May 29, Meadow Parking Lot

Click for map page

This Sunday, May 29, at 8:00 a.m., meet at the Ward Pound Ridge Reservation Meadow parking lot when we run the Meadow to Overlook loop. The six-mile loop will take you to the Trailside Museum, past the wigwam to Michigan Road and then return via Shoolhouse Road. The climb to the Overlook at mile four is tough but the view is well worth it. For those looking for a longer run, follow the dotted line to Kimberly Bridge and up Blue for a total of 8 miles (I know that puts two of the steepest climbs on the same run but I’m game if you are). And anyone interested in getting an early start can arrive at 7:00 a.m. See the map here ››

On Saturday, May 28, at 8:00 a.m., meet at Bennett’s Pond in Ridgefield. I’m planning on running the Ives trail that links Bennett’s Pond to the Redding train station. Looks to be about 16 miles with elevation gain of 1800 feet. I’m working on the logistics for getting from the finish to the start so email me if you’re interested. You can check out my proposed route here ››

On Monday, May 30, there are the South Salem road races which are always fun but if you want to stay on trails, Mianus River Gorge is now open. I suggest head over there at 8:30 a.m. for the 5-mile out-and-back trail through this beautiful park. Meet in the lot at 167 Mianus River Road, Bedford, NY.

Hope to see you out there this weekend.

Lee Willett

[poll id=”187″]

And it was great to see so many familiar faces at A Mild Sprain last weekend. Great showing all.

LEE_7572b

May 3, Michigan Road Lot

Click for map page
Click for map page

This Sunday, May 3, at 8:00 a.m., meet at the Ward Pound Ridge reservation Michigan Road Lot when we run Rob’s Run—six miles of trails in the southern portion of the park that take us past the overlook, Leatherman’s Cave, Bear Rock Petroglyph, and Dancing Rock. Optional cutoff at intersection 34 will take a mile off the distance if you’re not feeling the love. Anyone looking to add some miles can arrive at 7:00 and run north to the Meadow and return via Schoolhouse Road in time for the group but bring your own maps—a few in the group will be running at Bear Mountain on Saturday though I’ll do my best to make it out on Sunday. See the map page ››

Next weekend we have two runs scheduled. Saturday, May 9, we’ll be running a course check of A Mild Sprain and on Sunday, May 10 (Mother’s Day), we’ll be meeting at Mountain Lakes Park and run some of those trails that we haven’t seen in a while.

Have a great run this weekend no matter where.

Lee Willett

[poll id=”131″]

April 6, Leonard Park

Leonard_to_Butler
7.7 Miles
Leonard_to_Butler
10 Miles
Leonard_to_Butler
13.1 Miles

This Sunday, April 6 at 8:00 a.m., meet at the gazebo at Leonard Park in Mt. Kisco (see map) when we tackle some different trails. We’ll start in Leonard park, go through Marsh Sanctuary, Merestead, and Butler Sanctuary. Runners will have a choice of various distances.

5 Mile Run: Take the course through Marsh and Merestead to the Butler loop.
7.7 Mile Run: Follow the Butler loop which adds 2.7 to the run for a total of 7.7 miles.
10 Mile Run: Cross the road to Westmoreland Sanctuary for a short loop.
13.1 Mile Run (approx): Anyone interested in going farther can try the Leonard Park to Westmoreland Greenbelt Half Marathon  which adds the perimeter course of Westmoreland.

There you have it— a host of great options through five different parks. Hope to see you out there.

Lee Willett

[poll id=”76″]

November 17, Leonard Park

Leonard_to_Butler
7.7 Miles
Leonard_to_Butler
10 Miles
Leonard_to_Butler
13.1 Miles

This Sunday, November 17 at 8:00 a.m., meet at the gazebo at Leonard Park in Mt. Kisco (see map) when we tackle some different trails. We’ll start in Leonard park, go through Marsh Sanctuary, Merestead, and Butler Sanctuary. Runners will have a choice of distances.

5 Mile Run: Take the course through Marsh and Merestead to the Butler loop.
7.7 Mile Run: Follow the Butler loop which adds 2.7 to the run for a total of 7.7 miles.
10 Mile Run: Cross the road to Westmoreland Sanctuary for a short loop.
13.1 Mile Run (approx): Anyone interested in going farther can try the Leonard Park to Westmoreland Greenbelt Half Marathon  which adds the perimeter course of Westmoreland.

Saturday, November 16, 8:00 a.m.
If you’re interested in an additional run this weekend, meet at Mountain Lakes Park (201 Hawley Road, North Salem, NY) at the trailhead to Lookout Point and run the Sarah Bishop Bushwhack course. Instead of starting at the race start, though, we’ll be starting from the Kids’ Start on the map  and completing the 10K course from there. Should be a lot of fun. And if you can’t make it in the morning, Mark Vincent will be running the course at 2:30 on Saturday as well so you have another chance for a great run.

There you have it—two days, three runs, and a host of great options through six different parks this weekend. Hope to see you out there.

Lee Willett

[poll id=”56″]

August 18, New Rochelle

Paine to Pain Trail Race
Click to enlarge

Sunday, August 18, 8:00 a.m.
This Sunday we’ll switch things up a bit and run a longer distance to prepare for the Paine to Pain race in the fall. Meet at the trailhead for the Leatherstocking trail in New Rochelle (Google map: 2 Hillside Crescent, New Rochelle, NY). We’ll follow the Paine to Pain map through Saxon Woods, by the Hutch, and return via Mill Road/North Ave. for a 10 mile loop. If you’d like to do the full loop, you can continue on the full 13.1 mile course back to the starting point. Limited on-street parking is available on Hillside Crescent. If that is full, park on Lyncroft Road (around house number 312) and follow the course map to the trailhead.

Those who want to car pool from Lewisboro and Ridgefield can meet at the town park at 7:20. Those coming from other points can meet at the Park and Ride, exit 4 on 684, at 7:35. That should give everyone enough time to get to the trail for an 8:00 start.

Saturday, August 17, 8:00 a.m.
Meet at the Trailside Museum, Ward Pound Ridge Reservation, and run the Museum to Raven Rocks 6 mile loop. This is the trail that heads over Fox Hill initially which will certainly get your attention. After that, the course becomes somewhat more forgiving and ends on the beautiful downslope of the orange trail.

Registration for the Sarah Bishop Bushwhack is open. Register today ››
Registration for Run The Farm is open so make sure you sign up for that as well.

[poll id=”45″]

Continue reading

October 28 Meadow Parking Lot

view map page

This Sunday, October 28 at 8:00 a.m, meet at the Ward Pound Ridge Reservation meadow parking lot (see map) for the first Ward Pound Ridge trail half marathon run. We’ll have a 13.1 mile option, plus 6 and 8.5 mile options as well for those who’d like a more leisurely run.

I’ll drop a cooler of water at mile 7.5 so there will be one water stop along the way. If you think you need more water than that, you can drop an extra water bottle at intersection 1 just after the five-mile mark. It’s not likely that I’ll have a chance to mark the trail in advance so bringing a map might prove useful. Rob says he’ll be the official timekeeper just in case anyone wants to know their time. Should be a lot of fun.

*Update: it looks like we have a fair chance of rain on Sunday but we’ll still run rain or shine.

On November 4, we’ll meet at the Michigan Road Parking Lot when we tackle the Michigan to Rock Trail course. More on that next week.

Hope to see you out there.