Paine Race Track — After the Rain
I ran the Paine to Pain loop both this past weekend and the weekend before as part of Boston prep, both times after a good rain. And the verdict? The trails have some drainage issues, but not enough to keep a runner off them so long as you don’t mind getting a little dirty.
All of the trails that are part of the official race course are navigable after a good rain. The Leatherstocking has some drainage issues in the New Rochelle section that need attention, but small side tracks generally take you around them. The Mamaroneck section is good.
Saxon Woods is almost all good, though it has two notable mud holes where we want to run the race this year, but nothing terrible and easy to skip around. Twin Lakes and Nature Study Woods have the same problems.
So if you were worried that rain would make the trails impassible, it is an unfounded worry. When the trails are dry, they are magnificent. When wet, merely good. And a hell of a lot better than training on the roads.
–ET
Registration Is Now Open!
Registration for Paine to Pain 2009 is now open! As you can see from the main page, we’re starting with a gunshot on October 4th. To say we are excited is an understatement.
Based on the enthusiastic reviews last year when we put this race on with short notice, we think there’s a pretty good chance we will sell out this year. So our suggestion is to register early, which also saves you 10 bucks. Our best case scenario is that we are sold out well in advance and therefore don’t have to spend time with late registration issues when we would rather be marking the trail and getting the race ready.
We will use this blog for periodic updates, so if you have an RSS feed, we suggest you use it. If you don’t have an RSS feed, we suggest you learn, because it is ridiculously easy. You’ll have updated information pushed to your RSS feed without having to actually visit the site looking for updates.
And if you know folks who want to volunteer, either on race day or as part of the organizational effort, please let me know. You can email me at Eric [at] TurkewitzLaw [dot] com.