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SLR September 30 - Big Loop with Detour

Hello Saturday Runners!

This weekend's run will be our longest of the season, at 3 weeks out from the Marine Corps Marathon! The route had to be changed in a few places to accommodate closures, so I've made a Big Loop with Detour (downloads: cue sheet and GPS) to get you through 22.5 miles. After reaching Bethesda, you'll take Leland St and Woodbine St rather than the Georgetown Branch Trail, and then later on where Beach Drive is closed you can take Ross Drive instead to get down to Pierce Mill. Both of these changes add a few hills though, so be ready for it! We've got some perfect running weather coming this weekend, with sunny skies, a return of cooler temperatures in the 50s, and low humidity too, so make sure you take advantage of it!

Thanks to Lily Britt for post-run drinks and Kam Yee for mid-run drinks this week! Mid-run drinks will be located just before 11 miles, in the parking area on your left as you're heading south past Meadowbrook Stables. This is going to be the last week of the season that we have organized mid-run drinks, with cooler temperatures and shorter runs on the way after this week. I've now posted a schedule of routes and distances to cover the 6 week gap between our summer and winter training programs, so here's the return of my usual call for volunteers...

Volunteer needs along with the weekly route & distance schedule are always kept up-to-date on the SLR web page, and you can email me any time to schedule your slot. Post-run volunteers are typically scheduled for at least 2 consecutive weeks to cut down on handoffs of the bins, though if you can cover an entire month that's even better! Volunteering is easy, doesn't take a lot of time, and all beverage expenses will be reimbursed by the club. SLR drinks are entirely volunteer supported, so if you regularly enjoy this perk, please do your part to keep it going!

If you're not running the Marine Corps Marathon yourself but would like to cheer on your friends who are, join DCRRC to volunteer at staffing Water Stop #2 in Georgetown! (the same place as last year) Ted Cochrane will be the team captain for the water stop. To come and help out, please register using this link. Enter "MCMDCRRC" as the password and you'll be automatically selected for water stop #2. Fill in your personal information and you're done!

Don't forget: We're still meeting at 7:00 am this week, but it's the last time for the year! Starting next week on October 7, we'll be switching back to 8:00 am. You'll get one last reminder in next week's email, and I'll also highlight the change at the start of SLR, as well as on Facebook & Twitter.

Happy running,

Mike

SLR September 23 - Arlington Triangle

Hello Saturday Runners!

Tomorrow's route will be a 16 mile loop around Arlington Triangle (downloads: cue sheet and gps) to connect all four of the Mt Vernon, Four Mile Run, W&OD, and Custis trails. If you'd like to go further, you can add mileage on any of these trails, but to go shorter probably the easiest way is to just make it an out & back, since this is a loop route. Though it's officially fall now, it will still be a little bit on the warm side tomorrow, though hopefully with somewhat lower humidity at about 75%, so do take that into account when deciding what fluids to carry.

Thank you Ben Malakoff for post-run drinks, and Donna Lekang for mid-run drinks this week! Mid-run drinks will be located at the W&OD trailhead, at the intersection of S Four Mile Run Dr and Shirlington Rd, at about the 7 mile point in this route.

If you can't make it to SLR or are looking to switch things up with a race this weekend, you should check out the club's National Capital 20 Miler & 5 Miler races which will be held on Sunday morning at Carderock Recreation Area! It's not too late to register, which you can do through Saturday, though no on-site registration will be possible on Sunday.

Please note: We're still meeting at our summer time of 7:00 am! Unless a late heat-wave dictates otherwise, the plan is to switch back to 8:00 am in two weeks, on the first Saturday of October. I'll be giving you all more advance reminders next week, and will highlight the change at the start of SLR, in these emails, and on Facebook & Twitter.

Happy running!

Mike