Hello Saturday Long Runners!
It is Nate, your faithful ersatz SLR leader, here with you this week as Anna is off "biking to Pittsburgh", which I assume is a euphemism for something. I am still on the proverbial shelf but excited to be back on Saturday morning this week!
Where Are We Going This Time? This week is our love letter to Arlington's pedestrian infrastructure: the world famousÂÂ Arlington Loop (strava, gps, pdf)! We'll head down the 110 trail to the Mount Vernon Trail, head past the airport and turn onto the Four Mile Run Trail, continue onto the W&OD, and then hang right at Custis and head back to the park. All in all this will be 16 miles with very few street crossings.
Shorter? Not too many ways to shorten this one since it is a hefty loop. You can shorten by around 1.5 miles by taking the Bluemont cutoff trail to Fairfax Drive and running back through Court House. Anything shorter and you are doomed to an out-and-back this week.
More? Technically, the full Arlington Loop is 18 miles, including the whole of the MVT up to Roosevelt Island: so if you are a purist, that is for you. Otherwise, it is simple to continue on the W&OD toward Falls Church for any number of miles.
Parched? Rae (and I) will be trailside at Barcroft Park, which is near the exact midpoint of the run, with mid-run drinks.ÂÂ Plenty of options for water on this one: a couple of fountains on the MVT, at least three along the W&OD (those within sight that I can remember, lol) and one more on Custis past the high school.
Swimming Eyeballs?ÂÂ The situation here is much easier than it was the last time we ran this (in the winter)...Barcroft Park has restrooms, as does Glencarlyn Park (9.5 miles, visible from the trail) and Westover Park (11.3 miles, take the left immediately after crossing under 66).
Happy Running!
Nate
