This was my first time running the Western Greenway, and it’s definitely one of my favorite trail runs I’ve done! You couldn’t ask for better terrain or more classic Eastern MA scenery. The trail was mostly packed dirt through hardwood forest with rolling hills, and it strings together parks under different types of management, from Audubon lands to town lands to YMCA lands.
I parked my car at the Habitat Nature Center and jogged the half mile to the start. The temperature was around 30 degrees but the sun was already bright at my 7:23am start time. I started at the marker post on Concord Rd in Belmont.
It was a little bit hard to find the route in places for the first mile or so, so I consulted my phone a lot. Once the trail turned into Pine Alley, a stand of pine trees along a rolling field, I found the trail to be pretty well marked the rest of the way.
I liked running through Rock Meadow, an open space with boulders sticking out of the ground. Another favorite section was a narrow path with thin trees on either side that bowed over the trail to form a tunnel. I didn’t stop to do a tree ID but I will next time!
I also appreciated the bench around the 4-mile mark I learned about from the men’s FKT holder’s post. It was at the top of a hill in the woods and would be a great picnic spot in warmer weather.
There were lots of dogs out on the trail having fun today. And I saw raccoon tracks in the frost on a footbridge on the way out!
The turnaround spot was a paved trail down a steep little hill, and I used the climb back up to have a quick bite to eat of my go-to trail snack, a PB&J.
The way back went by by faster than the way out, both because I was familiar with the route and because I picked up the pace a little bit.
I wore Adidas Terrex Free Hiker GTX’s, tights, a long sleeve, and a running jacket. I brought water and snacks in a Salomon running vest but was probably a little over-packed since I didn’t know exactly what to expect. I can’t wait to run this again!