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Natick high school and middle school runners get Boston Marathon weekend off to fast start

April 18, 2022 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Congrats to the Natick High School & Middle School runners who competed in the annual Boston Athletic Association Invitational Mile & 1,000-meter races that start and end at the Boston Marathon finish line. Natick’s John Bianchi won the boys’ 1,000–meter middle school race.

Each community along the course selects two boys and girls runners from their high school and middle school programs to take part in the races, which are held along with 1-mile races featuring professional runners.

These events always come with nice swag packages for participants, too.

Good luck to seniors Charlie Catching, Carson Moellering, Lauren Hughes, Julianne Kelly running at the BAA invitational mile! pic.twitter.com/OwzD5zVL6O

— Natick XC & TF (@NatickTF) April 16, 2022

Download (PDF, 22KB)


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Filed Under: Sports

Get ready: Boston Marathon to come through Natick on April 18

April 17, 2022 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

Get ready to line the Boston Marathon route and cheer on the fleet of foot—the storied race comes through Natick (and seven other towns along the 26.2-mile route) on Monday, April 18.

Significant Natick road closures include the entirety of  Rte. 135 from the Framingham line to the Wellesley line, portions of Mill Street, Speen Street, Rte. 27 (both North and South), and Union Street.

There will be multiple no parking areas in Natick. Those areas will be well marked with signage that will be hung over the weekend by the NPD.

Roads will close at 8:30am, and once the roads are closed, motor vehicles may not cross the race route.

The estimated time for reopening the roads is 3pm, but that’s an inexact science. Lt. Cara Rossi, Public Information Officer for the Natick Police Department asks residents, “Please be patient, and plan accordingly.”

The NPD encourages residents and spectators to report anything suspicious.

Boston Marathon 2021, Natick

Best of luck to the dozens of Natick residents who are running (we’ve counted 45 participants, many of whom are running for various charities.

Natick municipal closures

Town buildings, departments, and pubic schoools will be closed on Monday, April 18 for Patriot’s Day and the Boston Marathon.

The Recycling Center will also be closed. Regular hours here.

Regular hours for all buildings and departments will resume on Tuesday, April 19.

United States Postal Service offices will be open, and mail delivery will take place.

MBTA trains will follow a holiday schedule for Patriot’s Day. However, due to road closures, the MWRTA Catch Connect ride share service will NOT be operating on Patriot’s Day. Regular public transportation schedules will resume on Tuesday.

Having Marathon deja vu?

The last time the Boston Marathon came through town was a mere six months ago in October 2021 as a way of making up for the lost Marathon year of 2020. That was the year organizers postponed the historic race—first to September 14, 2021, then even further out—due to coronavirus concerns. During the October 11, 2021 comeback race, instead of running through Natick as daffodils were beginning to emerge, runners made their way along a route lined with trees sporting fall foliage.

Boston Marathon 2021, Natick

Filed Under: Boston Marathon, Sports

Natick’s Boston Marathon electrical box art keeps runners going

April 16, 2022 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Among the local landmarks on the Boston Marathon course is the brightly painted electrical box at the intersection of Rte. 135 and Marion St., letting runners know they’ve “only” got about 16 miles to go until the finish line.

marathon electrical box on 135

mile 16 electrical box painting

The box was painted in 2017 by Needham artist Eddie Bruckner and titled “Natick Pride & The Boston Marathon.” The art was commissioned by the Natick Center Cultural District and the Public Art Committee and supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

Initially Bruckner was going to put the exact mile marker on the box but instead decided to motivate runners by letting them know roughly how many miles they had left

“I’ve had people email or message me on instagram that seeing it helped motivate them and was a great place to start practicing/training for the second half of their run,” says Bruckner, who lives not far away in Needham. Natick held a ribbon-cutting for the artwork in the fall of 2017.

The artist blogged in 2018 that the box also had become a Pokemon Go gym in that virtual game.

Bruckner, who has other public art projects in Boston along the greenway and near Fenway Park-Boylston/Jersey Street, has a solo acrylic painting exhibit called “Pop Art”  in April at the Attleboro Arts Museum.

Electrical Paint Box Program

The Natick Center Cultural District began the Electrical Paint Box Program in 2015 through its Public Art Committee. The first boxes were painted in 2016 on the common, two by Jeanne Williams Ostroff and one by Jason Cheesman-Meyer. There were five more in 2017 (including Bruckner’s) and two in 2018.

So there are nine in all, and no plans to do any more. The paintings have held up well, with just a bit of touching up needed here and there, such as due to fading from the sun.

Other communities, including Wellesley, Weston, and Wayland, have reached out to Natick for advice in doing their own electrical box programs.


More Natick arts news

Filed Under: Art, Sports

Natick high runners can apply for Greater Framingham Running Club college scholarships

February 16, 2022 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

Natick High School student-athletes are among those eligible for two $500 scholarships sponsored by the Greater Framingham Running Club.

natick track

The scholarships will be presented to local high school runners who plan to attend either a two or four-year accredited college or university and who also intend to run cross-country, track or recreationally while in college.  The winning applicants must exemplify dedication, leadership, running talent, commitment and academic achievement. That is, the award will not necessarily go to the runners in the greater Framingham area with the most success in running, but the track or cross-country team members who have always been committed and consistently work hard to persevere, combined with academic achievement.

Applications are available now and are due by March 31, 2022.

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Filed Under: Education, Sports

Beyond Natick: Great Brook Ski Touring Center in Carlisle, Mass.

February 11, 2022 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

I don’t want to become one of those New Englanders who, by mid-February, complains about the inconvenience of snow. I want to get excited when I see flakes fluffing downward, turning the massive white pines outside my window into temporary snow-art installations. I want to be the type of New Englander who helps out kids by adding one more voice to their prayers for a snow day. Because I am determined to love snow, I continually search out ways to positively engage it while ignoring snow’s negative points. That’s how all successful relationships work, right?

Great Brook Ski Touring Center, Carlisle

Cross-country skiing is the answer. Anytime the snow cooperates, I reward it by throwing my equipment into the hatchback of my snow-worthy station wagon and heading out for a good spot. Since the recent blizzard brought over 20″ of snow to Massachusetts, I knew the time was perfect for my first visit to Great Brook Ski Touring Center in Carlisle. The Department of Conservation & Recreation maintains over 10 miles of machine-groomed trails for cross country skiing on the property of the 1,000-acre Great Brook Farm State Park, which is less than 45 minutes from Natick Center. From Dec. 1 to March 20, snow conditions permitting, those 10 miles of trails are set aside for skiing only. There is no snow-making equipment at the popular spot, so make sure you check Great Brook’s Facebook page ahead of time for the latest report on trails conditions.

My mid-week visit meant a laid-back, crowd-free experience, but not one that felt isolating. “You should see it on a weekend,” one regular Great Brook skier said. So warned. A quick look at the trail map convinced me to warm up on the Lantern Loop, an easy one-mile glide that starts and ends at the touring center. Just use the lanterns as your guides, and you won’t get lost. Beautiful during the day, on Tuesday and Thursday from sunset until 9pm the trail sparkles as the lanterns are lit for night skiing around the loop. Only the Lantern Loop is open during evening hours; other trails close at dusk.

Great Brook Ski Touring Center, Carlisle

After conquering the Lantern Loop, I set off to see what else was out there. Trails are well marked, so as long as you familiarize yourself with the map symbols it’s unlikely you’ll find yourself in a situation that’s beyond your abilities. Most trails are fairly easy and the majority of them offer a wide, packed surface consisting of a smooth skating lane between two sets of ski tracks.

For experienced skiers, there’s the more difficult Woodchuck Trail or the Maple Ridge Trail. There’s even a short stretch of black diamond trail that goes by the name of Chicken. Yes, I was too chicken to try it out, but I did venture onto Maple Ridge. Yes, I fell more than once on Maple Ridge. That’s what happens when I get controlling and fight the snow instead of keeping a good thing nice and easy.

Great Brook Ski Touring Center, Carlisle

The easy drive to Carlisle was well worth it. The longer I stayed out there on the trail, the more relaxed and loose I became, gliding past a working dairy farm, across fields, alongside streams and ponds, and through the quiet woods. On skis, I felt my connection with snow, nay the entire season of winter, deepening.

Winter and me, we’re in a good place right now.

Great Brook Ski Touring Center, Carlisle

Details, details

When natural snow is available, Great Brook is a welcoming place for both classical and skate skiers who want to get outside and enjoy beautifully groomed trails. A full roster of rental equipment is available including skis, boots, poles, and sleds for towing children (no dogs allowed, sorry). Snow shoes are also available for rental, but cannot be used on the machine-groomed trails. The staff can point you to the expansive area where snow shoeing (and hiking) is permitted.

Great Brook Ski Touring Center, Carlisle

 

Great Brook Ski Touring Center, Carlisle

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Beyond Natick, Outdoors, Sports

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