First 10 miles of the route were the least continuously fun; a lot of sidewalk and traffic for the initial few miles and then some paved paths along the Harbor before a few miles of less busy sidewalk. Grabbed a coke and Gatorade at a gas station in East Milton nine miles in. Got on dirt/singletrack at Quincy quarries and then to the start of the Blue Hills at mile 12, five minutes ahead of the FKT split. Pretty happy my legs weren’t feeling any fatigue yet, since I haven’t done a 10+ mile flat run in months lol. Was really looking forward to this next stretch, as it is considered the crown jewel of Boston trail-locomotion. Lived up to the hype: 2k vert in 7mi and properly technical.
Another gas station coke and gatorade stop after Blues Hills (19mi, 22min ahead of fkt split). The next few miles of Neponset River singletrack were lovely, but then the ensuing hourish was the low of the day. Energy was meh, stomach was meh, terrain was worse than meh (mix of rush hour sidewalks along busy streets and confusing mostly paved paths). Harvard Arboretum and Emerald Necklace were lovely. Topped off water at Jamaica Pond, winded my way through the city mostly on fairly nice paths mixed with annoying stops for busy street crossings. Ended up shaving 39min off the FKT! Overall quality way to spend a Tuesday afternoon.