{"id":41825,"date":"2022-12-29T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-12-29T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thelandmark.com\/?p=41825"},"modified":"2022-12-29T06:00:00","modified_gmt":"2022-12-29T11:00:00","slug":"freezer-five","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/2022\/12\/29\/freezer-five\/","title":{"rendered":"Start the new year with The Freezer Five"},"content":{"rendered":"
By Danielle Ray Landmark Correspondent<\/i><\/div>\n

STERLING \u2014 Running The Freezer Five on Jan. 1 would be a great way to kick off the new year and those pesky resolutions.<\/p>\n

This year will be the 43rd running of the 5-mile road race, which starts at Houghton Elementary School at 11 a.m., and the first year with kids back in it since the COVID pandemic hit.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a great way to spend New Year\u2019s Day,\u201d said town resident Kate Pietrovito, who is the co-race director with Jay Morrissey of West Boylston. \u201cNot too early in the morning, but definitely early enough to do the rounds with family. For young runners it\u2019s a good, reasonably challenging course to start the year off with.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both of the seasoned runners are active members of Central Mass Striders, the nonprofit organization that runs the race. While this is their first year directing The Freezer Five, \u201cIt\u2019s long been a favorite,\u201d they said. The two have worked together on the CMS board as president and vice president and as coordinators of CMS volunteers for some large Worcester area 5Ks and other club events.<\/p>\n

The duo said they typically get people from all over the state running the Freezer Five, but they \u201cwould love to see some better traction locally,\u201d particularly in the younger set.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe pandemic has been hard for so many,\u201d Morrissey said. \u201cWe\u2019ve had to offer the race as a virtual-only option, and last year the race was live but limited in a lot of ways. Bringing back the kids\u2019 race really signifies to me we\u2019re all looking for some normality, where we can all be together outside.\u201d<\/p>\n

He has been running for the last eight years.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt first, it was a means to an end, a simple way to burn calories,\u201d he said, adding that it has evolved into so much more.<\/p>\n

\u201c(Running) has become a means to keep balance in my life and to maintain social connections,\u201d Morrissey shared. \u201cThere\u2019s literally nothing better that I\u2019ve found to beat the friendships I\u2019ve made as an adult through running.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pietrovito started running a decade ago and said that, honestly, \u201cThe beginning was plain ugly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is so hard to start, but I found over time it got easier, and the friendships you make slogging through miles are special,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd it keeps me feeling balanced, important for all of us these days. Everyone feels a little frazzled.\u201d<\/p>\n

The self-described \u201cadult-onset runners\u201d said they both wish they had caught the running bug earlier in life because of the many health and overall wellness benefits, and that they are happy to help coordinate running events such as The Freezer Five as a way to share their passion with others.<\/p>\n

\u201cRunning is such a great physical and social outlet, and if these types of events help spread the joy of running, we\u2019ll continue to do all we can to make them happen,\u201d Pietrovito said.<\/p>\n

The Freezer Five is a professional, chip-timed event \u201cwith finisher pictures and swag and amenities that match far more expensive races,\u201d they noted. It typically attracts 200-plus participants, depending on race day conditions.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve run in gloves and long winter pants, and I\u2019ve run in shorts,\u201d Pietrovito said of the notoriously fickle New England weather.<\/p>\n

Having run the race themselves many times, they said, \u201cIt\u2019s good for the soul to get out at the start of the New Year and see folks you may not have seen in a while, socialize and wish a happy New Year to a lot of people who share your passion.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs first-time race directors, we love the idea that we can contribute to a great start for many people and give back to this club that provides such great community connection,\u201d Pietrovito said. \u201cWhat\u2019s a better way to demonstrate a positive start to 2023 than crushing a New Year\u2019s Day race?\u201d<\/p>\n

Registration for The Freezer Five is $30 through Dec. 26, $35 on race day; the first 125 registered runners will receive gloves. For more information and to register, visit cmsrun.org\/races-events-3\/ freezer-5-miles.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

STERLING \u2014 Running The Freezer Five on Jan. 1 would be a great way to kick off the new year and those pesky resolutions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":41828,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41825"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41825\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41828"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}