Race Report: Jill's Race for MS

  Today, I will be recapping Jill's Race for MS. This race was hosted by the Lion's Club of Beacon Falls.

Course Map

Date: 13 September, 2025

Town: Beacon Falls, CT, USA

Distance: 5km (but the course was a little short)

Conditions: The race was held on a mostly sunny morning with a light breeze in 2025.

Parking: I was surprised to have trouble parking for this race. Friends of mine had run it in 2024 and advised me that there was a "huge" parking lot, but it was already totally full 40 minutes before the race start time. I was able to park on the grass, but please note that the parking lot is not that large and it serves the entire Beacon Falls Recreation Center where the race started and ended.

Check In: Checking in was a fast, smooth process. The line looked very long when I arrived 40 minutes before start time, but the volunteers moved very swiftly.

Course Description: This road race was an out-and-back course with an additional loop inside the park to get  up to 5k (or, as I noted, 0.04 miles short). There were orange arrow signs marking each turn, which was helpful, and there were volunteers at the turns to give verbal directions. There was police presence out at the only road crossing so I felt very safe running on the rural town roads.

The race started out with a very steep uphill to get out of the recreation park, then it continued out on country roads. The first mile did have a steady climb up another long uphill, and there was a water stop at the top of the hill. The second mile continued on rural residential streets, proceeded downhill to the turnaround point. From there, we went back the way we came until reaching almost our starting poi.t We were then directed to take a sidewalk loop around the athletic fields at the park, then rejoin the main driveway to finish under an inflatable arch.

Afterparty: There were oranges, bottles of water, and a very limited supply of red Gatorade at the finish line. I had been told that in prior years, there were no refreshments, so I brought my own water and a fig bar. The prize ribbons were very cute, although I did not earn one myself.