Runners must adjust to rainy conditions

Rain on Wednesday provided a challenge for runners, and for race organizers.At Lynn Woods, the weekly summer cross country runs didn?t miss a beat. About 110 people showed up, although the program was changed.The long race was originally slated to include the notorious Undercliff Trail — when I ran it last year, it seemed like something out of “Lord of the Rings” — but it was changed to a 5-mile out and back course.?It wasn?t bad,” said Paul Croft, a Lynn native and Swampscott resident who ran the long race Wednesday. “We stayed on the main road.”As for the short course, the original distance of 2.5 miles was cut to 2.2 … although the new itinerary included the infamous Goat Path trail.It sounded like the Woods didn?t become a swamp.?There were no big puddles,” Croft said. “It didn?t rain. It was a little dark.”Race assistant Joe Abelon said that in the Great Woods Road parking lot, “it hadn?t rained (until) a light, little, not even drizzle, a mist. Other than that, it was dry during the race. It wasn?t raining. It was not an issue.”In fact, Abelon said, one runner on the short course told him that he didn?t get any mud on his legs.That?s not to say the weather left the Woods unaffected.?I went the next day to fine-tune the 10-mile relay and it was pretty dry, but back on the straightaway, passing the dam on the downhill, it was pretty soggy and wet where you finish the race,” Abelon said.We runners can respond to the rain by taking precautions.?In heavy rain, on the street, there?s automobile visibility (issues), people not seeing you,” Abelon said. “What you think is a puddle could be a hole (in the street). Slippage is not usually a problem for people wearing the current footwear, but in the woods, the rocks have mossy stuff and it could be slippery.?It depends on the temperature. Wet weather in cold temperature is a problem. On a long run, if you?re soaking wet, you?ve got to be careful, especially if it?s windy and wet. Light rain gear keeps you dry, light tops.”I give a tip of the cap to anyone who ran in the rain this week … and I will keep my cap on the next time I go running in the rain.