Hello Saturday Long Runners!
News flash: it's still summer! Temperatures tomorrow will be steamy and as such Marathon Training Program 10+ mile groups will be starting at 6:15 tomorrow morning. I'm also travelling up to New York this weekend for a 10K, so everyone's favorite membership coordinator Nate Rathjen will be kicking you off tomorrow! Nate loves this route almost as much as I do (which is saying a lot!) so you're in good hands! Now let's get into it:
The Route:This week, we'll be venturing east of the river to what I always call the most underrated place to run in DC: The Anacostia Riverwalk trail (strava, pdf, gps). This route will take us down through the wharf, up the west side of the trail by the Congressional Cemetery and around Heritage Island (which is like Teddy Roosevelt Island if they never did any upkeep on it), then across the Bladensburg Bridge and down the east side of the Anacostia River to the new and improved Frederick Douglass Bridge and back to Virginia! Luckily it's not quite wild turkey season yet,so this should be an absolutely gorgeous run. Fun fact: the name Anacostia evolved from the Nacotchtank, the area's Indigenous population.
Want Something Longer? The farther north you run on the west side of the Anacostia trail, the more magical it becomes! The Kenliworth Aquatic Gardens are especially wonderful in the summer if anyone's in need of 22 miles (2 out, 2 back).
Need a Shorter Route? A nice way to cut this route down to around 12 is to make a modified Southeast DC Loop(basically don't cross any bridges, just follow the route until the turn off for Pennsylvania Avenue). Otherwise taking a turn at RFK and following East Capitol Street back to the Mall will getr you around 14.5 miles! For closer to 16, add on the loop of Heritage Island before turning at RFK.
Thirsty? Thanks to Elise Mullinniex for pre ant post run drinks this week! We've also got mid run drinks courtesy of Ruby Len near the Anacostia Skating Pavillion at mile 10! Other than that, Anacostia is fairly bare for water, though there is a fountain and running water in the bathrooms by the pirate ship playground at mile 11. There are also fountains along the Mall near Lincoln at mile 1.7 and 16.2 in a pinch!
Need a Bathroom? There are plenty of businesses along the wharf that are good in a pinch, including a couple of CVSes around the 5K point. There are also bathrooms at the pirate ship playground at mile 11 that have been lifesavers for me in the past.
The Bunion Derby wrapped up last week, but there's still one more race this summer: the National Capital 20 Miler and Janet Braunstein's 5 Miler! This is also your last chance to get volunteer credit for the Bunion Derby, so sign up today! The next book club meeting will be September 10th and we're reading Choosing to Run by Des Linden, which is an absolute classic and something every runner should have on their list!
Happy Running!
Anna
