All of the Boston Community Gardens in one run

I'm trying to red line (run ever step of every trail) on the 117 Trustees of the Reservations properties.  I've also been visiting a few of the properties that can't really be run (or hiked) but visited.  I noticed they had a list of 56 Boston Community Gardens that they are the caretakers of caught my eye.

From the Trustees website:

Our 56 community gardens —totaling 15 acres across eight Boston neighborhoods—are tended and cared for by local residents. These oases of green are sources of neighborhood pride that connect people and place. They turn neighbors into friends, strengthen family bonds and traditions, and inspire joy in the shared work of growing fresh, healthy, and delicious food.

From Roxbury to the South End, Dorchester to Back Bay, every one of our community gardens is unique. A garden may be a group of individual plots or common areas cared for by small groups. It may be a vegetable garden or a pocket park. But what every garden shares is passionate people working together to create a thriving neighborhood asset that benefits everyone in the community.

What’s more, our gardens provide

healthy sustenance to the families and individuals who tend them, producing an annual crop valued at approximately $650,000 each year.

Our role as caretaker of Boston’s green spaces doesn’t stop with our own gardens, though. We help to coordinate activities related to all of the city’s 176 community gardens, touching more than 15,000 individuals and families.

I checked out the map and figured out a way to run to 54 of the 56 (two are in East Boston with no way to reach them on foot).  My estimate was about 25-26 miles depending on exactly what we found on the ground (which can vary from the map).   I invited a few of my teammates who are up for adventures and Dave Lapierre signed on.  I got up at 3am and met Dave at the Andover Park and Ride at 4am.  At 4:30am we reached the first of the E Boston locations and a few minutes later the other.  A little before 5am we got to our start location at the Franklin Park Zoo.  After a few minutes gearing up (we each carried about 3L of water and 5 or 6 gels along with some Chomps/Chews, along with some cash and TP for any emergencies).

We had a little trouble right at the start but then the map reading became easier.  I had printouts for each leg and also turn by turn directions.  We settled into a nice pace and the miles just flew by.  It was fun watching the city wake up and we were both kind of surprised by how pleasant people were.  We gave everyone a hearty "Good Morning!" and often got a nice one back.  It is the little things in life like that which give me faith in humanity (for a minute or two).  I had some trouble with my bladder (the one in my pack not the other) but otherwise things went smoothly.  The weather wasn't super-hot and the humidity was there but a lot less than yesterday.  We only had a couple of hesitations when signage didn't make sense or I was slightly bonky and had trouble figuring out left from right.

We got back to the Franklin Park sign in less than 5 hours with a moving time of 4:20 (or about 9:20 pace).  A great fun morning.