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Welcome! This is the home of the world-famous (well, maybe locally well-known) SLR.
Our start time is at 7:00 AM for the remainder of the summer! 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 |
| 5/31 | 15 | Long Bridge Park | Cue Sheet & GPS | |
| 6/7 | 13 | Southeast DC | Cue Sheet & GPS | |
| 6/14 | 12 | Four Mile Run Park | Cue Sheet & GPS | |
| 6/21 | 14 | Capital Crescent OaB | Cue Sheet & GPS | Post: Kate Scott |
| 6/28 | 13 | Marymount Chain Bridge | Cue Sheet & GPS | Post: Kate Scott |
| 7/5 | 14 | MBT - Catholic | Cue Sheet & GPS | |
| 7/12 | 12 | RFK | Cue Sheet & GPS | |
| 7/19 | 14 | Ross Drive | Cue Sheet & GPS | Post: Kate Scott |
| 7/26 | 14 | Capital Crescent OaB | Cue Sheet & GPS | Post: Kate Scott |
SLR: **7 AM** 15 Miles Long Bridge Park
Hello Saturday Long Runners!
It’s Anna, masquerading as Nate, your faithful ersatz SLR leader who used working in office today as an excuse to not send this e-mail (newsflash Nate, some of us are always in office and manage to write these little quips). They’re bringing professional track to Franklin Field where it always belongs, so Anna’s up in Philly for the weekend watching people run to take her mind off not being able to do it herself. Tomorrow’s forecast continues our miracle of good weather this May (low 60s, hopefully no rain) and kicks off our first 7 AM SLR of the Summer (if you think you’re disappointed, imagine how I feel learning that after agreeing to lead this thing).
Where are we going this time? This week we’re doing Long Bridge Park (strava, gps, pdf), a route near and dear to my heart (and home! I live right off of it!). We’ll head by the Pentagon, which fun fact has a DC address after some interesting disputes on where the river actually ends in the 1930s, then head through Long Bridge Park. We’ll run down Crystal Drive to Potomac Ave. through Del Rey, the most underrated area in Northern Virginia. After appreciating the fact that they didn’t move the Capital One Arena here, we’ll cross over to the Mount Vernon Trail via Slater’s Lane and back up to the park.
Want Less? Hop on the Mount Vernon Trail at Crystal City for around 8 miles, jump down to the Four Mile Run Trail (not literally, please) for around 11, or make a classic out and back for your choice of mileage!
Want More? Head south on the Mount Vernon Trail instead of north to add on some mileage through Alexandria and beyond.
Parched? Bring some water! Or better yet bring enough for everyone and volunteer for mid- or post- run drinks this summer! There are some great fountains slightly off the route in Crystal City at Hayes Park and some less-great ones along the Mount Vernon Trail. Don’t depend on the ones near the Pentagon, they’re unreliable and taste weird.
Swimming Eyeballs? If you’re running with me and even a little bit nice about it I’d let you use my place (editor’s note: Nate has not actually agreed to this, but I’m sure he would). The Gravelly Point bathrooms are still standing, which is the nicest thing I can say about them. Hayes Park also has some nice facilities, but again are a bit off the beaten path.
If SLR is too long for ya, come check out our free mile time trials on Global Running Day (June 4th) at 7 PM at W&L High School with our friends at Wednesday Night Track. We’ll have pacers for all levels and great vibes!
Happy Running!
Nate (and Anna, who wrote this from the train)
SLR: 7 AM Start Time
Hey folks!
As promised, we're moving to 7 AM start times for SLR for the remainder of the summer! Nate will be kicking you off bright and early on Saturday morning!
Happy Running!
Anna
SLR: 14 Miles Ross Drive
Hello Saturday Long Runners!
Well, originally this was going to be the week that we move from 8 to 7, but it’s so dang nice out we don’t really need to. That being said, plan for next weekend to shift SLR’s start time from 8 to 7. Tomorrow I’ll see everyone at 8 at North Meade Park! Now let’s get into it:
The Route: Ross Drive (strava, gps,pdf) is an absolute favorite of the SLR board of directors (me) and many other club members (you, probably). We'll head up Rock Creek through the Zoo Loop (which yes, some of you will avoid, but I will see it on strava and I will be disappointed), then up Beach Drive before heading back down via Ross Drive and Ridge Road. As a reminder, Beach Drive is closed to vehicle traffic but Ross Drive and Ridge Road are not, keep an eye out for cars (though I usually only see one or two a run, and they know who really owns those roads).
Want Something Shorter? An out and back through Rock Creek Park is the easiest way to cut mileage off. If you're looking for a different route back, you can also come down to the waterfront instead of the trail when leaving Rock Creek Park (though that does add a little bit of mileage, so keep that in mind).
Need a Longer Route? My favorite option for adding mileage is something I like to call "A Ross Drive so Nice You Run it Twice" aka run a second loop of Beach-Ross-Ridge for a little over 3 miles extra.
Thirsty? There aren't a ton of options for water, so be sure to bring some if you need it. The only really reliable stop is at Peirce Mill (yup, it's spelled like that) in Rock Creek around miles 5.3 and 9, but I haven't run there recently enough to know whether it's on for the winter or not (it has, however, been on in the past).
Need a Bathroom? Peirce Mill (my copy editor (also me) complains about this every time) is also your best bet for those as well at miles 5.3 and 9! There aren't a lot of other options, so keep that in mind for tomorrow!
The next club event is our annual Mile Time Trials night at Wednesday Track, perfectly coinciding with Global Running Day. No registration required, just show up to W&L High School in Arlington on Wednesday June 4th at 7 PM. Everyone is welcome regardless of experience or pace. We’ll have pacers and heats to accommodate a variety of speeds!
Happy Running!
Anna
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Upcoming Events
| Women's Distance Festival and Run After The Women Sun, Jun 8th, 2025, @8:00am |
| Rock Creek 5K Sun, Jun 22nd, 2025, @8:00am |
| Age-Handicapped 4-Miler Fri, Jul 4th, 2025, @7:00am |
| Bastille Day 5K Mon, Jul 14th, 2025, @6:00pm |
| Bluemont 5K Wed, Aug 13th, 2025, @6:00pm |
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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. |