One of the things I’ve liked about this recent string of 5Ks I’ve been running is that they’re a good way of measuring my progress.

They’re all the same distance, and even though they’re not all on the same course, the fact that they’ve all come in the span of about three months means I can get an idea of my fitness from the results.

Even better, the 5K I ran on Saturday is one I also ran last year, so it provides a direct comparison for me.

The Sharon Timlin 5K takes place in Hopkinton, starting and ending at Hopkinton High School. Hopkinton, as you may or may not know, is where the Boston Marathon begins, and the high school is where the runners all hang out while they wait for their wave and corral start times.

(It’s also where the lines for the porta-potties are insane at marathon time, so on Saturday, like I did last year, I used a porta potty just on principle because I didn’t have to wait.)

The Timlin race is run by former Red Sox pitcher Mike Timlin and it’s an ALS fundraiser and they have a really nice post-race set-up and if you’re ever in the area in mid-June I’d recommend you sign up for it. It’s a nice race.

Saturday morning featured ideal running conditions. I’m not going to lie - on some of these high humidity days and the days when it’s just plain hot, I’ve been dreading the summer ahead. And then I was thinking about the Timlin 5K and next week’s 10K and the fact that I might actually have to run hard in those temperatures and was slightly worried.

But the only thing to worry about Saturday morning was how hard it might rain. Turned out it didn’t do more than sprinkle while we were running, and the temps were in the 50s and that is exactly what I would dial up if I had a choice of weather to run in.

The race was the culmination of the Couch to 5K program I’ve been showing up for every Sunday morning for the past six weeks (well, I missed a couple) with the running club, so it was nice to see everyone from the group before the race.

The nice thing about 5Ks for me is that I will always go out too fast in a race, but with a 5K ‘too fast’ is generally sustainable for me.

And this one I found my pace nice and early and was able to maintain it. Earlier I said this is a nice 5K - it is - but it is also pretty challenging. There are a lot of hills. So there are some good downhills to take advantage of, but there are also lots of uphills where I could feel myself getting out of breath.

But I never got too tired, so I was happy with that - my fitness is in a good place heading into the 10K.

I didn’t have a goal for this 5K - I guess if I was pressed beforehand I would have said I’d like to be in the ballpark of where I was in the Boston 5K - I didn’t have to beat that time, but I definitely didn’t want to lose ground.

And I did that.

These were my splits in the 2024 Timlin 5K…

In retrospect I also would have liked to do better than last year’s Timlin 5K, and I did that too. I beat it by about 30 seconds.

I compared my splits from both races - that second, hilly mile was very similar but I made up ground on the first and third miles.

I may run one more 5K on the 4th of July - I haven’t decided yet if I’ll sign up for it or not. (Actually, it’s a 3.75-mile run, the one I did last year. So technically it’s not a 5K.)

But I think this is it as far as 5Ks for the foreseeable future.

I don’t have the official results from the March one I ran, but I have what Strava tells me. So here’s the summary:

March 16, Somerville: 26:40

April 19, Boston: 26:13

May 3, Natick: 27:42 (This one was a very hot day)

June 14, Hopkinton: 26:37

That’s a pretty good set of 5Ks for me. The fact they’re all below 28 minutes (and as far as not hot and sweaty ones all below 27 minutes) is a good indication of the shape I’m in.

And they’ve done a good job of getting me to the point now where after the 10K I have marathon training to do.

And don’t forget I’ll have a half marathon in November….and maybe another race to add to the calendar in the fall that I’ll be telling you about if I decide to do it.