-deserved brew.
After the race, grab a burger and a brew and watch the rest of the pack finish up!
If you are smart enough, you'll make reservations at Catsup & Mustard for after the race and really settle into one of their burgers. We have a good strategy for next year - rock the race, reservations, party at the after party, then burgers, burgers, burgers! Don't miss this race, it is a fantastically good time!!!
CMM - The Running Obstetrician, August 2014