For my birthday weekend, decided to finally run around the Quabbin - which is a route local to me. Given that I knew the roads would be the least fun (and to maximize daylight hours in the Quabbin, where it's only open during daylight), I started at Gate 26 and knocked out the road miles first. I enjoyed that this FKT doesn't have a specific route that you have to follow, it just requires that you hit 5 different (iconic) locations along the route as you run around the Quabbin, so I could opt to do the road first.
The route brought me through much of the history and beautiful views of the area. I was supported by Jen Howard, Bonnie Lathrop, and (unofficial Quabbin history enthusiast) Grant Ritter - so I was fortunate to have some company along the way, and especially to hear random historical facts from Grant as we ran.
I started at 5:00am, so the sun was up before I entered at Gate 11 onto the Quabbin property. My crew of Jen, Bonnie and Grant met me about every 10 miles, at various gates along the route so I could restock with water and foods. They each took turns pacing me after the initial road miles. Finished around 3:15pm - with enough time to hit up the local hard cider place for a post-run celebration.