The 33rd annual Gazette Stockade-athon road race is just 52 days away.

I’ve been enjoying colleague Mike MacAdam’s “Stockade-athon Diary” blog on this site as he trains for the race. I hope he makes it to the starting line and has a good run.

If you’re a runner, and you've never run the race before, I heartily encourage you to try it. And that’s not just because my employer sponsors the race.

This can be a truly rewarding run.

Grueling? Well ... yes.

Long, uphill stretches in the second half of the race? Well ... no denying it.

But if you put in the time to train and run the race smartly, you’ll have a feeling of accomplishment that lasts for quite awhile. And I’ll bet you’ll be back the next year.

I’ve run the 9.3-mile Stockade-athon eight times.

Not that I’m an expert, but after eight trips around the course, I have figured a couple of things out to pass along to first-timers.

First — and this is obvious — you truly have to put in some serious training in the months leading up to the race. Not marathon-like training, but consistent training with some occasional long runs.

Second, tempo is everything in this race. At least it is to me. Like a crafty baseball pitcher who changes speeds to be effective, you’ve got to know when to accelerate and when to drop down a gear. Here’s what works for me: Take advantage of the downhills, settle into a comfortable pace on the flats and shorten the stride on the uphills. And don't go out too fast. I know this also sounds obvious, but it’s especially true in the Stockade-athon.

The race is so well run. Volunteers do a great job. And there’s a certain spirit of camaraderie after the race as runners share stories over a cup of hot soup or fruit, cookies or yogurt. It’s easy to see why New England Runner selected the Stockade-athon as its “race of the year” in 2005.

The shirt given to the first 1,300 entrants is the popular moisture-wicking kind, so that’s another bonus.

And it’s all right here in our back yard.

So lace ’em up.

And when you finish, put that bib number up on your cubicle wall. Or on your refrigerator. You earned it.

Jeffrey Haff is online editor of The Gazette.