Sunday Runs

Leatherman Harriers: Sunday Runs Trail Running Group of Northern WestchesterCheck our new SundayRuns.org website dedicated to our growing Sunday trail running group!

Starting October 2012 all updates to our sunday runs will be posted at that site. There’s even a calendar you can subscribe to on your smartphone that tells you where the meeting spot is and also links to that week’s trail map!

We also post our Sunday Run details and photos on our Leatherman’s Loop facebook page here.

Some background: We have a mostly regular “Leatherman Harriers” meet up on Sunday mornings at 8am for running the trails year-round.

  • Runners of all abilities are welcome and encouraged anytime. We have had first time trail runners and Olympic athletes join in our sunday trail runs. We welcome everyone!
  • We vary the runs to the ability and desires of the runners who come out. Sometimes we split up into different paces and distances.
  • We never leave anyone unfamiliar with the trails alone.
  • Check in at our Facebook page for the current week run.

Archive: Some Prior Group Runs (for recent run activity see sundayruns.org website):

  • October 2012: Focus moves to Run The Farm which is Sunday 10/21. Our sunday runs will be course checks for Run The Farm on Sunday Oct 7th and 14th – meet @8am at Muscoot. A number of our runners are running Paine to Pain half trail marathon (10/14/12). We’ll return to the Rez (location TBD) on 10/28.

  • September 2012: All of that summer training kicks into high gear for various marathons, half marathons, 10k, 5k, kids races, and back to school! The Church Tavern Biathlon was Sept 3rd. Katonah Road & Trail 5k was Sept 8th. Still to come – Where The Pavement Ends 4M (9/23), Paine to Pain half trail marathon (10/14), and of course our very own Run The Farm 10/21/12

  • August 2012: Come out and meet up. Check our Facebook page for details on where to meet.

  • July 2012: New runs from Kimberly Bridge parking lot, Trailside Museum lot, and the first Run the Farm course checks!

  • June 17th: A run passing by the Leatherman’s Cave and parts of the Rock Trail.

  • June 10th: We reversed direction on the  “Fat Ass” 7 miler, going in a counterclockwise loop around the course. There is an option for a shorter run (3 – 4 miles) which a few runners did.

  • June 3rd: We did the Fire Tower Summit Run with a dozen trail runners and almost picked up a misdirected hiker. The fire tower course ascends to the highest point in the Rez (site of the old and hopefully future Fire Tower) and heads back down. It is just about 10k in length if you leave from the far side of the meadow.

  • May 27th: (Memorial Day Sunday) Many local runners planned to run in the 10k/5k (or challenge — both 10k & 5k) at the South Salem Memorial Day Races the next day (Monday, Memorial Day). We did not meet for a run on the trails on sunday.

  • May 20th: We ran in the first ever running of “

    A Mild Sprain” 4.25 mile trail race put on by friends of the Loop. Met at the Lewisboro Town Park at 7:45am for a carpool down to the Sprain Brook Park in Yonkers NY.

  • May 13th: A group of four runners met and ran up to see where the new cell tower is set to be built at the top of the hill. A nice start for a 10k+ run. Went down the brown trail past the meadow and the park entrance then up the Schoolhouse road trail then turned in towards Michigan Road and then back down the Fox Hill trail crossing the Meadow and then back to Town Park via the Pine Forest. A perfect sunny cool morning for a run!
  • May 6th: Ten of us met at the Lewisboro Town Park at 8am. Did the DH – Blue – Pell Hill – Pine Forest Loop which is around 10k/6m.
  • April 29th: Some trail runners went and met at an Orienteering Meet at Westmoreland Sanctuary in Mt Kisco, NY. Four progressively harder courses challenged runners on the rugged terrain of the park.
  • April 22nd: There is a description of the sunday run here. Great day for a Loop! 😉
  • April 8th and April 15th: course check of the Leatherman’s Loop! Race day is fast approaching. The two weeks before the loop we run the trails of the Loop course – includes mud flats, water crossings, the wall, and all the roots and rocks you can shake a stick at!
  • April 1st: We did the Fire Tower Summit Run. This course ascends to the highest point in the Rez (site of the old and hopefully future Fire Tower) and back down. It is just about 10k in length. There were a few options for shorter runs (3 or 4 miles) if your running appetite was smaller that day.
  • March 25th: Ran The Dry Loop leaving from Lewisboro Town Park. This loop is 5.5 miles and follows the perimeter of the trails to the north of the Cross River. It follows some loop trails and hugs the river for a few miles before heading back uphill to Town Park.
  • March 18th: we met at the end of Michigan Road (at the parking lot) inside Ward Pound Ridge Reservation for a run on the Rock Trail with a dash of the Green trail to commemorate St. Patrick’s Day. The scenic & hilly course has several overlooks and some technical “mountain goat” sections. It features a stone stairway that ascends through the woods on a 200 foot vertical climb. The six rock features are along this trail including: Indian Rock Shelter, Raven Rocks, Castle Rock, Spy Rock, Bear Rock, and Dancing Rock. Well worth the 6.75 mile run!
  • March 11th: Over a dozen runners ran the Fire Tower Summit Run from the Meadow Parking Lot in the Reservation. This course ascends to the highest point in the Rez (site of the old and hopefully future Fire Tower) and then Loops back down the blue trail then across Pell Hill to the riverside and back to the meadow following the Fox Hill river trail. It is just about 10k. Two runners did a shorter 3 mile trail course and met up back at the parking lot.
  • March 4th: We ran the 3rd and final winter “Fat Ass” Series 7 milers (previous dates were Dec 26th and Jan 29th below). The course was lightly marked with pink tape at all intersections and 10-100 feet beyond (so you know you are on the correct trail). All tape was removed early monday by one of our dedicated walkers.
  • February 26th: The Dry Loop leaving from Lewisboro Town Park. This loop is 5.5 miles and follows the perimeter of the trails to the north of the Cross River. It follows some loop trails and hugs the river for a few miles.
  • February 19th: Fire Tower Summit Run leaving from the Meadow Parking Lot in the Reservation. We had a dozen runners test out this new ~6 mile course that ascends to the highest point in the Rez (site of the old and hopefully future Fire Tower) and then Loops back down.
  • February 12th: The Dry Loop leaving from Lewisboro Town Park. This loop is 5.5 miles and follows the perimeter of the trails to the north of the Cross River. It follows some loop trails and hugs the river for a few miles. We skipped the meadow section in this run which adds about 0.5 mile and makes it closer to a 10k distance.
  • February 10th (friday): Mountain Lakes Park trails. After a quick out and back (1.5 miles) to Sarah Bishop’s Cave we did a loop just under 4 miles on the blue trail, yellow trail, and red trail. Some steep sections on the blue trail and a short detour on the green trail takes you to Bailey Mountain, the highest point in Westchester County. (pdf brochure/map here)
  • February 5th: “Looper Bowl Sunday” We met at Meadow Parking Lot in the Ward Pound Ridge Reservation @8am and went on the Leatherman’s Loop Several folks took a detour to avoid frigid water crossings but everyone went through the mud flats, the wall, and the rest of the course. Probably do that again in March sometime.
  • January 29th: We ran the “Fat Ass” 7 miler from Boxing Day 2011 (below). Started at Lewisboro Town Park The course map has a 3.5 mile option as well.
  • January 22nd: We ran from the Lewisboro Town Park doing the 5 mile DH-Brown-Pine Forest loop in the fresh snow. About half of the trails had some tracks but for a few miles we were “First Tracks” on the trail.
  • January 20th (friday): Met at Honey Hollow Rd entrance (parked in a runner’s driveway) and ran part of the Rock trail and up to the Leatherman’s Overlook total almost 6 miles.
  • January 15th: We met at 8am at Michigan Road inside Ward Pound Ridge Reservation for a run on the Rock Trail. A chilly day (10 degrees!) but 8 intrepid runners and one dog came out for a run of over 6 miles.
  • January 8th: We ran from the Lewisboro Town Park doing the Almost 6 mile DH-Blue-Pell Hill-Fox Hill-Pine Forest loop.
  • December 26th (Day after Christmas): 15 runners ran a 7 Mile Loop from Town Park on Boxing Day. Will reprise this “Fat Ass Run” at end of Jan again end of Feb.
  • December 18th: Winter Solstice Multi-Preserve road and trail run. Started from Leonard Park in Mt. Kisco and ran a 7 mile loop through the Burden Preserve, the Meyer Preserve, Merestead, the Marsh Sanctuary, and back to Leonard Park. We used some roads to stitch them all together that equalled about 2 road miles total compared to the 5 trail miles. We even explored the Merestead–Butler Preserve trail link.

{The above information changes each week based on where the group run will be starting from.}

More Information About the Sunday Runs (Some past maps here)

We run (mostly) regardless of weather or ground cover (snow, wet).

We did cancel a run due to Hurricane Irene summer 2011 and another one on the Halloween 2011 Blizzard. Once last winter we skated along the icy trail for about a quarter mile before turning back to get some bagels and run another day… Light snow and heavy rain don’t deter us — thunderstorms cancel the run, however. Freezing cold just means no running in shorts!

If in doubt check the facebook page for cancellation note. Our favorite spot to head into Ward Pound Ridge Reservation from is the Lewisboro Town Park off of Route 35 in South Salem, NY due to the abundant off-road parking and easy access to the trails of the Rez and especially the Leatherman’s Loop trails.

Sometimes we head into the Rez through the main entrance and either head to Michigan Road or the Meadow lot. We also meet at the Route 124/Boutonville Road “back entrance” near the Mud Flats. We have also been known to head into the park from the south side (Honey Hollow Road).

In the weeks heading up to the Leatherman’s Loop in the spring, we typically do a guided full loop including all water crossings and mud flats. We meet at the Meadow Parking lot inside the reservation (near where the teepee is set up) and run the full course from there. We get a pretty decent turnout for these  — around 35+ runners in each of the two weeks prior to the 2012 loop.

More information will be posted on Facebook about the pre-loop course checks.

If you are interested in meeting up for a Sunday run, get in touch via our contact form. We will let you know where we are meeting for the next run. Also friend us on Facebook to get more regular updates or notice of new website articles.

We also run at Muscoot Farm in the weeks and months leading up to Run The Farm in late October. We typically meet at the Muscoot main parking lot (or park on Route 100 if the gate is not open yet). Bonus for Muscoot runners — visit the Muscoot Farmer’s Market after the run!

Occasionally we will carpool to a Sunday morning trail run such as the Beachfront Bushwhack (November), Gail’s Trail Run (December), Mudders and Grunters (March), Bimbler’s Bash (early April), A Mild Sprain (May), Paine to Pain (October), or another local trail run event. There are usually runners who won’t be going to race so the sunday run will go on!