LYNN — The 53rd edition of the ever-so-popular Lynn Woods 10-Mile Relay was held in “perfect running weather,” according to one of its organizers, Joe Abelon.
Seventy-six teams competed with each consisting of four runners, who each ran a leg of 2.5 miles. The course consists of approximately 90 percent of the first formal racecourse in the Woods, circa 1967.
Over half of the nearly 300 runners came from four North Shore running clubs. The Wicked Running Club of Salem led the way with a roster of 60, followed by Notch Brewing Run Club, also of Salem, with 52 runners. The North Shore Striders had 40, while the Mystic Runners of Wakefield brought 24.
There were 14 divisions. The first five teams from the Men’s Open (any age), Women’s Open (any age), and Co-Ed (any age) received awards. In all other divisions, the top three teams received awards.
All members of top-scoring teams in each division received medals. Also, each member of the first team in each division received treasured “The Woods” jackets. Better yet, the winning team in each division received a wooden plaque, designed and built by Pam and Malcolm Wilson.
The fastest women’s split came from Kylynn McKinley of Notch Kolsch Queens in the opening leg, running an impressive 15:14 on the challenging course. She is a former track and cross country coach from Marblehead High School.
The men’s leading split came from Steve Dowsett of the Notch Kolsch Bois with a time of 13:43.
Adam Cook ran all legs of his team, Let Him Cook, which was the 13th team to finish.
Team division winners were Notch Kolsch Bois (56:55, Men’s Open), Notched Aged Ales (58:33, Masters Men 40-49), Wicked Old Fashion (Seniors Men 50-59), Wicked Aging As We Run (1:24:24, Veteran Men 60-69), NSS Still Trucking (1:33:37, Super Veteran Men 70+), Notch Kolsch Queens (1:08:02, Women’s Open), The Hustlin’ Honeys (1:23:37, Masters Women 40-49), Wicked Senior Ballers (Senior Women 50-59), GlRR Seasoned Chicks (1:26:00, Veteran Women 60-69), Scrambled Legs (2:08:15, Super Veteran Women 70+), Lynn Classical (1:19:30, Boy’s High School), Labradoodles (1:14:07, Girl’s High School), The Big Tanners (1:13:17, Junior-Grade 8 and below), and NSS Glory Blazers (1:10:16, Co-Ed).
The second- and third-place teams in the Junior Division were all young veterans of the Lynn Woods Summer Race Series. The second-place Young Guns (1:4:36) consisted of Lynnfield 9-year-olds Allie Kent, Emily Conlon, Elle Ferguson, and MacKenzie Beal.
The Evelyn and Friends (1:49:06), all Lynn youngsters, were Evelyn Perez (age 10) and the Matuls in Jennifer (11), Lindsy (9) and Emerson (12).
“It was discovered during the event that Bonnie Hallinan, running on the Scrambled Legs team, in the early 2000s over a four-year period, had run a Marathon in each of the continents,” Abelon said. “That is some feat.”
Full results: www.lwrun.org
