Mendon Ponds
Date of Run: 12/19
Time: 11:02 am
Route: Ran most of the Mendon 50k course and added some other trails at the far end of the park.
Distance: 10.38 miles
Elevation Gain: 1,517 ft
Terrain: Snow packed!
Weather: 31 F, Sunny
Summary: I was up for a little adventure and had a 9-mile run to do so I thought I’d return to Mendon Ponds near Rochester. I’ve run the Mendon 50k at the park before and have good memories of the trails and park in general so I was looking forward to exploring it a bit more. First off, it looks totally different with the leaves down and several inches of snow on the ground!
A couple days before mother nature decided to drop a few inches of snow on the ground so I wasn’t totally sure what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised to see pretty much the entire route I did to be totally snow packed! It made it fun to run because I didn’t have to worry about mud, rocks, or roots. At the same time, it was a little slick but not too bad. I didn’t need spikes on my shoes at all and was able to manage the trails pretty well. There were a couple of tricky up hills but it never felt so slick that it was either dangerous, frustrating, or too hard. It was definitely a tough run though because my legs were noticeably tired towards the end, which I attribute to the snowy conditions.
The park has many miles of trails and I ran into a whole bunch of cross-country skiers on the Northern end of the park but from the water tower south I only saw a handful of hikers meandering through the woods. The trails were blazed but I think the signage could be a little bit better. At the southern end of the park I was twisted and turned around so I had to stop fairly often to make sure I was headed the right direction.
The photo above is a screenshot of my location at one point during my run. I intended to stay on the green line but got off track, which added about 1.5 miles to my trip! At this park, a paper map would be most helpful. I use Gaia GPS and it didn’t have all the trails labeled on it, which contributed to me getting turned around. A paper map from the website would have come in handy and given me something to compare my phone to.
Here are a few quick reminders about snow running:
Nutrition – bring it with you, even if it’s a short run. Snowy conditions will make you run slower than usual.
Navigation – have a paper map with you as well as whatever map you use on your phone.
Spikes – invest in a pair of and keep them in the car. They’ll come in handy in snowy conditions.
Link: https://www.monroecounty.gov/files/parks/jan%2015%20mpp%20map.pdf
