On Sunday, January 14, at 8:00 a.m., it’s time to get twisted. Meet at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation, Meadow Lot, when we run one of the Twisted Loops. This time we’ll reverse the direction on the map and while I said in the calendar that we’ll do the Orange loop, we may change that on Sunday depending on trail conditions. Those who want to start early can arrive at 6:00 a.m. or 7:00 a.m. See the map here ››

On Monday, January 15, at 7:00 a.m., Martin Luther King Day, if you’re looking for a run, meet at Lewisboro Town Park upper lot for a few miles on the trails.

Don’t forget to register for the Leatherman’s Loop Lottery. Lottery closes on Tuesday so don’t get closed out. For those interested in attending our annual post-holiday party on Saturday, January 27, you can see the invite and RSVP here ››

Next week we’ll be at Bennett’s Pond, weather permitting. I hope to see you out there this weekend.
Lee Willett

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It was awesome to see so many out for this past arctic run. I had 14 below when I arrived but Peeter wins with a documented measure of 18 below. You are truly a hardy bunch.

This Sunday, January 7, at 8:00 a.m., meet at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation Kimberly Bridge lot when we run a new course that will take us to see a unique landmark in the park—the Boutonville Oak (see the New York Times article referencing the tree)—and on a “secret” trail nearby. It’s going to be bitter cold so this course offers opportunities to extend or curtail the run as necessary. Early birds can start at 6:00 a.m. for the Amundson expedition and 7:00 a.m. for the Shackelton expedition.

I hope to see you out there this weekend
Lee Willett

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Meanwhile, enjoy the pics from last weekend’s runs.

SUNDAY

This Sunday, December 31, at 8:00 a.m., meet at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation Meadow Lot when we run a new course that will take us off the reservation—literally. This new course will take us to Richard’s Preserve and Anderson Preserve which abut the west side of the Reservation and offer unique views of the Cross River Reservoir. Total distance is 7.4 miles but you can extend the run many possible ways. For those of you who remember, we ran this course after Thanksgiving so you’ll be pros by now. Early birds can start at 7:00 a.m. See the map here ››

SATURDAY

On Saturday, December 30, at 8:00 a.m., join me on a special Brew to Brews run at Devil’s Den and Saugatuck Trails. This 11 mile point-to-point run starts with fresh brewed coffee and ends with optional brews at Nod Hill Brewery in Ridgefield. Details here ››

MONDAY

This Monday, January 1, at 9:00 a.m., start the year off right with a run in a new park for us—Old Field Preserve. This small park offers only 2.5 miles of trails but once we’re done exploring, we can head across route 35 into Lewisboro Town Park and into the Reservation for a longer run. Entrance to Old Field Preserve is on Mead Street, opposite Schoolhouse Road. You can familiarize yourselves with Old Field preserve but note the 9:00 a.m. start time—you’ll have a little extra time to sleep.

I hope to see you out there this weekend

Lee Willett

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Enjoy the pics from last week’s Michigan Multiloop. The 8:00 group:

The 7:00 group:

The 5:00 group:

SUNDAY

On Sunday, December 24, at 8:00 a.m., we’ll be meeting at Michigan Road to run one of the paths on the Michigan Multiloop course. Options include:
5:00 a.m. start: Run the perimeter loop, head back around 8:00 a.m.
6:00 a.m. start: 4 mile pre-loop on map
7:00 a.m. start: Follow the Green course on the map but switch to the Blue course at intersection 56.
8:00 a.m. start: Follow the 8 mile loop or one of the shorter loops if you’re not up for the whole thing.
If you’re looking for an ultra, start at 5:00 a.m. and run the loops in order for approximately 31 miles of awesomeness.

TUESDAY

On Tuesday, December 26, at 7:30 a.m., meet at the Hessian Lake Parking Lot, near the ice rink, at Bear Mountain and come prepared to run a special 9-mile loop on parts of the North Face Endurance Challenge course. Kevin Rader is spearheading this run which is a great way to kick off your Bear Mountain training. Visit Strava for last year’s course.

Hope to see you out there this weekend.

Lee Willett
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Enjoy the pic from last week’s “Funstivities.”

On Sunday, December 17, at 8:00 a.m., meet at Lewisboro Town Park, upper lot, when we run a new multi-distance course designed by Peeter Muursepp. While we’ll be parking at Lewisboro Town Park, the loops all start and end at intersection 5 in the park and incorporate the Strava segment called “Fun Climb”. We’ll start at 6:00 a.m. with Fun Time, at 7:00 a.m. we’ll run Fun Trail, then at 8:00 a.m., run Fun Trek or Fun Path, depending on what you’re up for. We’ll stop back at the Town Park Lot between runs to pick anyone up. See the map ››

Hope to see you out there this Sunday.

Lee WIllett

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This Sunday, December 10, at 8:00 a.m., meet at Ward Pound Ridge Michigan Road Lot when we run the Michigan Road Gerrython. Gerry Sullivan has lent his considerable expertise in creating a 13-mile loop that includes some of the toughest trails in the Reservation. You have options for multiple distances from 5 to 13 miles (see map) so pick a distance, pick a color, and stay on course. Those looking to start early can arrive at 6:00 a.m. or 7:00 a.m. for an 8-mile or a 4-mile warmup loop.

Hope to see you out there this weekend.

Lee Willett

For a little added incentive for those on Strava, the run starts off with this:
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Enjoy the pic from last week at Blue Mountain and congratulations to all who participated in the Taconic Relay.

On Sunday, December 3, at 8:00 a.m., meet at Blue Mountain in the lot past the main lodge when we run a new double-loop course totaling 7 miles. We’ll first do a four mile loop on some of the larger trails that will take us up to Blue Mountain. Then once we’re back at the cars, we’ll start a second, three-mile loop marked in green on the map (see map here ››). The second loop follows the Taconic Road Runners Cross Country Relay which will start at 10:00 a.m. Early birds can start at 7:00 a.m. and if you’re interested, hang out after the run and we’ll form some teams to compete in the relay race. More about the race here ››

Hope to see you out there this weekend.
Lee Willett
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Meanwhile enjoy the pic from last week’s Fat Ass run from Lewisboro Town Park. I apologize to the two people at the far left and right that didn’t make it in the photo. If I had known, I would have brought a wider lens.

This Sunday, November 19, 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, Butler, and Westmoreland Sanctuary. Runners will have a choice of various distances. I went through the first part of the course today and trimmed back the overgrowth. As usual, it’s very sparsely marked. Anyone interested in starting early can arrive at 5:00 a.m. for a few extra miles or at 7:00 a.m. for an out-and-back to Merestead. If you’re there early, bring a map—I’ll be there at 8:00. See the map ››

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. And if you know how to get to the Meyer Preserve, you can make this run even more epic.

On Saturday, November 18, at 8:45 a.m., enjoy the first ever “Conquer the Forest” event: a challenging run through the open fields and forest trails of Green Chimneys’ Clearpool campus. Learn more or register ››

Great job everyone on last week’s Raven Rocks Run. I was under the weather and missed all of you. Hope to see you out there this weekend.

Lee Willett
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This Sunday, November 5, at 8:00 a.m, meet at the Ward Pound Ridge Michigan Road Parking lot to run The FH to Overlook Loop. Start at the Michigan Road lot and head up Fox Hill then turn south. I’ve put a number of twists and turns on lesser-used trails so keep a sharp eye out and a map handy. See the map ›› Anyone interested in getting some additional miles in can arrive at 6:00 a.m. or 7:00 a.m. for a pre-run loop.

Looking for a Saturday run? On Saturday, November 4, at 8:00 a.m., meet at Ward Pound Ridge Meadow Lot and run one of the Twisted Loops. Or run all three. Bring a map though, I won’t be there.

Next Sunday is the Raven Rocks Run—the last of the Trail Mix Series. If you haven’t already, register today! Hope to see you out there this weekend.

Lee Willett

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Enjoy the pic from last week’s soggy but awesome run.

SUNDAY

This Sunday, October 29, at 8:00 a.m., meet at the Ward Pound Ridge Reservation Meadow Lot when we run a course check of the Raven Rocks Run. This will be our only course check so if you’re planning on running the November 12 race, this will be your chance to check out the course which includes the new CB trail. Anyone interested in getting an early start can arrive at 7:00 a.m. for a few extra miles but bring a headlamp—the sun isn’t up that early. See the map here ››

SATURDAY

Anyone interested in a Saturday run, I can’t think of a more appropriate place for a pre-Halloween run than at Devil’s Den in Connecticut. Saturday, October 28, at 8:00 a.m., meet at Devil’s Den parking lot, 3 Pent Road, Weston, CT, and run a 6.4 mile perimeter loop including the Ambler Gorge loop, but bring your own maps because no one wants to get lost in Devil’s Den on Halloween. See the map here ››

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This Sunday, October 22, at 9:30 a.m, meet at Muscoot Farm (http://goo.gl/maps/dTDiT) for the Run the Farm 5 Mile Trail Race. This 5 mile course starts from the farm and follows the outlying trails around Muscoot. You can download a map of the five-mile course here.
8:30 a.m. Kids’ Race (7 to 12-year-olds)
8:45 a.m. Kids’ Race 2 (6 and under)
9:30 a.m. 5 Mile Race
For more information, visit RunTheFarm.org.

Peeter Muursepp has secured a 15{accc40b09832ee94a70b9d38053be2da501a998c4b43b97565b1c370fb270371} discount code for the upcoming North Face races including Bear Mountain on May 5 and 6, 2018. Use code LHARRIERS15 when you sign up to receive your discount. Next week we’ll be back at the Reservation for our course check of the Raven Rocks Run. You won’t want to miss that. Hope to see you out there this weekend.

Lee WIllett

And last week’s photo from Lewisboro Town Park.

This Sunday, October 15, at 8:00 a.m, meet at the Lewisboro Town Park Upper Lot when we run a course that includes some of the newest trails in the Reservation—The Town Park to Covered Bridge Loop. We’ll all start out together and head toward the Meadow and up the FH trail but from there, you’ll have options for different distances. Three of the four options will take you through the covered bridge. The 8.6 mile option takes you to a couple smaller trails that we haven’t been on in a while so pay attention to the turns. Anyone interested in getting an early start can arrive at 7:00 a.m. for a short loop.

Good luck to those running Cat’s Tail marathon in the Catskills on Saturday and congratulations of all of you who ran Paine to Pain on Sunday. The rest of us made it through the green twisted loop just fine.

Next week is Run the Farm so make sure you’re registered. Hope to see you out there this weekend.

Lee WIllett
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From last Sunday.

And from the Friday night run (minus Todd).

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