Sunday Run

It should have been no surprise after the repeated barrage of cold and snow we’ve been dealt this winter, the first mild Sunday of the year brought runners our from all over to join in on the Sunday Run. A total of <B>36</B> runners took to the streets this morning for the Sunday Long Run, accompanying many other people out there enjoying the break from snow. In attendance: Aileen, Audie, BarryC, Bob, BrianG, BrianS, Carol, Catherine, Demi, Denyce, Donna, Ed, Ginny, Joanne, Jim, Joe, John, Jose, Kaj, Lauren, Liz, Lois, Mary, Matt, Mike, Nancy, Nick, Pam, Peter, Rebecca, Shelly, Sue, Suzanne, Teresa… plus two new friends from the Mystic Running Club that I never had a chance to get the names of, perhaps Rick could fill us in. Let me know if I left anyone out.

Thanks go out to Peter Fopiano for setting up water stop 1 at Wakefield High School and running back to Brueggers in time to jump in to our run with 4 miles under his belt. Thanks also go out to Rick Collette for picking up extra cups and Snickers to help get the record crowd through their run, providing a water stop for the short route, and setting up water stop 2 at the corner of Main St and Nahant for the long runners.

The crowd stretched out along the LynnFells and turned up Main St in Saugus. Denyce, Donna, and Mary turned down Howard to complete the short route and get 6.3 miles in. The rest of us continued on straight towards Farm St. Due to a sore achilles tendon I hung out in the back of the pack, enjoying the conversation as I hobbled along, and the view of the large pack of runners stretching out and breaking up into smaller groups. It was very nice to see so many runners working the rolling hills towards the water stop, each with their own plan for the day and goal for the season yet working as a group to get through the run. The last stretch towards Wakefield High where our first break would be held, I watched the school zone sign register the speed of cars as they whizzed by, not to see the excessive speed of each and every car on that road but instead the rare but fun event of a pack of runners getting clocked. Today there was only one pack that registered, the one right in front of me, popping a 6 up there, 6 mph, 10 minute miles. As the final group came up on the sign we picked up the pace a bit hoping for at least a 7 but a 25 came up as a car in the distance masked our little group of runners.

Water stop 1 looked like a high school party in the parking lot, over 30 people with plastic cups chugging down fluids. Like a party I wasn’t quite sure who was there at the run until little bands took off to continue their run. The original plan was to have us head into Breakheart for a loop and meet back at the water stop but due to thick unyielding ice plans had changed. Anarchy broke out and Make-Up-Your-Own-Route day began. Most people headed out to Water St into Wakefield Center but I hopped in with a group following Nahant St to Main. Along with Kaj, Demi, Catherine and Rebecca I made my way to water stop 2, one mile from water stop 1 when you do it this way. Rick was all set up and chatting with BrianS at the stop, having reached it via Water St. Bob followed in behind him also opting for a shorter run today. The pack of 8-9 milers headed out while I, content with 5 miles without an achilles tear stayed to help man the stop. From the order and direction the runners came in I could only guess where everyone was. Some turned left off Water onto Main and added distance back in Melrose to fit their needs. Most turned right and headed to the lake. At the lake you could continue on Main St and run the traditional counter-clockwise loop around, or you could follow Nick and buck the system and go clockwise. Once around the lake you could follow North Ave back to the water stop or complete the whole loop and return via Main St… or you could do like Joe and more than make up for last week’s missing Ell Pond loop by going around Lake Quannapowitt twice. Each runner tailored their runs to their needs for the day while Rick and I scrambled around the parking lot picking up cups and bottles as they scattered with the fierce wind that whipped them around. Each runner praised the warmth and railed against the wind before heading back along Main St to Melrose and the shelter of Brueggers.

Great job to every runner today, the warmth put a smile on your face, the wind put a challenge in front of you, and the Snickers and Gatorade put some energy in your belly… all leading to a very good run.

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 8th, 2009 at 7:00 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.