LYNN — Nearly 150 heat-defying runners took on the Lynn Woods Running Series this past week.
Director Bill Mullen made last-minute changes. The first was eliminating the original long race – Gate to Gate (5.65 miles) – and replacing it with the more moderate Penny Bridge and Back (3.87 miles). The scheduled short race with a steep climb to Steel Tower was replaced by the original Goat Path race, saving participants the gut-wrenching climb to the Tower.
Both changes were welcome reliefs for runners.
The standard kids’ 1.59-mile race was kept intact, led by 6-year-old Parker Beal of Lynnfield with a time of 13:34. He was followed by Lynn natives Macio Paula, age 8 in 13:47, Patrick Conlon, 8 in 14:32, and Aden Chapinski, 13 in 14:35.
The top girl finisher was 11-year-old Avery Macario with a time of 15:20, followed by Lynnfield’s Julia Hutter in 16:21, Lynn’s Astrid Reyes in 16:21, and Lynn’s Ashley Rodriguez in 17:38.
The closet battle for first place was in the “Original Goat Path” of 2.2 miles between Lynn natives Christian Nunez, 17, and Angel Rivera, 15, with times of 15:45 and 15:47, respectively.
The top two girls were Salem’s Abigal Murphy, 13 in 19:07, and Peabody’s Victoria Vaz, 16 in 19:45.
Young Wakefield runner Peter Swain (24:47), 18, provided Lynn’s Rafael Villatoro (25:00), 33, a rare defeat in the long race.
Salem’s Deirdre Lowe continued her consistency as the top female finisher, running a time of 30:30, followed by Lynn’s Idalia Matul in 31:17.
Complete results: www.lwrun.org
