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Welcome! This is the home of the world-famous (well, maybe locally well-known) SLR.
Our start time is at 8:00 AM until next summer! Every Saturday we meet at North Meade Street Park, a small park northwest of the USMC War Memorial (Iwo Jima Memorial) in Rosslyn. The closest address for mapping purposes is 1300 Arlington Blvd, and street parking is available in the neighborhoods adjacent to N. Meade Street. Be mindful of parking signs, since Arlington County enforces them enthusiastically, and please do not park on Marine Memorial Circle (inside Iwo Jima), because this parking area is for memorial use only. At least one porta-john is available year-round near the Iwo Jima Memorial, and the memorial's water fountain is usually on during the summer.
We run rain or shine! In cases of extreme weather (snow, ice, thunderstorms, heat waves) we do occasionally either change our meeting time or cancel the run for safety, but the run will be held as planned unless otherwise posted via email/twitter/facebook and here on the SLR web page.
All are welcome! We're an informal group, and there are no requirements for speed, racing experience, or what distance means "long" for you, other than the suggested route that most of our group will be running each week. If you don't want to run the same distance or course as the main group, you can go out for half of your own target distance and re-trace your steps back to Iwo Jima. More specific route info and mileage options will be given in the email/post preceding each Saturday's run. SLR always features a run from our extensive Route Catalog, which gives us a wide range of options to keep things fresh for you each week. We have routes that are flat, hilly, looped, out & back, roads, sidewalks, trails, and more, reaching all around the local area of DC, VA, and MD!
For more details about Saturday Long Runs please read our Frequently Asked Questions to get a sense for what it's like to run with us, or send an email to Anna if you have any other questions that are not covered.
To receive weekly SLR updates via email, please log in and check your email subscriptions.
Schedule:
| Date | Miles | Route Map | Navigation Downloads | Post/Mid-Run Beverages |
| 12/7 | 14 | Festivus Route | Cue Sheet & GPS | |
| 12/14 | 10 | Christmas Tree Run | Cue Sheet & GPS | |
| 12/21 | 15 | Holiday Card Lane | Cue Sheet & GPS | |
| 12/28 | 14 | Capital Crescent | Cue Sheet & GPS | |
| 1/4 | 12 | Pentagon Army Navy | Cue Sheet & GPS | |
| 1/11 | 14 | Ross Drive | Cue Sheet & GPS | |
| 1/18 | 16 | Arlington Loop | Cue Sheet & GPS | |
| 1/25 | 16 | Battery Kemble Loops | Cue Sheet & GPS |
SLR: 10 Miles Chain Bridge
Hello Saturday Long Runners!
It's Nate, your faithful ersatz SLR leader, writing again to you this week...I am here for one more week as Anna is returning from Montreal (please, have some poutine and Moosehead for me before you leave)
The weather is not going to be as awful as it was last week, but I still want to retiterate my mantra of "don't be stupid" when it comes to heat! As I wrote last week, listen to your ol' meatbag! If something feels off or you're just not having fun anymore, there is nothing wrong with calling it a morning. No sense making yourself sick or worse just to hit an arbitrary number of miles!
Where Are We Going This Time? It's time for Chain Bridge (strava, gps, pdf)! We'll head west out of Rosslyn, over to Lorcom Lane and north along Nelly Custis Drive. We'll climb the several Military Road hills, the last of which will lead us to the corner of Old Glebe Road, where we'll take a right then a left onto North Randolph Street and a right down the bike path and the big hill to the Chain Bridge. From here we'll enjoy a gradual downhill back to Georgetown and across the bridge to Rosslyn.
Want Less? You know my favorite way to shorten is Metro, but that's not an option today! You can always do an out-and-back on Military. But thar be dragons hills. There are a couple of decent loop options: instead of turning onto Nelly Custis, continue straight on Lorcom to Military (7 miles) or all the way to Glebe (8 miles), then turn left until you hit the Custis trail and return that way. Both of these involve crossing Langston Boulevard, so be careful there! Do note that below Langston, Military becomes North Quincy and Lorcom becomes North Woodstock, because Arlington really likes making its allegedly logical street name system as illogical as possible. (Ever thought about why we start on North Meade, even though it's south of US 50?)
I measured out if you followed the Marymount route but turned left on Glebe to return to Custis -- that is ever so slightly shorter than the full route (~9.5 miles), so probably not worth doing unless you really like those switchbacks. So once you turn onto Nelly Custis, you're committed!
Want More? If you're feeling okay in the heat, you can return via Memorial Bridge (12 miles) or the 14th Street bridges (14 miles -- and fun fact, the one you run on is actually named after George Mason...). Add a mile to each if you choose to return via the full length of the MVT instead of through the cemetery. If you want or need any longer than that, head to Hains and you know what you're doing, I think!
Parched? Speaking of DC features named after inconsequential politicians (see last week's email), there is a water fountain at the entrance to Zachary Taylor Park at the bottom of the first Military hill (~3.5 miles). Fletcher's Cove also has water. Not much else, so I definitely recommend carrying if you weren't going to already.
Swimming Eyeballs? There is a port-a-pot at the entrance to the Gulf Branch Nature Center (~4.3 miles, bottom of the second Military hill). Of course, we will pass Ol' Reliable -- the Fletcher's Cove restrooms -- at around 7 miles!
Happy Running, and have a blast!
-Nate
SLR: ** 6 AM START ** 14 Miles Southeast DC
Hello Saturday Long Runners!
It's Nate, your faithful ersatz SLR leader (if you don't know me, strava and instagram) writing to you this week...I will be here to kick you off for the next 2 weeks, as Anna is in Duluth and totally gonna crush it on Sunday! First things first:
We are starting at 6 AM due to high temperatures and the likelihood of an NWS-issued heat advisory.
There it is in bold red text, so if you show up at 7 that's fully on you, pal! We do have post-run drinks this week (thanks Kate!!) but this is still a long time to be out in high temperatures, so please carry water! Also, listen to your ol' meatbag! If something feels off or you're just not having fun anymore, there is nothing wrong with calling it a morning. No sense making yourself sick or worse just to hit an arbitrary number of miles!
Where Are We Going This Time? This week we'll be treated to a nice tour of the Wharf and the southern portion of the Anacostia Riverwalk as we take on Southeast DC (strava, gps, pdf). We'll head into the city via the Memorial Bridge, head down L'Enfant Plaza and through the Wharf to get to the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge, make our way up the Anacostia Riverwalk and across the John Phillip Sousa Bridge (possibly the most random person this side of Sen. Francis Case to get a DC bridge named after him?), before heading to the Capitol via Pennsylvania Avenue and back to North Meade Park via the Mall.
Want Less? This is the perfect route to bring your SmarTrip card, as we will pass four Orange/Blue Line Metro stops: Potomac Avenue (8.5 miles), Eastern Market (9 miles), Capitol South (10 miles) and Smithsonian (11 miles). Even if you are planning to run the full route, it's never a bad idea to bring one in case you need a heat-related bailout. For anything shorter, your best bet is an out and back.
Want More? Eh, you don't, really. I would personally advise against trying to go any longer today, but adding the rest of the Anacostia Riverwalk (up to Benning Road) and then coming back via Pennsylvania Avenue will get you 4 extra miles.
Parched? There are water fountains at the pirate ship playground (~7.5 miles) as well as at Eastern Market metro (9 miles) -- this one is set back from the road a bit in the park area so you may not notice it at first glance. As well, most of the mall fountains are in working order. Good news...I know a mall park ranger to whom I can incessantly complain about them now!
Swimming Eyeballs? The pirate ship playground also has well-appointed restrooms, and we will also pass the "welp...they're there" restrooms by the Washington Monument. In a pinch, there are plenty of shops along Pennsylvania Avenue that will let you use theirs if you ask nicely (and don't drip on anything). Anna's personal favorite is in the foreign language section at Capitol Hill Books.
Happy Running, and have a blast!
-Nate
SLR: Start Time **6 AM** June 22nd
Hello SLR crew,
Here's an early heads up that due to the high temperatures and equally high likelihood of the NWS issuing a heat advisory for Saturday, we're getting out at 6 AMfor this week. We will return to 7 AM in following weeks, assuming the weather cooperates.
-Nate
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The DC Road Runners Club is a member of the Road Runners Club of America and is also affiliated with USA Track & Field. We provide a year-round schedule of running events that offer everyone a chance to participate regardless of age, gender, or athletic ability. |