Hello Saturday Long Runners!
Marine Corps Marathon weekend is finally here and the city is already buzzing! The weather tomorrow looks unseasonably warm, but it has also been seasonably gorgeous in terms of fall foliage this week, so enjoy the nice dry weekend both on and off the run! Now let's get into it:
The Route: Once more before it gets demolished! This week we'll be doing an old classic (and the first SLR route I ever ran with the club!): RFK (strava, pdf, gps). We'll head down the Mall and through the Capitol Hill neighborhood, which is sure to have some fantastic Halloween decorations out, so keep your eyes peeled! After that we'll run to the ever-degrading RFK Stadium, named for Robert Kennedy (no, not that one), before heading back to the park at North Meade Street.
Racing this Weekend? SLR is also hosting a shakeout run (strava) tomorrow morning in conjunction with our normal long run! Come out to get a nice jog in before race day and meet up at Compass Coffee/Bethesda Bagels afterwards for breakfast (even if you aren't racing this weekend, come get some breakfast, talk about the weather, and give all your best pre-race advice)! Good luck to everyone tackling big races this weekend! The city is yours, go and take it!
Want Something Shorter? This route is an out and back, which makes it pretty easy to cut off any amount of mileage. Just turn around halfway from where you'd like to end the run. Turning around at the top of Capitol Hill will get you 9 miles and Lincoln Park will get you 11 if you want some landmarks!
Need a Longer Route? Continuing back around RFK past the stadium will lead to the Anacostia Riverwalk, which is a wonderful way to add a few miles onto the route and possibly check out the Halloween decorations at the Wharf if you make a loop out of it! The Congressional Cemetery is also wonderful this time of year if you're looking for a different way to add on a few miles!
Thirsty? Thanks to Chris Walsh for post run drinks this week! As far as I know the Mall Park Rangers have smiled upon us favorably and haven't turned off the water fountains yet, but it's anyone's guess when they will (and it's a safe bet that it will be on a hot day and you will be depending on them). There are also fountains at Lincoln Park that are questionably reliable, so bring some water if you're planning on doing the full route!
Need a Bathroom? The bathrooms outside the Washington Monument are always a reliable (though questionable) safe bet! Otherwise there will likely be a LOT of portopotties scattered throughout the Mall for the marathon on Sunday. Don't let these fool you, they will almost certainly all be locked until the morning of the race, as is sacred tradition among these parts.
Don't Have Plans on Sunday? DCRR is hosting a cheer zone at mile 3/23/28 of the 10K/Marathon/50K tomorrow! Come out to the Crystal City Waterpark at 9:30 to cheer on your teammates and friends as they push through the last 5K of their races!
The next club race is the Alexandria Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning! This one of my favorite races in the region (and the metro is even open to get to the start)! 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! DCRR Memberships expire on November 30th! Renew yours today, tell your friends to renew theirs, and have them tell their friends to renew theirs!
Happy Running!
Anna
