Course Preview Run

When: September 29, 2026, at 8 a.m. (please arrive 10–15 minutes early so that we can start promptly)

Where:Trailhead of the Leatherstocking Trail, New Rochelle, N.Y.

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Every year, NewRo Runners, the group that organizes the Paine to Pain Trail Half-Marathon, hosts a preview run of the course a couple weeks before the race. 

All runners are invited to join us for this trail run, whether you are signed up for the race or not and whether you want to run the whole loop or just a section (see below).

The preview is not a race but simply a guided running tour of the P2P course, hosted by NewRo Runners, who will do this run as one of our regular weekend group runs.

We will have three paced groups, which we coyly designate as fast, medium and slow, because tall, grande and venti didn’t seem right. The groupings will generally (and very loosely) be:

  • Fast: Runners training for 3:30 marathon or faster (or 1:40 half-marathon)

  • Medium: Runners training for 3:30–4:30 marathon (or 1:40–2:15 half-marathon)

  • Slow: Runners training for a 4:30–5:30 marathon (all runners should be capable of running a 2:30 half-marathon on the street; please, no walkers)

There are no fees, no services, and you don't have to be a member of NewRo Runners to join us. Just email Race Director Eric Turkewitz or message us on our Facebook page and let us know which group you want to join, so we have a general idea how many to expect. You can always change groups on the spot or mid-run if you don’t like the tiger print shorts of the guy in front of you. You can also run a shorter distance if you choose.

Important!‍ ‍We do not meet at the starting line for P2P! We start, instead, at the trailhead for the Leatherstocking Trail. This is at the corner of Pinebrook Boulevard and Hillside Crescent in New Rochelle (see map). Parking is available on Hillside Crescent.

There is one water stop along the way, at the Saxon Woods Golf Club, which has bathrooms as well, and is at the 6.5-mile mark. 

Your distance options are:

  • 5.6 miles — Out and back on the Leatherstocking trail, which is marked. (Also the most difficult terrain of the race.)

  • 9–10 miles — Stay with the group past the Saxon Woods water/bathroom stop, and we head down the Hutchinson River Trail. Then bail out when we cross Pinebrook Boulevard. This is the same street we started on but two miles to the north. Then run Pinebrook back to the start. There are no turns to make after leaving the group.

  • 13-plus miles  — The full monty. As an extra bonus, instead of running the Broadview hill at the start of the race, you get to run it at the end when you are tired.

Please let us know if you will be able to join us. Either email Eric at eric@painetopain.com or message us on Facebook.