Hello Saturday Long Runners!
DC's never-ending autumn is, well, never-ending and it looks like we'll still have some beautiful fall colors this weekend. If you're traveling up the Northeast Corridor to Philadelphia for the races this weekend, it also looks like you'll be having excellent marathon conditions as well. Good luck to everyone racing! For those of us staying local, the weather looks great for mid-November, with temperatures in the low-40s and a little bit of sun. Now let's get into it:
The Route: This week in honor of Division I Cross Country Nationals, we'll be treated to some trails and hills as we head up to Battery Kemble Park (strava, gps, pdf). To get there, we'll cross the Key Bridge and head up the Capital Crescent Trail and over to Potomac Ave past the Washington Aqueduct and up the very steep Chain Bridge Road Hill into the park. Historically, there have been some issues with off-leash dogs along the trail here, so please be careful and watch out for dogs that are "so friendly" and "just want to play".
Want Something Shorter? This is one of my favorite routes because there are so many ways to change the distance for it and still get to run in some really neat places! For about 14 miles, instead of taking the small out and back to the water fountain on the CCT, go straight up to the park and back. For even less (around 12.5 miles), take a left on Potomac Ave instead of a right when coming back down from Battery Kemble. There is a small trail at the end of the street (which I refer to as "Mark B's Trail", because he's the one who first introduced us to it). This takes you down to the bridge on the CCT and is a great way to get all the sights of the route without as much of the mileage. If 12.5 is still to much, take a left on McArthur Boulevard instead of a right and run straight down MacArthur back to the Key Bridge and cross for 11 miles. Both the 12.5 and 11 mile options skip the out and back on the CCT like the 14 mile option.
Need a Longer Route? We need more loops, Batman! Each additional loop of Battery Kemble park will add an extra 1.3 miles to your run (and about 175 feet of climbing). If you want something flatter, an out and back on either the canal or the CCT is a great bet.
Thirsty? There are water fountains at mile 3.3 and 12.4 at Fletcher's Cove Boathouse near the snack shack. There is also a water fountain at the turnaround on the CCT at miles 5 and 10.7. Steve Klug's "Two Weeks off After a Helluva Run in NYC Tour" will also be making a stop at the bottom of Battery Kemble park at miles 7 and 8.5 with mid-run drinks! Thanks Steve! We don't have any official volunteers for post-run drinks this week, but I believe Eunja is brining some leftovers. We also don't have any drink volunteers for any of the coming weeks, please volunteer! Or else!
Need a Bathroom? The bathrooms at Fletcher's Cove at miles 3.3 and 12.4 are your best options along this route. There have also historically been some along Potomac Ave with random home improvement projects, but those aren't a guarantee.
The next club race is the Alexandria Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning! We're currently on pace to have the largest event in history, and you don't want to miss it! 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! Membership dues help pay for long run drinks, so sign up today then volunteer for those!
Happy Running!
Anna
