Sunday Run

As we head in to a long weekend, we also head in to the 20 milers for those aiming for the Baystate Marathon and a 10 miler for those gearing up for a half marathon. This is the week to test out your race day routine. Saturday plan to eat your pre-race meal to see how it feels in your belly on Sunday Morning, when you should be trying out your race morning breakfast. Check your running shoes, do you have just over a month’s worth of miles left on the pair you’ve trained in? If not, time to break in a new pair for your 22 miler, buy them now but don’t do the 20 miler in them since they aren’t broken in yet. If its a close call and you like the pair you’re in, start limiting this pair to just the long runs while your other runs are done in a new pair. If you timed things out well, wear your race shoes Sunday, as well as your race sox, shorts, shirt, and whatever else you carry on your body on marathon day. Its best to test out how they fit for hours of running today than to wait to marathon day to find out they have issues. This run is THE run to figure out your race day routine.

The run starts out Main Street and right on West Wyoming Ave, past Grimsby’s and up to Spot Pond. Take a right at the pond, past Stone Zoo, past Friendly’s to a set of lights at Park Street and Marble Street in Stoneham. Take a left at the lights and run over I93 as Marble Street turns into Forest Street in Winchesters, to the first water stop at the corner of Eugene.

After that water stop continue along Forest Street down to a left onto Highland Ave toward Winchester Hospital. Run past the hospital and continue along Highland all the way to the end. There will be a 5 way intersection to cross. Go straight across their to continue on Highland. When you get to the end there will be a water stop off to the right.

Next up take a left on Main Street/Route 38. This will take you from Winchester into Medford. Cross over to the right side of the road and as you pass Oak Grove Cemetery turn right onto Playstead Road hugging the cemetery wall. Playstead will bring you to High Street/Route 60 in Medford. Turn right onto High Street, crossing the commuter rail tracks and a Dunkin Donuts (a convenient potty stop). You’ll find a fork in the road on High Street, keep to the left to stay on High Street. You’ll find a rotary before the Arlington line where you’ll turn right onto Mystic Valley Parkway. This will take you past the Mystic Lakes. Mystic Valley Parkway will come to what seems to be the end, turn right there onto Bacon Street, running under the commuter rail tracks, and take a left back on to the Mystic Valley Parkway where you’ll run to the third water stop.

Leaving the stop you’ll continue on the Mystic Valley Parkway to Washington Street, where you’ll turn left. Washington will cross Mount Vernon Street at another 5-way intersection. You’ll want to cross Mount Vernon and stay to the right to keep on Washington Street, which after more than a mile will take you to Forest Street where you’ll find the Gingerbread Construction Company. Resist the urge for a muffin, and instead turn right on Forest and proceed up, up, up the road back to water stop 1 at Forest and Eugene.

Head back into Stoneham onto Marble Street and turn right at the next set of lights back onto Park Street. When you get to the set of lights at Friendly’s turn right onto Main Street/Route 28. This will take you along the back side of Spot Pond, turn left on Elm Street and continue up to the rotary at Highland Ave and Woodland Road. Go right at the rotary onto Highland and find the final water stop after you round the corner.

From there you’ll continue on Highland Ave to the rotary at the Fellsway East. Turn left there and run the hills of the Fellsway East until you reach Grimsby’s. Go right onto West Wyoming, then left onto Main Street and then get yourselves a bagel at Brueggers, you deserve one!

The shorter route runners… You’ll head out the same route as the long runners up through the first water stop, out through Highland Ave until you hit Eaton Street on the right side of Highland. There will be a small park at the corner where you’ll turn right and head down to Washington Street. Turn right on Washington and head back to a set of lights at the corner of Washington and Forest Street, across from the Gingerbread Construction Company. A right there will loop you back up to the Water Stop at Eugene. From there you’ll return the way you came, Forest onto Marble, right on Park, straight past the Stone Zoo, left on Pond Street past Grimsby’s to West Wyoming Ave and left on Main and back to Brueggers.

Water Stops: We’ll need four stops active throughout the morning. Three volunteers besides myself would be very helpful. The Eugene Street volunteer will need to attend to the stop from 8:20 through about 11:00. The Highland Ave stop will be used from about 8:45 through 9:45. The Mystic Valley Parkway stop will need a car there from about 9:30 through 11:00. The final water stop will need to service runners from about  10:30 through noon. We can pull this off with three helpers if the water stop 2 volunteer moves over to the last water stop. Who can help out? Drop a note here and I’ll follow up tomorrow.

Ok, big run, long post, only one thing left: ROLL CALL! Who’s in?

This entry was posted on Friday, September 4th, 2015 at 10:09 am 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.