Pajer, Schaeffer-Duffy reflect on remarkable run over 351 Massachusetts cities and towns

While the recent gathering of running enthusiasts at Blessed Sacrament’s church hall in Worcester was an unconditional celebration of the phenomenal accomplishment of two of their own, there was that question wafting about the room …

What’s next?

That was the very query Karen Pajer and Scott Schaeffer-Duffy began answering just over a year ago, when they embarked on their mission of running at least a 5K in Massachusetts’ 351 cities/towns in 351 days. Remember, “what’s next” was first posed after the two ran every street in Worcester during the depths of the pandemic.

Today, the question gets the inconclusive, Belichickian reply, yet with both beaming with banter about some sort of email embargo between the two.

“There is no ‘what’s next,’ ” Pajer says with a bright smile. “I’m hoping not.”

Pajer and Schaeffer-Duffy presented an entertaining, 45-minute slide show highlighting their Around the Commonwealth in 351 Days. The two carefully documented through photos their trek as it strode along, and the slide show over pizza and refreshments not only showed how the two went about their quest, but also provided a most educational presentation on the geographical and cultural assets of our Bay State.

MORE: Karen Pajer, Scott Schaeffer-Duffy enjoy quest of running each of Worcester's streets

A slide of Bob Dio and the late Nick Kanaracus running side by side started the presentation – their mission to run each street in Worcester provided the inspiration for the first quest for Pajer and Schaeffer-Duffy, who then are shown in Salem on Halloween, where the statewide pursuit began.

The slides then showcased the several beaches visited and trails along scenic lakes. Schools and colleges were along the route – and we can report Schaeffer-Duffy slipped in a slide of Boston College along with that of him posing at his Holy Cross alma mater. Equal time for the Jesuit institutions.

Of course, Pajer’s planning by Google Maps (no cellphones for this journey) sometimes didn’t account for difficulties, such as an occasional flooded road or a large fallen tree across a remote trail. The slides documented such occurrences, even when one detour in Northfield forced crossing the state line into New Hampshire.

People who helped along the way were recognized, whether it be a local resident offering directions or a shuttle bus driver on Martha’s Vineyard.

There were waterwheels, windmills and several covered bridges many would think were reserved for Vermont. Along with the numerous white churches Pajer and Schaeffer-Duffy spotted in nearly every town were houses of worship of many creeds. Various towers were featured attractions, whether it was on Prospect Hill in Somerville or atop the climb at Bancroft Tower in Worcester.

Towns in the Berkshires were covered up to five in a day. “Mount Washington, that’s a huge town geographically, where you have neighbors up to five miles from each other,” Schaffer-Duffy said.

Animals of all kinds were spotted along the way, with one slide catching a bear in the act, while raiding a bird feeder in Whatley. There was even a sighting of a porcupine in Ashford, and a “Porcupine Crossing” on a road in Northampton.

The route waxed historically on Boston’s Freedom Trail and Lexington’s Battle Road, where Schaeffer-Duffy even befriended a Redcoat during an April reenactment. From Plymouth to the Old North Bridge in Concord, history was served during these 5Ks across the state.

Participating in racing events were on the slate, and even a little bandit impersonation by Pajer in the early stages of the Boston Marathon was caught in living color.

Oddities did include a sign “100 Aker Wood” and other Winnie-the-Pooh figures in Westford appealing to Pajer and Schaeffer-Duffy, who depicted Piglet and Pooh during their Worcester quest. In the eastern part of the Pioneer Valley, in Hampden, was the last functioning phone booth in the state, a Verizon special.

During the summer came the Cape and Islands, enjoyable yet logistically challenging legs of the quest. “They were beautiful,” Schaeffer-Duffy said. “Nantucket was just one shot, being one town, though we did run into (Sneakerama owner) Steve Genatossio there.

“Martha’s Vineyard proved to be much harder,” Schaeffer-Duffy added. “We had to go twice, there are six towns (Aquinnah, Chilmark, Edgartown, Oak Bluffs, Vineyard Haven, West Tisbury). And the towns are good sized, so you just couldn’t run from one into the other, we had to take (shuttle buses) to go to the next town.”

Included was taking a bicycle ferry to Aquinnah. “Surprisingly, I always had the impression that the Islands were for the wealthy people,” he said. “There were ordinary people out there, nice and friendly.”

The final 5K of the trek came Oct. 16, a job through downtown Worcester, accompanied by friends, with Pajer and Schaeffer-Duffy breaking a finish tape behind City Hall. Members of the Central Mass Striders then presented them with commemorative trophies in the shape of the state.

So what could be next?

“Scott’s thing is, once this project is over, I’m deleting your email, I'm erasing your phone number and never talking to you again – it’s over, no contact,” Pajer said.

“I don’t know, I don’t know, it was so much time, so much money, so much of a commitment,” Schaeffer-Duffy said. “It really was a lot more than we thought it would be, it put so much mileage on the car.”

The morning after the final leg, Pajer fired off an email to Schaeffer-Duffy, with the words “Delete, Delete, Delete” in the message field.

“I mentioned hey, I was running with Barbara (McManus), and she was telling me she had run a mile in 40 of the 50 states,” Pajer said. “And I put in parentheses, ‘Are you worried? Lightbulb!!! Road trip? We can do that.’ ”

Stay tuned.

Contact John Conceison at john.conceison@telegram.com. Follow him on Twitter @ConceisonJohn.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Local runners look back on journey that spanned 351 cities and towns