I set out to do a training run in the Breadloaf, but realized partway through that my timing was on track for an FKT on this route so I changed plans. As such, I ran southbound first and then finished with the Abe out-and-back...I don't know if this counts as a variation since the entire route is the same, but I ran it in a different order than previous folks.
I haven't been across the Breadloaf in nearly a decade and I forgot how pleasantly runnable it is compared to most of the northern Long Trail. Like, ear-to-ear grin runnable at times. The day was hazy, humid, with occasional sprinkles. Surprisingly the trail was nearly mud-free and early season rains provided more water sources: win-win! I refilled water at Cooley Glen Spring and later at a small stream running across the trail north of Roosevelt. I didn't drop or pick up anything at the parking lot on my way back north, keeping with unsupported style. Saving Abe for the end made for a crampy grind up and down.