Sunday Run

Last Week – We won’t talk about last week…

This Week – We’ll be heading back to Breakheart, which used to be part of the Wakefield version of the Law Enforcement Half Marathon route. Short runners will be doing about 9 miles, training on some daunting hills, good strength training for those quads and a chance to learn how to pace through hills. The full route runners will also do these hills early in their 18 mile run. As the mileage increases in September you’ll find a few of our routes have early hills which trains your body to recover during a run as you cycle through to your second and third winds in a marathon.

Start – Leaving Brueggers, head north up Main Street, past Ell Pond, crossing near Melrose Wakefield Hospital to merge right onto Green Street. Take a right at the lights at the intersection of Green St and the LynnFells Parkway. Follow the LynnFells to the Saugus entrance of Breakheart on the left side of the road. Turn left onto Forest Street which brings you up to the headquarters of Breakheart where you’ll find a water stop.

Half/Full 2 – Everyone will circle Breakheart counterclockwise. For those that are clock challenged, that means enter Breakheart to the right following the outer loop. At the pond in Breakheart stay right to continue on the outer loop. Circle past the Wakefield entrance and through the hills to get back to the headquarters building and another water stop.

Half 3 and Full 3 – Run back out the Saugus entrance of Breakheart turning right on the LynnFells Parkway. Half route runners will go back the way they came, continuing on the LynnFells to a left on Green Street. Merge back onto Main Street in Melrose and find your way to Brueggers to finish up. Full distance runners will follow the Wakefield Half route with a right turn at the first set of lights onto Main Street in Saugus. This will turn into Farm Street in Wakefield and bring you to Wakefield High School where you’ll find a water stop near the school entrance.

Full 4 – Continue on Farm to the end where you turn RIGHT on to Water Street. Cross over to the left side and take your first left onto Montrose Ave. Follow Montrose to the end and turn left onto Salem Street. Eventually you’ll come to a fork in the road that looks like this:

Keep to the right here to get on Lowell Street. This will bring you up to Lake Quannapowitt. At the lake get to the left side of the road to turn left onto Quannapowitt Parkway to get into the Comverse parking lot. There will be a water stop in the lot somewhere.

Full 5 – Leaving that water stop continue on Quannapowitt Parkway to North Ave and turn left. North Ave will take you to a set of lights at Church Street where you turn left. Church Street takes you to a church at Wakefield Common, turn right onto Common Street here. Common will merge onto Main Street and Main Street will take you to the intersection of Nahant and Main and North Ave. At Nick’s Pizza on the left side will be your final water stop.

Full Finish – Now its a straight shot south along Main Street to get you back in to Melrose and back to Brueggers. 18 miles done!

Water Stops – This one is challenging but you will have plenty of help with 4 stops along the way! The Breakheart Stop. Wakefield High stop, Comverse stop, and hanging at Nick’s to help you get home.

Roll Call! Who’s in?

Last Week – I sent you all off to run to Saugus, where the half runners turned around and came back and the long runners headed for the Wakefield entrance to Breakheart. Thanks to Andy for adding a third stop to the route at Nick’s!!

This Week – While I relax on the beach…Marty, Regina, and Andy will keep you hydrated. The runners will head out to Winchester to run my favorite route to get lost on.  If you’re new to this route I highly recommend running with a buddy!

Start – Heading north on Main Street, we’ll leave Melrose by taking a left on Franklin Street. Following this up a hill into Stoneham, we’ll run past their high school, past a Dunkin Donuts, to a set of lights where we’ll turn left on to Summer Street. Summer will wind over to Main Street in Stoneham, where you’ll cross over onto Marble Street. Marble takes you to an overpass of I-93 into Winchester where the road turns in to Forest Street. On your left you’ll find the water stop on the corner of Eugene Drive.

Half Finish – The half route runners will turn back over I-93 to a set of lights on the corner of Park Street. There they’ll turn right which will take them over to Friendly’s in Stoneham. Cross Main Street and continue straight to Pond Street, past the Stone Zoo and turning left to stay on Pond Street down to Grimsby’s. To get your 8.2 miles in you’ll turn left at Grimsby’s onto the Lynn Fells Parkway, running past Melrose High School, and turning right on Melrose Street, and another quick right onto Main Street to finish up at Brueggers.Start – Heading north on Main Street, runners leave Melrose by taking a left on Franklin Street and following the road up a hill into Stoneham. Run past Stoneham high school, past a Dunkin Donuts, and turn left at a set of lights on to Summer Street. Summer St will wind over to Main Street in Stoneham, where you’ll cross onto Marble Street. Marble takes you to an overpass of I-93 into Winchester where the road turns in to Forest Street. On your left you’ll find the water stop on the corner of Eugene Drive.

Full 2 – After leaving the water stop to continue on Forest Street, runners will turn left on Highland Ave towards Winchester Hospital. As you approach the hospital, turn left onto Reservoir Road. This will bring you up to the edge of the Middlesex Fells, with a view of Winchester’s North Reservoir. As the road becomes Hillcrest Parkway, enjoy your surroundings and ignore the hill you’re running up. The road will eventually bring you back to Highland Ave where you’ll turn left. You’ll reach a 5-way intersection where you’ll continue straight across to stay on Highland Ave. At the end of Highland you’ll find a water stop.

Full 3 – Leaving the water stop, turn right on to Main Street in Winchester. You’ll run up to a rotary, as you circle it counterclockwise you’ll pass a little spur street and then turn on the second street to stay on Main Street. There is a sign for Symmes Farm Historical Site as a landmark to tell you you’re on the right road. Stay to the right side of the street, as you’ll come to a fork where Main goes left, you want to stay right to run on to Washington Street. Washington will take you to another 5 way intersection. Cross Mt Vernon Street and stay to the right to keep on Washington Street. If you run past Winchester High School you went the wrong way. Washington will eventually take you to Forest Street, the Gingerbread Construction Company will be the landmark to note that its time to turn. Go right on Forest and climb up a series of hills to get back to the water stop at Eugene.

Full 4 – Leaving the water stop you’ll go over I-93 and turn right at the lights on to Park. Run to Friendly’s and turn right on to Main Street/Fellsway West. This will take you over I-93, past the Sheepfold, under I-93 to Elm Street where you turn left. Elm will take you up to a rotary where you go left and find Flynn Rink. The final water stop will be in the skating rink parking lot.

Full Finish – To finish up the long run continue on Woodland Road to Pond Street, where you turn right to make your way down to Grimsby’s. Continue straight onto West Wyoming and run to Main Street in Melrose. Turn left and finish up at Brueggers.

Water Stops – Regina and Andy will be at Eugene and Marty will see you on Highland, but if anyone else wants to help us out, let me know.

Roll Call – Who’s in?

Last Week – Great job everyone who joined us for the Horn Pond run last week!

This week –We’ll be heading in the opposite direction, reducing the mileage a bit, but adding a series of tough hills to keep strengthening your legs and your resolve to finish.

The Start – The group will start from Brueggers at 7:30AM. The group will head up Main Street to Ell Pond, crossing to the right to veer onto Green Street, and then turning right onto the Lynn Fells Parkway. Follow the parkway to your first set of lights at the corner of Main Street in Saugus, taking a left there. Half route runners will take a quick left onto Howard Street where they’ll find a little water stop. Long Runners continue straight on Main Street in Saugus until it becomes Farm Street in Wakefield, stopping for a water stop in the Wakefield High School parking lot.

Half Finish – The half route runners will return along Howard Street, turning left onto Green Street. At the lights at the LynnFells Parkway you’ll turn right and run the MRC summer route in the reverse direction: Lynnfells Parkway past Melrose High School, over to Grimsby’s and take a left onto West Wyoming and a left on Main Street to get back to Brueggers.

Full-2 Breakheart Loop – The longer route will take up past the Northeast Metro Tech Vocational School where you’ll find the Wakefield entrance to Breakheart. Run the Breakheart Outer Loop in the counter-clockwise direction. First making your way through some challenging hills. Drive your legs up the long steep hills and then stay controlled as you let gravity take you down the steep downhills and into the next hill. This section will take you over to the headquarters where you’ll go left to continue around to the Breakheart pond. Stay right there as it takes you back over to the Voc where you’ll pop out into the parking lot and back down to the water stop.

Full-Finish – To finish up you’ll run the same way back that you did in Week 1. Turn right onto Farm Street to the end, turning left at the T intersection onto Water Street. Continue into Wakefield Center, turning left onto Main Street. Follow Main Street back to Melrose Center, into Brueggers.

Alternate Half Route – An option for the half route runners is to carpool to the parking lot at the corner of Main St in Saugus and the LynnFells Parkway and jump in there for a loop around Breakheart before heading home back to your car.

Waterstops- Marty and I will handle the stops but we welcome anyone who wants to volunteer! Thanks for the help last week Andy!

Who’s in? – Roll Call!