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SLR: 14.5 Miles Holiday Card Lane

Hello Saturday Long Runners!

It's snowing as I'm writing this, but the flurries should end soon and we're looking at a frigid day tomorrow morning (insert groans from the midwest folks saying "winter? this is summer weather!"). Regardless, bundle up and come out for a trip down Holiday Card Lane before setting off to your holiday festivities. Now let's get into it:

The Route: A new addition to our repertoire last year that no one has complained too much about yet is Holiday Card Lane (strava, gps, pdf). Which takes us down to Del Rey's famous Holiday Card Lane, a neighborhood tradition where people paint giant holiday cards and put them in their front lawns along East Luray and East Alexandria. We’ll head down to Del Rey via Commonwealth Ave. (which may look familiar if you’ve run the Turkey Trot) and then back up to North Meade Park via the Mount Vernon Trail. Head's up, this route is honestly pretty smack in the middle of 14 and 15 miles (14.6 if you follow the strava route exactly), so if you're an even-mileage fiend be prepared for either a little walk back or a couple loops around Iwo Jima.

Want Something Shorter? To see the cards, but avoid all the miles you can hop over to Potomac Ave Metro for about 9.5-10 miles. Note there are some metro closures and construction this weekend, but if you're getting off at Rosslyn you shouldn't be impacted (however if you're going into DC or further into VA, be prepared for some delays. Crystal City (11 miles) is another great option for the metro as well. Otherwise for a 12 miler, follow Pentagon Army Navy like normal (and miss the cards), or switch to a shorter out and back for even less mileage.

Need a Longer Route? Continuing down Commonwealth will take you into Alexandria, where you can hop back on the Mount Vernon trail to add on some mileage without doing an out and back. Otherwise add on along the Four Mile Run or the Mount Vernon trail for any number of extra miles!

Thirsty? It's winter, which means (according to most park service members) nobody actually needs easy access to water. According to me (and the entire scientific community) hydration is important all year, especially on long runs! Bring some water (and hope it doesn't freeze)! In a pinch I believe the fountains at Highlands Park in Crystal City are turned on all year, but that's not a gamble I'd take.

Need a Bathroom? The bathrooms at Gravelly Point aren’t the best option, but are always an option in a pinch. Otherwise Virginia Highlands Park also has bathrooms that should be open. There are a host of restaurants and rec centers in Del Rey that also may take pity on you.

The next club race is the Predicitons and Resolutions 5K at noon! Start your year off right with a race on Custis, so that every 5K for the rest of the year you can say "at least I didn't have to run on Custis" (Editor's Note: Anna has the majority of local legends on the Custis Trail and runs on it multiple times a week). Better yet, volunteer to help out! Happy Holidays and I hope everyone has a wonderful SLR wherever they are!

Happy Running!

Anna

Christmas Tree Run Pictures

Pictures: https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipP4dJfMSP8vG2IORbhVz2SWszNlcg1B450QQFnZ85cyn4KWbn9geOBph5Q9pwAoyA?key=RERETGRjdkw5SE91UUtKQjBteGVCaUpES2Fybm9R

‘Twas the fourteenth of December

When at eight AM sharp

Everyone in the area

Descended to North Meade Park

Whether laying the wreaths

Or for a long run

The whole town was awake

With an adventure to come

But first some announcements

While everyone shivered

I tried to be quick!

Get information delivered

Then off with a gallop

And over to Key

Waving goodbye to Rosslyn

And their gold-purple tree

Down M Street and Penn

With everyone Merry

Talking about future races

And training in January

Then the White House tree

The first of the lot

And finally some sunshine

The temps far from hot

Up to the Willard

But not into the lobby

Where the first lobbyists met

When that was more of a hobby

Next up to the nutcrackers

As we all squeezed in tight

For a fantastic photographer

With a good camera sight

Thanks to Rodrigo and Big Guy

For handling all the pics

The club’s looking great

Everyone’s outfits were slick

The train sweaters were fitting

For the front and caboose

Keeping the big group together

And our legs far from loose

Then to city center

With a beer can the star

Balancing a phone for the picture

As volunteers were quite far

“Did you write yesterday’s poem

With the help of AI”

Not that one not this one

And I’d never even try

Down Massachusetts

And to Union station 

Which once again had the best

Holiday decoration

The rotunda was perfect

As we all paused in awe

But there was more running to do

And more trees to be saw

We rounded the Hill

As the weather warmed up

And my heart was so happy

Yes this filled my cup

From the Ironman athletes

To the 2:30 marathoners

To the marathon trainees

Not one person was a goner

We hit up the Capitol

For the second to last tree

Then a special request

For a bonus you see

Yes Cecile did yell

“Let’s ho to the garden”

For a Charlie Brown tree

And who was I to bargain

A bonus this year

That we’ll add to the lot

Only a short extra

For those whose legs were shot

At last we rounded out

In Heather’s hometown

Yes the Canadian Embassy

Left not one single frown

Another year done

And a great speech from Big Guy

It’s his last before Austin

And miss him not we’ll try

But we’ll fail of course

For he’s a club staple

A stupendous dude

And a bit of a fable

After that we departed

And split up the crew

A small group of us

Choosing a bonus tree or two

First at the wharf

With slightly smaller nutcrackers

And nice glass ornaments

For the more mileage tackers

Then the last tree of all

Or a stack of barrels

Of our second favorite Jack

The run done with no perils

Yes the Peruski newlyweds

(Isn’t that sweet)

For the first run in a while

Both stayed on two feet

Another year finished

With memories and fun

Hope you had a great time

At the Christmas Tree Run!

For the newcomers

We meet every Saturday at 8

Come back anytime!

Then give your dues to Nate

Have a great rest of your day

And soak up that sun!

Happy Holidays to all!

And to all a good run!

Anna