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SLR: 20 Miles Ross Drive Extended

Hello Saturday Long Runners!

We’ve got a new take on an old favorite this week and some normal weather for this time of year (sorry folks, looks like high 60s again this Saturday, we’ll get a nice weekend one of these weeks). Hydration is important all year, but especially as we start having cold and warm swings in weather it becomes even more important on the warmer days like this one. Now let’s get into it:

The Route: Love Ross Drive but always wish you could do a little more mileage for it? Well this week we’ve got you covered in Ross Drive (Extended Edition) (strava, gps, pdf)! We’ll head over the Key Bridge and up Rock Creek to do a nice Ross Drive loop, then repeat that same loop for more Ross Drive than ever. After this we'll head back down the trail to the Key Bridge for a double-lollipop route. As a reminder, for Ross Drive make a left immediately following the police station in Rock Creek Park onto Joyce Road, cross the little bridge, and take the next left onto Ross Drive up the hill! If you’re the kind of person to grab the route from the website before this email, I made a couple small tweaks (read: completely screwed this one up the first go around and got both the mileage and route incorrect, sorry about that)!

Want Something Shorter? A classic Ross Drive route will get you 15 miles (without the trail, and less if you take the trail) and almost as much Rock Creek Park action. For even less mileage, an out and back is your best bet! If you want somewhere between 15 and 20, doing a single loop of Ross Drive and then returning over Memorial Bridge instead of Key Bridge will get you around 18 miles. 

Need a Longer Route? There’s a good contingent of folks planning a trek around the Big Loop tomorrow, which is the perfect way to tack on a couple miles to this 20 miler. Just keep heading up Rock Creek Park to Leland and follow the Capital Crescent Trail back down to the city.

Thirsty? The Peirce Mill water fountain has seen better days, but the new one (with a bottle filling station!!) next to the bathrooms makes up for it and more! Thanks to Don for post run drinks this week! We're in need of volunteers for any and all drinks from next week onward, consider helping out the club today and get your Bunion Derby volunteer credit taken care of!

Need a Bathroom? Peirce Mill also has you covered with two options (there are some at the actual Mill as well). We’ll pass those ones twice, which are by far your best bet to avoid the Rock-Creek-woods squat of shame.

The next club race is Le Quince Septembre aka the not so Bastille Day Four Miler. We’ve got registration and volunteers open, get your Bunion Derby credit in before 9/30! The book club will also be talking about “Do Hard Things” by Steve Magness this Sunday after we all do some hard things at SLR this week! Reach out to Eunja or Viriginia for more information. 

Happy Running!

Anna

SLR: 17 Miles Arlington Loop

Hello Saturday Long Runners!

Summer isn't over yet and we'll be getting some heat tomorrow! With mid-run drinks and plenty of water fountain options along the way, we'll hopefully be able to stay cool, but bringing a bottle never hurt anyone. We've got a new twist on a classic route this week! Now let's get into it:

The Route : This week, we're doing an Arlington running legend and one of my personal favorites, the Arlington Loop (strava, gps, pdf). This time with a bit of a twist. In the past, SLR has, well to put it nicely, cheated a bit when it comes to the Arlington loop by missing out on the Mount Vernon Trail section between Rosslyn and the Memorial Bridge. This week, we'll be (finally) adding that extra little bit of mileage to do a "true" Arlington Loop. We'll head down Lynn Street the Mount Vernon Trail, take a right down to the Four Mile Run trail, continue onto the W&OD (which celebrates its 50th birthday next weekend!!), and then take a right onto the Custis Trail. We'll run about 17 miles and all of them except the initial miles to get to the Arlington Loop will be on paved two lane bike paths!

Want Something Shorter? For around 15 miles, instead of coming back along Custis take the Bluemont Connector trail (which is a different bike trail about a mile before the turn for Custis). This will take you to Wilson Boulevard, which you can take into Court House and hop down to the park from there! Otherwise there are some options for more complex loops, but the least mentally taxing will definitely be an out and back. Turning around at the turn onto the Four Mile run will get you 11 miles and getting to the W&OD will run you 15.

Need a Longer Route? My personal favorite way to add onto the loop is to addan extra out and back along the W&OD before turning onto Custis, which allows you to get any number of extra miles. You can also add on along the Mount Vernon Trail both at the 6 mile mark and the 16 mile mark!

Thirsty? Thanks to Frank and Greg for mid-run drinks this week! They'll be at the start of the W&OD. Thank you also to Don for post run drinks! There are plenty of water fountains around the loop, including some under the metro near the airport at mile 5, at the start of the W&OD at 7.6, at the corner of Custis at 11.7, and just past W&L at 13.8.

Need a Bathroom? Like water fountains, there are some good options! There are plenty of portopotties at Gravelly Point at mile 3, though their cleanliness is always questionable. There are also some great ones at mile 10.6 near Bluemont park (both in the park and at the corner by the Caboose).

The next club race is the rescheduled Bastille Day 4-Miler now with less Bastille Day than ever! It'll be held on September 15th and 9 AM for a much cooler race than what was initially planned. We also need volunteers for this event, come get your Bunion Derby credit before it's too late! The Book Club also will be meeting next Sunday at 4 to discuss "Do Hard Things" by Steve Magness! Reach out to Eunja or Virginia for more information!

Happy Running!

Anna

Anna