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SLR: 16 Miles Arlington Loop

Hello Saturday Long Runners!

Looks like we've got rain in the forecast again this weekend and some cooler temperatures that will keep our start time at 8 AM. We'll likely switch over to 7 AM next week, but I'll send an email on Wednesday with a final decision. Get out your favorite rain jacket and enjoy the trails of Arlington this weekend! Now let's get into it:

The Route: This week, we're doing an absolute classic and one of my personal favorites, the Arlington Loop (strava, gps, pdf). We'll head down the Mount Vernon Trail, take a right down to the Four Mile Run trail, continue onto the W&OD (which celebrates its 50th birthday this year!), and then take a right onto the Custis Trail. We'll run about 16 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 14.5 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 10 miles and getting to the W&OD will run you 14.

Need a Longer Route? My personal favorite way to add onto the loop is to add an extra out and back along the W&OD before turning onto Custis, which allows you to get any number of extra miles. If you're in the mood to make it "real" Arlington Loop you can continue down the Rosslyn Hill past Roosevelt Island and return by coming up the same way you go out by the cemetery for an 18 miler.

Thirsty? There are plenty of water fountains around the loop, including some under the metro near the airport at mile 4.5, at the start of the W&OD at 7.2, at the corner of Custis at 11.2, and just past W&L at 13.3. We also may have post run drinks tomorrow (your SLR leader may have missed an email until this morning)!

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 Women's Distance Festival and Run After the Women 5K on Sunday June 9th at Bon Air Park! We need plenty of volunteers for this and all our Bunion Derby races, so sign up today! The next club Happy Hour is this Thursday, May 23rd at 5:30 at Four Courts and we'll be giving out Snowball Series awards there!

Anna

SLR 14 Miles: Capital Crescent Out and Back

Hello Saturday Long Runners!

Summer's grip eludes us for another week, so we'll be meeting at 8 AM tomorrow! With low 50s in the forecast and an absolutely gorgeous run on the schedule, there's no excuse not to show up (unless you're running a marathon in Belgium or something). Now let's get into it:

The Route: This week we'll be doing a classic out and back on the Capital Crescent trail (strava, gps, pdf), which if you read the cue sheets closely you'll notice has been part of our repertoire since back when the Capital Crescent wasn't even fully paved. If you've been paying attention to the route choices here at SLR HQ, I'm not really a big out-and-back person, but this is absolutely my exception (and I promise to try and put a few more in the schedule). The CCT is one of the best places to run in DC in the spring and my personal favorite part is the Dalecarlia Railroad Tunnel we'll hit around mile 5.3 (look out for the little shrine on the right side of the trail in the tunnel when you're going out)! The 14 mile route will turn around at River Road around the 4.5 MM on the trail, or whenever your watch beeps at 7 miles, whichever comes first ;).

Want Something Shorter? Out and backs are perfect for that! The half mile marks on the trail roughly correspond to mile marks, so for 12 miles turn at 5.5MM, 10 turn at 6.5 MM, and so on.

Need a Longer Route? Take these old train tracks up to Bethesda for any number of extra miles. Like shortening the route, for longer just go a mile marker further for every two miles you'd like to add (so 3.5MM for 16 and so on).

Thirsty? Great Scott! Thanks to Kate Scott for post-run drinks this week! We're still looking for a few more volunteers over the next few weeks for drinks, and of course all summer! There is also a water fountain at Fletcher's Boathouse at mile 3.5 and another couple along the CCT depending on how far you go out.

Need a Bathroom? Fletcher's is your best bet for bathrooms around mile 3.5. Otherwise there are some gas stations just off the CCT that may work out, but not a lot of other public options.

The next club race is the Women's Distance Festival and Run After the Women 5K on Sunday June 9th at Bon Air Park! We need plenty of volunteers for this and all our Bunion Derby races, so sign up today! The next club Happy Hour is May 23rd at 5:30 at Four Courts and we'll be giving out Snowball Series awards there.

Happy Running!

Anna