Use this topic for posts that will collect community stars for the Dryden Lake Lollipop course. You can also ask questions or make comments about this course.
Here’s how it works.
Click the “Post Using This Template” button below to create a new post with a Story heading and boilerplate text.
Replace the boilerplate text with your report for one or both sections. The Story header is key for distinguishing between posts and replies—don’t change it.
Your post must be on the same calendar day as your run as entered in the leaderboard.
Story
To pick up a community star, replace this text with a write-up of what your run was like, a photo you took on the run, a link to your Strava track, or something similar. Don’t delete the Story heading above.
Once you’ve pasted in that text, click the Create Topic button to finish the task and move on to the next course in the CSV.
I had run an 8.5-mile speed workout yesterday, so I didn’t have high expectations for my time today. I’ve been training for both Seneca 7 (next weekend) and the Toronto Half Marathon (next, next weekend), so what with various scheduling factors, today was my last long run day before those two events. The Dryden Lake Lollipop course is scenic and easy on the feet, and of course I wanted to do a Challenge course today, so it was the obvious choice.
I parked near the Dryden Creamery and snapped a photo of a new peace post that’s been installed there before running to Freeville and then back to the peace post. It’s too early in the year for the annoying cloud of gnats that often infests that stretch of trail. Back at the car, I changed my sneakers to give my feet a change, ate a handful of “magic maple” pumpkin seeds, and drank some electrolyte charged water. The second half of the course was tough going for a few miles, but when I got out to the road, the pavement felt bouncier than the trail had and once I got to the top of the hill out there, I felt pretty good. I picked up my pace quite a bit and made it back to the peace post feeling strong.
I kicked off the long anticipated ‘26 Challenge with the longest course in the canonical ten. The first of likely many Challenge efforts for the year will hopefully also be the most painful.
My legs were trashed after a long run at Kennedy State Forest yesterday, so this was slower and steadier than those tortoises we’ll see on this course in the coming weeks. That much was expected. The big surprise was the abrupt change in weather while running west on Lake Road just after the halfway point. Within one minute, the brisk, sunny afternoon morphed into a 30 mph headwind with stinging hail. I was underdressed for it in shorts and my 2021 Challenge quarter-zip. No joke, the hail stung my eyes so badly I had to half cover my face and look off to the side just to keep them open. I thought about seeking shelter behind a tree to wait it out, but figured I’d stand there freezing cold for who knows how long. Instead I covered my face with my gloved hands just enough to watch for oncoming traffic and shuffled along in dirt next to the shoulder, putting in extra effort to overcome the wind’s opposing force. I just had to make it 1.5 miles back tot the trail where the trees would shield me from the wind.
After 10-15 minutes the wind died down some, the hail turned to snow, and the road curved a little so I wasn’t slogging straight into the wind. Not long after I turned back into the rail trail, the snow ceased and the sun reappeared. The rest was smooth and soggy sailing. I have a good feeling the rest of the Challenge will be a lot more fun that the middle miles on today’s run!
