Hello Saturday Long Runners!
To those running Marine Corps next weekend: Congrats! You've officially made it not only to the taper, but to the last long run of the training cycle. Take this weekend to focus on how far you've come and get excited for the race next week! SLR will be hosting a three mile shakeout run next Saturday morning in conjunction with our normal long run. Come out for a couple miles and a post run meetup at Bethesda Bagels and Compass Coffee for some carbs before the big race on Sunday! In unrelated, yet still happy news: it looks like tomorrow we actually might stay dry for the entire run for the first time in weeks! Fall is finally giving us a treat, come out tomorrow and celebrate! Now let's get into it:
The Route: Back and better than ever for the second time at SLR, we're doing the Cemetery Loop (strava, gps, pdf) this week! This route circumnavigates Arlington Cemetery and Fort Myer, where the Wright Brothers first demonstrated their newfangled flying machine. I know there were a couple wrong turns last time, so pay attention to the cue sheet and remember that the turn onto Rolfe Street is the first right after all the highway underpasses and should look something like this.
Want Something Shorter? For about 7 miles, turn off the Mount Vernon Trail onto the 27 Trail and go directly to the Pentagon, then continue the route as normal for an abbreviated Cemetery Loop. If you want to avoid the hills, an out and back on the Mount Vernon trail is an easy way to get any number of miles in as well!
Need a Longer Route? The Mount Vernon Trail makes adding on additional miles easy, just add an extra out and back after getting to Crystal City. If you're feeling adventerous and need a lot more miles, taking a right instead of a left on the Arlington Boulevard trail will eventually lead you down to the W&OD near Bluemont park. This makes for a great loop returning on Custis for about 17 miles (and may make for a great actual SLR route one of these days).
Thirsty? Thank you so much to Kate Scott for post-run drinks this week! There is also a water fountain in National Landing Crystal City at Virginia Highlands Park off of South Hayes Street around mile 5.5 that has never failed me. Another option for a little bit of a scavenger hunt is the water fountain on the opposite side of the tennis courts at mile 7.9 in Towers Park, which is the park you'll see right after getting on the trail at the end of Rolfe Street. It's a little bit out of the way, but provides another good option in a pinch!
Need a Bathroom? Gravelly Point, though never the best option, is always an option for bathroom at the 3.7 mile mark (sidenote: they may be building permanent restrooms there, which would be absolutely fantastic if they also leave them open 24/7). Virginia Highlands Park also has a nice set of permanent restrooms which I've always had luck with being open. There is also the Target on the corner of Army Navy Drive in a pinch if you need a restroom or some scented candles and new lightbulbs.
The next club race is the Alexandria Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning! This is the fastest five miler you'll ever run and a great way to start Thanksgiving off with a PR! We also need a tremendous amount of volunteers to keep this race running smoothly, so please consider helping out either race morning or the week before with packet pickup if you're in the area for the holiday! As a reminder,DCRR Memberships expire on November 30th! Renew today or face the wrath of Nate Rathjen!
Happy Running!
Anna
