LYNN — Wednesday was pretty much a wash all around. The North Shore Baseball League’s playoffs games were pushed to tonight, and even the Red Sox couldn’t finish out their series with the Indians at Fenway Park due to thunderstorms.
But there was one group that didn’t let the wet weather dampen its night: the diehard runners at Lynn Woods.
Though the crowd was smaller than usual this week (the races usually draw around 250 people, give or take, while Wednesday’s group totaled 150), the Lynn Woods cross country races went on despite the downpours.
The timekeepers found shelter in the back of a large truck, and those milling about, like organizers Bill Mullen and Joe Abelon, either huddled under umbrellas or just soaked in the rain. Otherwise, it was business as usual at Lynn Woods…the puddles at the finish line simply provided an extra obstacle for the runners to overcome.
It takes a lot to derail the weekly races, which started on May 31 and will run until September 27. The event generally draws a crowd comprised of both dedicated runners who come every week and newcomers testing out the waters, so to speak.
For the diehards, though, the races have become a part of their weekly routine. Winthrop’s Denise Ferguson, her husband Eric, their daughters April and Bailey and son Colton are regulars at Lynn Woods, and the weather was of no concern for the Ferguson clan Wednesday night.
“We come almost every week, as much as we can,” Denise Ferguson said. “This week, it was ‘are they going to cancel or aren’t they going to cancel.’ If it wasn’t, we figured we’d try it out, but if it was, we would have just gone and done it ourselves.”
Skipping the races this week was also out of the question for Lynn father-daughter team Steve and Ivy Martin.
“We’re out here every Wednesday night!” Steve Martin said.
“Rain doesn’t stop us…actually, it’s making me look like I’m not sweating,” Ivy Martin joked.
While the weather spelled trouble for other outdoor activities, some of the runners at Lynn Woods actually preferred to run through the raindrops.
“It was beautiful in there, absolutely gorgeous,” Steve Martin said, gesturing to the path that divulges into the woods. “A couple of weeks ago, it was 95 degrees, humid and sweltering, it was awful. This was nice.”
Of course, the rain presents challenges as well.
“It was cool, better than the heat,” Denise Ferguson said. “A little slippery, but still fun. As long as it’s not hot and humid, it’s perfect.”
“It can be a little slippery and a little dark, but you just have to keep your head down,” Ivy Martin said.
But if you’ve been running the courses for about 20 years, like Steve Martin has, the darkness isn’t much of an issue.
“You have to pay attention, but I’ve been in there long enough, I could probably tell you where every rock is,” he said.
The races go off without a hitch every week, and provide a place for runners to not only stay active, but socialize as well.
“Billy (Mullen) and Joe (Abelon) do a fantastic job, and they devote a lot of time to it,” Steve Martin said. “It’s amazing to have all this here and it costs you nothing. It’s a great group of people, and it’s almost like a family atmosphere. Every Wednesday is like a reunion.”
It’s also a great event to bring the entire family to, like the Fergusons do.
“It’s wonderful. The amount of work that I’m sure goes into it is tremendous,” Denise Ferguson said. “It’s a great habit to teach the kids, to stay active and healthy.”
Ivy Martin summed it up succinctly as well.
“It gets you down here, it gets you active and it gets you talking,” she said. “That’s the best part about it.”
RESULTS
The rain didn’t have a negative effect on Lynn’s Adam Bryson, who sped through the 2.3-mile Left on Goat Path race in 13 minutes and 41 seconds, more than three minutes ahead of the second-place finisher, Zachary Westin, also of Lynn (17:00).
Saugus’ Dillon Duval (17:46), Nahant’s Lenny Frisoli (18:17) and Swampscott’s Chris Rouse (18:49) rounded out the top five male finishers in the short race. Peabody’s Andrea Saccardo paced the women (17:07), followed by Winthrop’s April Ferguson (20:05), Saugus’ Adyson Duval (20:12), Swampscott’s Stephanie Lannon (21:12) and Peabody’s Kelley Hackett (21:19).
The kids’ race saw a small field take on the 1.59-mile course, but Lynn Woods regular Will Bochnak, of Lynn, led the way, finishing in 13:39. Lynn’s Oliver Brooks (14:41), Winthrop’s Bailey (16:06) and Colton (16:07) Ferguson (whose mother, Denise, ran with them) and Lynn’s Olivia Horton (16:54) rounded out the top five.
North Andover’s Jacob Johns led the way in the longest race, the Handicap with Steel Tower course, finishing in 33:56. He was followed by Chelsea’s Jose Leelere (34:14), Beverly’s Dan Pfistner (34:16), Lynn’s Jim Pawlicki (34:30) and Salem’s Greg Esbitt (38:06).
Lynn’s Amy Damon paced the women in the long race (39:08), and was followed by Peabody’s Akianna Maida (39:33), Salem’s Deirdre Lowe (40:25), Wilmington’s Simonetta Piergenti (41:22) and Wakefield’s Emily Curran (41:51).
