Rich on Running: Lynn Woods races involve altitude adjustment

Before last Wednesday, I had visited Lynn Woods Reservation a grand total of two times: once for a walk with my friend, and once on a dog-walking excursion that got cut short due to concerns over a storm.Last week offered a chance to experience the Woods in a different way, namely by running 2.2 miles through it thanks to the Lynn Woods Summer Cross Country Races.The races, which take place each Wednesday from the end of May to the end of September, are in their fourth decade and keep drawing numbers. Even though the college kids are back in school, there was still quite a crowd in the parking lot off Great Woods Road last week. People stretched and chatted as the anticipation built toward the 6 p.m. start for the evening’s three races (2.2-mile, 4.8-mile and kids).I got a warm welcome from co-organizers Joe Abelon, who showed his Classical pride in his green sweatshirt, and Bill Mullen. Abelon asked me to choose which race I would run. The 4.8-miler was tempting, but having never run the Woods before, and having rarely tested hilly terrain, I opted for the 2.2-miler.The Woods, which happen to be the second-largest municipal park in the US, beckoned beyond the parking lot. I had visited the race website the night before and learned that one of the courses, a 2.5-miler, featured a starting elevation of 118 feet and reached a daunting 220 feet at its peak height.It occurred that it might help to learn how to run uphill, and a 2002 article on coolrunning.com yielded some advice. “On gradual inclines, try to run a bit harder than you had been running on the flat before the hill,” author Josh Clark suggested. “On steeper inclines, concentrate on lifting your knees and pushing off hard with every step.”Perhaps I remembered this as the cowbell rang and we took off ? perhaps not. Perhaps the shock of the first hill left me simply trying to navigate its rocky, uneven, steep surface the best way I could. I got a sense of how tough this incline could be when I heard another runner remark that the first hill got to her every time.The race did become more manageable. The terrain felt less steep, although we were certainly high up. I sensed that if I paused, I would see some stunning views through the trees (the reservoir offered a nice spectacle). Yet I didn’t want to stop and risk getting lost.I did slow down to a walk with a few other runners when we made the left turn up a flight of stone steps onto a narrow path and it felt like we were hiking the Himalayas. Eventually, the reservoir floated back into view and then the orange traffic cones leading up to the finish line.My quads ached for a few days, but I can understand why Lynners and people from other cities return to the races. Yesterday I returned to my friendly, familiar bike path, but the concrete seemed so ? well ? flat in comparison.Sir Edmund Hillary, conqueror of Mt. Everest, once said it is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves. I sense the Woods similarly challenge runners to new heights. They certainly did for me.Rich Tenorio writes a column on running for The Item. Email him at [email protected].