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Hello Everyone,

I realize that there is a bit of "concern" about this Saturday's SLR route given the poison ivy outbreak after the last time we ran on the Glover Archbold Trail.

I just ran on the trail yesterday morning and it is clear--i.e. no trees are down and you can easily run on the trail without having to physically touch any plant matter on the edges of the trail.

So, I am NOT going to change the route for this weekend. The official SLR route will be the 13.5 mile Glover-Mass- Capital Crescent Route:
http://www.dcroadru nners.org/ longrun/routes/ GloverMassCresce nt.html

That said, I absolutely understand that some folks rightfully feel weary of running on Glover again after the poison ivy craziness.
So, I am going to suggest that anyone who does not feel comfortable running on the Glover trail do an out-and-back route on the Capital Crescent trail instead:
http://www.dcroadru nners.org/ longrun/routes/ CapitalCrescent. html

To get about 13.5 to 14 miles on the Capital Crescent trail, you should run from Iwo Jima to between mile marker 5.0 and 4.5 and turn around and return to Iwo Jima.

I have asked Kevin D'Amanda, who is doing the midpoint water stop, to place the water stop on the Capital Crescent Trail where the trail goes over Mass. Avenue so that people running BOTH routes can get refreshments.
This will be between mile markers 5.5 and 5.0 (closer to 5.0) on the trail:
http://www.cctrail. org/map5. htm

A few suggestions for trail running for those of you who plan to run on the Glover trail. Knowing that there is poison ivy near the trail, I highly recommend that folks run single file so that no one is brushing up against the surrounding plant matter. This will also help to prevent people from tripping or falling. Be sure to leave some room between you and the person in front of you so that you can see the terrain ahead of you and be able to move/react accordingly.
Don't run too fast on the trail! This is not a race :)
This route is perfectly designed for a negative split (i.e. running the second 1/2 slower than the first)....so take your time on the first 1/2 of the trail--avoiding poison ivy and staying upright :) And then you can conquer the hills of Mass. Ave....and then cruise back to Iwo Jima on the Capital Crescent Tail.

If you have any questions/concerns, please let me know but I think having the two routes that BOTH hit the midpoint water stops should please everyone!

Be sure to congratulate Kevin D'Amanda on a spectacular performance at the Lake Placid Ironman when you see him at the midpoint beverage stop :)

And be sure to thank Brian Danza for doing the post-run beverages for the month of July.....

Hope to see you all on Saturday,
:)kerry.