Rich on Running: Tick tock, time for Clock to the Rock

If you’ve walked around Central Square, chances are you’ve spotted the landmark clock in the shadow of the commuter rail tracks. Well, on Thursday, Sept. 20, that timepiece will mark the starting point of the sixth annual Clock to the Rock road race.When the clock strikes 6 p.m., runners will take off from Central Square on a 5K route that includes a jaunt along Lynn Shore Drive by the Atlantic Ocean before returning to the Square.”The clock was chosen as the starting point because of its location in the heart of Central (Square),” said race director John Olson, who is also the president of Columbia Insurance. “When we first started thinking about what the course should be Steve Martin, from City Hall, and I started walking out of Central (Square) with a GPS.”After Olson and Martin walked what eventually became the race route, they “discovered that it was just about a perfect 5k distance,” Olson said. “We really liked the layout of the course. The only significant incline is at the beginning of the race and it highlights to the runners how close the downtown is to the waterfront. We figured why mess with that.”Why, indeed? Although the trip from downtown to the shore may not necessarily be within walking distance for some, it has worked well enough as a run that the race is going into its sixth straight year.”The race is popular with a lot of the local runners,” Olson said, “but we also have large contingents from North Shore Community College, the Lynn Court House and City Hall that have been faithful attendees. Former mayor Chip Clancy still runs it every year and current mayor Judy Kennedy is always there to help present the awards to the winners. We have had participants from as far away as (Texas, Utah and California). In our brief history we have also had a couple meet at the race and then get engaged at the race the next year.”Several individuals assist Olson with the race, including Mary Chalmers of Mayor Kennedy’s office and JoAnn Power and Sandra Lewis of the Lynn Area Chamber of Commerce.This year, the Arts After Hours (AAH) organization will join the ranks of groups that help with the race. Corey Jackson of AAH called Olson and inquired about a post-race party at another familiar Central Square site: the Lynn Museum.”We had never done one before and Mary Chalmers and I thought it was a great idea,” Olson said. “It has just taken off from there.”Each year, the Lynn Police and DPW help streamline the race route, and Olson gave them a salute.”The Lynn Police and the DPW have been key contributors since the beginning,” Olson said. “Larry Donahue at DPW has been helping us mark the race route by supplying well over 100 saw horses and then scooping them up the day after the race. The LPD, first with Lenny DesMarais and now with Chris Reddy coordinating, help ensure safe passage for our participants through the intersections and busy roads.”Originating as part of the Third Thursday event series, the race is one of three Central Square events that remains after a decrease in funding. After the September race, LynnArts will host a haunted house in October, and in December, there will be a holiday party.The idea of the Third Thursday events was and is to bring people back downtown who may not have been here in a while,” Olson said.The race costs $17 pre-entry (must be received by Sept. 15) and $20 on race day. All of the proceeds from the race will go towards funding future events.Mail checks to: Lynn Area Chamber of Commerce, c/o John Olson, 583 Chestnut St., Unit 8, Lynn, MA 01904. For more information, call 781-715-0921.There will be awards to the top male and female runners overall and the top two in the following groups: 19 and under; 20-29; 30-39; 40-49; 50-59; 60-69; and 70 and over.Gold Star Run for HonorJust nine days after the Clock to the Rock, it will be Swampscott’s turn to host a road race: Jared Raymond’s Fourth Annual Gold Star Run for Honor, which will take place on at Swampscott High School on Sept. 29 at 9