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Welcome! This is the home of the world-famous (well, maybe locally well-known) SLR.
Our start time is at 8:00 AM for the rest of the year. Every Saturday we meet at North Meade Street Park, a small park northwest of the USMC War Memorial (Iwo Jima Memorial) in Rosslyn. The closest address for mapping purposes is 1300 Arlington Blvd, and street parking is available in the neighborhoods adjacent to N. Meade Street. Be mindful of parking signs, since Arlington County enforces them enthusiastically, and please do not park on Marine Memorial Circle (inside Iwo Jima), because this parking area is for memorial use only. At least one porta-john is available year-round near the Iwo Jima Memorial, and the memorial's water fountain is usually on during the summer.
We run rain or shine! In cases of extreme weather (snow, ice, thunderstorms, heat waves) we do occasionally either change our meeting time or cancel the run for safety, but the run will be held as planned unless otherwise posted via email/twitter/facebook and here on the SLR web page.
All are welcome! We're an informal group, and there are no requirements for speed, racing experience, or what distance means "long" for you, other than the suggested route that most of our group will be running each week. If you don't want to run the same distance or course as the main group, you can go out for half of your own target distance and re-trace your steps back to Iwo Jima. More specific route info and mileage options will be given in the email/post preceding each Saturday's run. SLR always features a run from our extensive Route Catalog, which gives us a wide range of options to keep things fresh for you each week. We have routes that are flat, hilly, looped, out & back, roads, sidewalks, trails, and more, reaching all around the local area of DC, VA, and MD!
For more details about Saturday Long Runs please read our Frequently Asked Questions to get a sense for what it's like to run with us, or send an email to Anna if you have any other questions that are not covered.
To receive weekly SLR updates via email, please log in and check your email subscriptions.
Schedule:
| Date | Miles | Route Map | Navigation Downloads | Post/Mid-Run Beverages |
| 4/20 | 18 | Arboretum - Azaleas!! | Cue Sheet & GPS | |
| 4/27 | 12 | Piney Branch | Cue Sheet & GPS | |
| 5/4 | 14 | MBT - Catholic | Cue Sheet & GPS | |
| 5/11 | 14 | Capital Crescent OaB | Cue Sheet & GPS | |
| 5/18 | 16 | Arlington Loop | Cue Sheet & GPS | |
| 5/25 | 14 | Battery Garesche | Cue Sheet & GPS |
SLR: 14 Miles Southeast DC
Hello Saturday Long Runners!
Finally! A Saturday morning without rain! We were originally going to do the Big Loop this weekend at the request of a couple of folks running Boston, but I heard rumblings that it would be a little too far for most people and because the cherry blossoms are still (somehow!) blooming we're pulling an audible! Now let's get into it:
The Route: This week we'll be treated to a nice tour of the Wharf and the southern portion of the Anacostia Riverwalk as we take on Southeast DC (strava, gps, pdf). We'll head into the city via the Memorial Bridge, head down L'Enfant Plaza and through the Wharf to get to the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge (new and improved as of a few years ago), make our way up the Anacostia Riverwalk and across the Sousa Bridge (named for the inventor of the Sousaphone), before heading to the Capitol via Pennsylvania and back to North Meade Park via the Mall.
Want Something Shorter? Coming back across the 11th Street Bridge and heading back via M Street will get you around 12.5 miles instead of the normal 14. There's also the option to take the metro back ($2 on weekends!) from a number of stations including Potomac Ave, Eastern Market, Capitol South, and Smithsonian!
Need a Longer Route? The Anacostia Riverwalk is great for adding additional mileage (and is super flat too if you need a workout)! For 18 miles, consider doing the full Anacostia Riverwalk Loop. Another option for around 16 miles is to take the East Capitol Street Bridge back across the river and continue down East Capitol Street all the way to the Capitol to head back. Hains Point is also still blooming and beautiful, so a detour there for a few extra miles never hurts!
Thirsty? We don't have any volunteers coming up for drinks (insert Bernie Sanders "I am once again asking" meme here) and as the weather gets warmer we'll need them more and more. As far as drinks along the route go, the water fountains along the Mall are (somehow!) turned on as of this week (thanks to Jill for scoping them out)! Other than that there is a fairly dependable fountain near the pirate ship playground at mile 7.7 that is a good bet.
Need a Bathroom? Along the Mall you'll find the usual selection at the Washington Monument. There are also some very well-positioned ones also at 7.7 near the playground. Otherwise along Pennsylvania Ave. there are a lot of restaurants and shops that generally will let you use their restrooms if you ask nicely. My personal favorite restrooms are the ones in Capitol Hill Books in the foreign language section.
We're in a bit of a downtime for the club as many of the other popular spring races (Cherry Blossom! Boston!) take center stage during April! This makes now the perfect time to start a training block for the Bunion Derby series, come out to Wednesday Night or Thursday Morning track for a great workout and better camaraderie!
Happy Running!
Anna
SLR - 12 Miles - Water Route
Hello Saturday Long Runners!
Incredibly fitting route for this week considering the forecast for tomorrow! Get out your rain jackets and be prepared to be covered in falling cherry blossom leaves, which will hopefully still be on the trees for a little while once we get to the title basin. Now let's get into it:
The Route: As is tradition during peak bloom (or in our case 6-days-past-peak-bloom), tomorrow we'll be running the Water Route (strava, gps, pdf). We'll head down through Georgetown and over to Hains Point where we'll be treated to some rainfall that may get mistaken for snow with all the cherry blossom leaves blowing around. From here we'll head around the tidal basin and across the 14th Street Bridge to return to North Meade Park.
Want Something Shorter? Abandoning the tidal basin will cut off a little over a mile, skipping Hains will cut another three, so if you do both you'll be down to 8 (but you will miss all the cherry trees). The Smithsonian Metro stop is close by if you want to avoid running up the hill at the cemetery.
Need a Longer Route? Adding extra loops around Hains makes for some great speedwork opportunities and some extra time with the cherry trees. Adding on a loop of the Mall, an out and back on the Mount Vernon Trail, or an extra loop around the tidal basin will also get you a few more miles!
Thirsty? Thanks to Jerry for pre and post run drinks tomorrow! As the weather gets warmer, we're going to need more drink volunteers both during and after our runs, consider helping out and getting those Snowball Series volunteer credits. Despite its name, the water fountains along this route haven't been turned on as of this week (however we could get lucky)! Bring water for tomorrow!
Need a bathroom? Lincoln, Jefferson, and Washington (Monuments) all have bathrooms that should be open in the morning when we get there. There are also a plethora around Hains point, some of which will certainly be closed when you need them the most.
Brackets Already Busted? Well we've got the solution for you! Starting today and running until the end of March Madness, we'll be doing the first annual SLR Madness competition. 32 Routes split out by location (Northwest, Northeast, Southwest, Southeast), but only one route can be named champion. Look for polls across our social media (Instagram, Facebook) over the coming days and vote for which route is your favorite! I've been trying for a while to think of a good way to measure what sort of routes people enjoy the most in a way that isn't "take this list and rank them", so the information from here will also be used to help inform future SLR route choices (but don't worry, I know the regions are a little top heavy in some cases and we'll certainly be running all of these routes in the future). Make your predictions, argue why your favorite route shouldn't have been a seventh seed, and wait for that Oakland-Kentucky (or in our case Cathedral Clintons over the Big Loop) upset!
Happy Running!
Anna
SLR: 12 Miles Bluemont L Loop
Hello Saturday Long Runners!
Good luck to everyone racing at either Rock and Roll or Virginia Beach this weekend! Rock and Roll is this Saturday at 8 AM starting downtown and closing the Memorial Bridge, so plan ahead when getting to SLR! As such, we'll also be changing the route up in order to avoid the area (which unfortunately means we'll miss the Magnolia trees in the Haupt Garden, highly recommend going if you get the chance). The weather looks lovely for tomorrow, with temperatures in the upper 40s, with sun and no wind!
The Route: This week we'll be avoiding downtown and any bridges with a classic Bluemont L Loop (strava, gps, pdf). We'll start by heading up to Ballston via Wilson Boulevard then heading down the Bluemont Trail to the W&OD. From here we'll head west until making a right onto the Custis trail, which we'll follow down to the Mount Vernon Trail, under the Memorial Bridge, and back to the park via the 110 Trail. There are some lovely trees blooming along the way that are sure to be a treat!
Want Something Shorter? Instead of heading onto the Bluemont Trail, take a right and go down Custis for about 9 miles instead of 12. Another way to cut off some distance and miss some of the hills is to turn at Lynn Street back into Rosslyn instead of going on the Mount Vernon Trail. This will also net you a little over 9 miles.
Need a Longer Route? An out and back along the W&OD or Mount Vernon Trail makes it easy to get some more mileage. My personal favorite is to head down near the 14th Street Bridge for some views of the not-quite-blooming-yet cherry trees across the river.
Thirsty? The water fountains along the W&OD and Custis have been on all winter and it's a safe bet they'll stay that way. Check them out at the corner of the W&OD and Custis and along Custis right after Ballston!
Need a Bathroom? The ones along the W&OD should be opening momentarily (if anyone knows the date off the top of their head let me know! Usually it's mid-November to mid-March). Otherwise there are plenty of Starbucks along Wilson that I've used many times in a pinch.
The next club race is the Finally-Back-At-Fort-Hunt 10K this Sunday! Register or better yet, volunteer and get those Snowball Series credits out of the way!
Happy Running!
Anna
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Upcoming Events
| DCRRC Women's Distance Festival 5K and Run After the Women 5K Sun, Jun 9th, 2024, @8:00am |
| Book Club Sun, Jun 16th, 2024, @4:00pm |
| DCRRC Age Handicapped 4-Miler Thu, Jul 4th, 2024, @8:00am |
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The DC Road Runners Club is a member of the Road Runners Club of America and is also affiliated with USA Track & Field. We provide a year-round schedule of running events that offer everyone a chance to participate regardless of age, gender, or athletic ability. |