The Race Report: Summer’s End

For those of you out there, like me, who have mostly been grinding away all summer, sweating gallons in what seems like the hottest, most humid season of the past few years, there’s good news: Fall is right around the corner, as is the real return to racing season.

Not that there haven’t been plenty of opportunities over the past few months, but as the weather finally cools, it means a return to a real shot at PRs–or at least something resembling speed.

That said, here’s a look at some of the races crowding the calendar in September:

Det. Sgt. George Farrell 5K, Sept. 10

• Held in memory of a longtime West Deptford police officer who helped bring the D.A.R.E. program to New Jersey, the Farrell 5K kicks off West Deptford Day at RiverWinds.
• Time: 8:30 a.m.
• Registration: $15 in advance, $20 on race day, $5 for the Fun Walk

South Jersey 9/11 Heroes Run, Sept. 11

• Benefitting the Camden County Hero Scholarship Fund and the Travis Manion Foundation, this race circles Cooper River on the Pennsauken/Collingswood border on the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11.
• Time: 10 a.m.
• Registration: $25 for the 5K, $15 for the Fun Walk/Run

Bill Bottino Mud Run for Cancer, Sept. 17

• Run solo or gather up a team of four for this four-miler over obstacles and through the mud at the New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville. The race benefits the Barbara Cook Cancer Foundation.
• Time: 5 p.m.
• Registration: $65 online

Rock ‘N’ Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon, Sept. 18

• Take the old Philly Distance Run, add a bunch of bands and cheerleaders, and you get the RNR Half. The course rolls through Center City and along the Schuylkill River, beginning and ending around the Art Museum. Even if you’re not a racer, it’s worth it to hang on the Ben Franklin Parkway and watch the insanity. Oh, and did we mention the race medals are Liberty Bells? No word on whether next year's design will be a pretzel, or maybe a Phillies player hoisting the World Series trophy.
• Time: 8 a.m.
• Registration: $95 online through Sept. 11, or whenever the race sells out

His & Hers Coed 10K, Sept. 24

• This race in Medford gives you the option of going it alone for the full 10K, or doing a coed pair of 5Ks in a relay. Either way, it’s one of only a couple 10Ks around, and gives a bit of a twist on the usual race.
• Time: 7:30 a.m.
• Registration: $35 per person (individual or per team member) in advance, $40 on race day.

Collingswood Book Festival 5K, Sept. 24

• Race around Knight Park and through picturesque Collingswood in a race that benefits the town’s library–and who doesn’t like books? Make the return trip the next weekend for the actual book festival, which features author Christopher McDougall, who penned Born To Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen. Read it before the race for inspiration, then get it signed at the festival.
• Time: 8:30 a.m.
• Registration: in advance, $20 per adult, $15 for runners under 18. On the day of the race, registration bumps up to $25 per person.