fun tour of the borough. i opted to follow the tracks of the mixed gender team from 2024 which stays closer to the border and skips the lap on the track near yankee stadium. i was able to follow the tracks with a few notable exceptions:
* mile 27 i had to move inland because the coastal trail was closed due to snow/ice - this added a bit of distance
* mile 46 i wasn't able to get to the beach, all routes were closed due to construction - i tried to loop around the parking lot a bit to make up for this, but this probably subtracted a little distance
i started the loop on the northern side to shorten my commute and have an easier time parking. as a result, i hit most of the vertical change in the first 20 miles.
ran unsupported with 3L of tailwind, i wasn't sure how accessible water would be along the route and didn't have time to plan to refill along the way. i did notice a couple open bathrooms in a few spots, some of which i've stopped at before on prior adventures, so i think it's definitely viable to run with less weight if you plan ahead.
conditions were a bit challenging at times - snow/ice was prevalent on the paths / sidewalks, there was a ton of traffic (especially in the last 5 miles). i don't know the best day/time/month to run this, without the snow and ice i'd say conditions were otherwise close to optimal - would not be fun to fight the summer crowds/traffic in the more touristy spots.