DC Road Runners - Enter your slogan here

SLR: 16 Miles Arlington Loop

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 famous 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. 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? 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

SLR: 18 Miles Rock Creek MBT

Hello Saturday Long Runners!

Summer's over(???) according to Capital Weather Gang so welcome to fall, I guess! We've got a great route and some excellent weather on deck for tomorrow morning. Now let's get into it:

The Route: I know I say very often that the route we're doing is my favorite (getting people excited to run is part of the gig), but if you really made me choose Rock Creek MBT (strava, gps, pdf) takes the cake ("Wow Anna of course it's your favorite it's 18 miles"). We'll head up Rock Creek Park to Beach Drive then turn right onto Blagden Ave up a nice long hill before making our way to Gallatin Street. We'll cross the city via Gallatin (be mindful that although Gallatin is a relatively low-trafficked road we will cross some major throughways like Georgia Ave and New Hampshire Ave) then head down the Metropolitan Branch Trail to the Capitol. From here we'll complete our perfect loop of DC by running across the Mall to the Memorial Bridge and back to the park via the cemetery.

Want Something Shorter? Another favorite route of mine (and seemingly everyone else as well) is Ross Drive, which will allow you to stay with the group for the first sixish miles before continuing up Beach Drive and coming back down Ross Drive and Ridge Road for a 15 mile lollipop loop.There are also a plethora of metro stops down the MBT and along the Mall that makes bailing after 9 miles easy (just make sure to bring a shirt and a metro card)!

Need a Longer Route? If 18 isn't enough for you, returning across the 14th Street Bridge and coming up the Mount Vernon Trail to Rosslyn will add another two miles for an even 20. For even more, a loop around Hains is never too far away from the Mall if that's your vibe.

Thirsty? The Peirce Mill fountains are generally a safe bet. Pro tip: there's a nicer fountain up near the bathrooms instead of the low-flow one right next to the trail. There are plenty of coolers and fountains along the MBT as well as the Mall. We've also got mid-run and post-run drinks from Julia Tier! She'll have drinks up at the corner of the MBT and Gallatin.

Need a Bathroom? Peirce Mill around mile 5 and Union Station around mile 14 are my two go-tos along this route. There are also usually some portopotties outside of the Dew Drop Inn, which can be a gamechanger in a pinch! The Metropolitan Branch Trail has a few bathrooms along the way that are questionably available in the morning hours, but worth a shot.

The next club race is the somewhat inappropriately named and absolutely rescheduled from earlier this summer Bastille Day 5K this Sunday August 31st at 7:30 AM at Belle Haven Park. Nate could still use some volunteers if anyone is available!

Happy Running!

Anna