There's a lot happening in Franklin Park this weekend if you'd like to join in

Friday night, October 25th at 7pm is our annual Halloween Night Hike - no flashlights allowed! All ages welcome, but strollers and costumes not recommended. We'll meet at Valley Gates Parking Lot,  midway along the main road, look for the Jack O'lantern. Feel free to call if you can't find us: 617-908-4002.

The Boston Mayoral Race is heating up and FPC is in the thick of it! Not sure who you're voting for? or want to support your candidate?

Join in at the Franklin Park Golf Clubhouse (One Franklin Park Road, Dorchester, MA 02121) Saturday, October 26th at 9:30am to hear the Mayoral Candidates talk about parks & open space.

Details here at the facebook event page:

https://www.facebook.com/events/475714515860141/

Great weekend in Franklin Park!

Thanks to Javier for joining us on Saturday for our fall volunteer day! Sorry I didn't get to meet you, but hope you got a feel for the work we are doing to clear invasives.

Sunday there were team members and FPCers out running the First Annual Franklin Park Mile organized by Owen, Marc, and others from the team. Jared ran, so did Allison from the FPC office. It was an exciting race for ALL ages. Good music, lots of bananas, and a great finish line.

BAA Half Marathon

Franklin Park is teeming with runners this weekend, and at least one of our marathon team members is running the BAA half marathon through the Emerald Necklace on Sunday. Look for Jared, you can't miss his long ponytail and speedy gait (he's the one with headband in the photo). The other cool thing about the 1/2 marathon is the main Franklin Park road is closed. We've worked to get the road closed for years, like Memorial Drive in Cambridge, for bicycles, skates, and walkers. But this is the closest it comes to closing once a year. So until at least 10:30 you can enjoy a car free park!  --Christine

P.S. Rumor has it that our tough-as-nails captain, Julie, is running the Chicago marathon with a broken toe?? What is it you did to your sneaker to make it less painful?

Cross Country is back at Franklin Park

Need something fun to do this morning? Check out a cross country meet at Franklin Park! For all of the details, visit: http://www.franklinparkcoalition.org/about-franklin-park/places/cross-country-track/

From the FPC website:

Franklin Park has New England’s premier cross-country running course. The paths are unpaved and wind through scenic areas such as Long Crouch Woods and the Wilderness. Thousands of high school, college and adult runners practice and compete in meets throughout the fall season.

Cross-country running has been part of the park for almost a hundred years. In 1914, the American Athletic Union began holding track meets at Franklin Park and it has been used continuously since then for cross country. The track used to run through the wooded areas around the golf course, but a new track in the northern end of the park was built for the 2000 USA National Championships.

You can check out the fall schedule and learn more at USA Track & Field New England. If you’re new to the park, you can finddirections to the Playstead and Valley Gates, which are where most meets begin. Cross country policies and procedures were created as a result of FPC advocacy for improved park management for large meets and regular fall practice.

Former FPC team member is taking on the NYC Marathon

Dale is far left, pictured after a 2012 team workout at Reggie Lewis in Roxbury.

2012 team member Dale Libkin is taking on another fundraising challenge for the Queens Center for Progress as part of the 2013 NYC Marathon. She has $180.00 in fundrasing to go before the October 15 deadline and needs your help!

Dale chose this cause because she is a lifelong educator. QCP provides support services to individuals with developmental disabilities and their families. They cater to all ages and have a wonderful Early Childhood Education Center that helps students with a variety of disabilities mainstream, when possible, into the public school system.

If you'd like to learn more about the cause, visit www.queenscp.org or Facebook page www.facebook.com/QueensCP. If you'd like to make a donation to Dale's fundraising, please check out her page at http://www.crowdrise.com/Queens2013/fundraiser/dalelibkin/1/return/success/success.

Upcoming Franklin Park events

by: Christine Poff, Executive Director

The Franklin Park Coalition has some great events coming up this fall! You won't want to miss out on festivals, volunteer opportunities, family fun, races, and more! All ages are welcome, so come join in!


Fall Forest Festival - Saturday, October 5th 1-4pm, meet at Valley Gates where there's plenty of parking and great access to the woods, to beautiful views, and old stone ruins. We are planning a watercolor painting workshop, edible plant walk, and family nature hikes. Also, Boston Bikes will be with us with bicycles for 9 and under to borrow for a bike rodeo. Any questions, feel free to reach out: 617-442-4141.

Fall Volunteer Day - Saturday, October 19th 10am-Noon - we'll be working in the forest, clearing invasives. Our woodlands restoration campaign is an effort to save the native forest. Invasives, or plants from other countries are spreading quickly and damaging the native plants, preventing their regeneration. It's fun, physical work; come get dirty with us! Meet at Valley Gates.

Halloween Night Hike - Friday, October 25th 7:00pm - no flashlights allowed! Prepare to be spooked! Costumes not recommended. We'll walk in the deep woods, out on the fields under the moon (or clouds), and explore old castle-like ruins. Meet at Valley Gates. Look for the Jack O'Lantern.

Special election forums are also scheduled for those who live in Boston or who are interested in the upcoming mayoral race. Tentative dates include: City Council, Thursday evening, October 15th; Mayoral, Saturday morning, October 26th. We'll keep you posted!

Sign up for the Franklin Park Mile today! Community Running for all!

From the Forest Hills Runners Website:

The goal of the Franklin Park Mile is bigger than you can imagine.  The aim is to transform the world, changing the essence of how people experience their lives.  The world today is a global one; it is a multiracial, multiethnic, multilinguistic, multigender mosaic with more connectivity than anyone ever imagined possible.  And though community is sometimes forgotten with the possibility of faraway connections, it is essential for everyone.  A strong community can produce wellness in a way that almost nothing else can and yet many people are becoming less and less connected to those around them.  Community running supports the natural development of communities that revolve around common activities, which creates a population that is both empowered and capable of empowering those they interact with.

Though Boston has many diverse communities within its boundaries, Boston is a unique community in and of itself – one that is exceptionally diverse and yet segregated and separated, not able to take advantage of all it has to offer.  To truly empower Boston and bring out its strengths, the Boston community must find common ground – something simple and unifying.  The Boston Marathon bombing brought Bostonians together in a way few have experienced, but that unification was short-lived because it occurred due to a single event people hope will never again occur.  The Franklin Park Mile, on the other hand, will bring people together from both the running community and from the diverse neighborhoods surrounding Franklin Park.  By bringing people together though an activity that is positive and that supports the development of free community running groups, the Franklin Park Mile will ideally help to spark the further development of Boston community and unification just as FHR believes Community Running for All will be able to do nationwide.

To register for this great community run, please visit: https://www.racemenu.com/events/33391-The-Franklin-Park-Mile