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Glen Echo, MD

This was a day to be savored, especially in contrast to the day before when the rain kept up all day. Course markings were a little sparse due to that rain (no miles 4 or 5, sorry about that!). Concerned about the muddy conditions at the start and finish, we had appealed for permission to start and finish on pavement, but to no avail. There is a brand new bit of trail near the start, which we had hoped to use this year. The trail didn’t quite make it but we look forward to using it next year. The trail will bypass that strange traffic circle and should make the event safer.

I am hoping that we can reconfigure the course by next year to start and finish on the trail, rather than in the parking lot. No promises but we will keep you posted.

We were delighted with the levels of participation on all fronts: 165 10K finishers; 14 “Run For Your Life” (2 mile) finishers; at least 16 wonderful volunteers; and 93 (!!) bread bakers. Congratulations to men’s (repeat) winner Antonio Eppolito (38:37) and women’s winner Bethany Britz (42:14), and all the others who conquered that climb from the canal!

We would like to thank the following volunteers: Matt Anderson, Joanna Bentz, Pat Brown, Alan Coykendall, Joe Fisher, Lee Glassco, Robert Johnston, Glenn Klenk, Gavin Ribera, Gary Rubin, Catherine Scott, Leslie Stansfield, Alex Watson, Ken Schoppmann, David Thurston, and Chuck Evans. Special thanks to Ben Richter for timing and results, and to Bethany Britz who (after winning the women’s race) helped Ben sort out the results. We also really appreciate the folks at Glen Echo, who were friendly and very helpful.

Mike Lette Haight took great photos; check out the start/finish photo album here.

Credit for the Bread Run course goes to Phil Stewart, of Cherry Blossom and Road Race Management fame, who was DCRRC president at the time (1980). Delabian and I had talked about the idea of a run with hot drinks and fresh bread for the runners, and Phil called our bluff, suggesting a Glen Echo start/finish with the configuration we use.

For the first Bread Run I baked all the bread, but now that we have 93 bakers it has finally dawned on me that we might try some changes. I think the best reward for a baker is to see others eat (and enjoy) what you’ve baked. So maybe there’s a way to let more bakers have the pleasure of watching folks enjoy their bread being consumed. We are just starting to think about this, and we would like your ideas. In the meantime, we hope those of you who got a loaf of bread will take a moment to thank the baker(s)!

On that note I want to thank the baker of a terrific dark rye loaf that reminds me of the Dutch roggebrood I had as a kid! And an extra thank you to Joanna Bentz, a volunteer who suffered the only injury of the day (a little cut while slicing bread), but still went out and served double-duty as a marshal at the top of Oxford Street.

Happy holiday season to all—we’ll see you in 2015!
Bob Thurston and Delabian Rice-Thurston

For timing questions, corrections, omissions, or to provide missing data (much appreciated!), please contact Ben.