Hello Saturday Long Runners!
First off thank you so much to everyone who sent messages, heckled at SLR, or just generally said something regarding moving the start time. Seems like we as a whole lean towards 7 AM so that'll be staying (except for those 1-2 extreme heat days we get every year, next weekend looking like one of them). I've got some ideas on how to help folks out who hate the heat, more on those later and maybe a trial run in a month or so! Weather for tomorrow luckily looks mild (in comparison to what we're dealing with this summer)! Also Jack may be kicking it off in place of me in the morning, I got stung in the back of the throat by a yellowjacket during my run today (which is exactly as nightmarish as you'd imagine), so TBD on whether I'll be talking much! Now let's get into it:
The Route: Some people love it, some people hate it, everyone runs it! That's right, it's C&O week at SLR. This 184.5 mile long behemoth runs from Georgetown all the way to Cumberland, Maryland and provides shade and rocky gravel to run on. This week the recommended mileage is 12 (strava, pdf, gpx) which puts the turnaround right at Snake Island near the Little Falls Overlook (alternatively, just wait til your GPS watch says 6 then head back).
Want Something Longer or Shorter? The only real way to get a different distance is to turnaround earlier or later. For shorter runs, turning around at Fletcher's Boathouse will get you close to 6.5 and the Chain Bridge is at 8.5. For longer, the Pedestrian Bridge south of Glen Echo will run you 14 miles and Lock 8 will get you 17!
Thirsty?First off correction from last week: Thank you so much to Kate Scott for post run drinks, sorry again for mixing up the names! This week we've got Steven P. to thank for the post-run refreshments! Out on the canal, Fletcher's is a key stop for water, otherwise be wary, I haven't seen many other places that have it.
Need a Bathroom? Fletcher's also has you covered there! There are also some portopotties just past the Maryland border that are hopefully still open!
The next club race is the Bluemont 5K on Wednesday the 26th, hosted on the wonderfully fast course out in Bluemont park near Ballston. We still need some volunteers as well if anyone's available. Orders for the fancy red singlets have also been extended to Sunday! Rep your favorite club and get some PRs in style!
Happy Running!
Anna
