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SLR: 18 Miles Rock Creek MBT

Hello Saturday Long Runners!

If Debby's gotten you down the past few days, fear not! We shouldn't have any rain tomorrow morning and will hopefully have some cooler temperatures (or at least ones that don't rise as fast, no guarantee on it feeling all that pleasant). That not enough reason to join? We've also got Alexander Hetherington, race director for MCM, coming out to join us on a long run (and probably answer any and all questions about the race). 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 (insert "Wow Anna of course you like the 18+ milers" here). We'll head up Rock Creek Park to Beach Drive then turn right onto Blagden Ave up a long hill (but not nearly as long as the one for the Olympic marathon, shoutout to the SLR regulars tackling that course this weekend!) 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 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. Why is this route the best, you may be asking yourself? You'll just have to see for yourself in the morning.

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, add on an out and back or a loop of Ross Drive in Rock Creek Park for some extra miles and some extra hills.

Thirsty? We've got mid-run drinks this week thanks to Sean Hicks! He'll be out around the corner of the MBT and Gallatin. We'll also have post run drinks thanks to Yared! Either I have been living under a rock or there are some new water fountains at Peirce Mill near the bathrooms (I mean, they definitely exist, whether or not they've been there for years is the question). Otherwise there are some options along the MBT that I believe are open year round, but with the impending weather you really never know. What is for certain is that the fountains along the Mall are off and the ones inside of Union Station are on. The safest bet, of course, is to bring water, or risk eating some snow!

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 Bunion Derby race is the Paul Thurston 4.5 Miler around Burke Lake on August 13th! Jerry still needs plenty ofvolunteers to help out, get your Bunion Derby credit out of the way and enjoy the trails! The joint DCRR-PVTC Track Meet this Sunday has also been moved from Yorktown to W&L after renovation delays, signups are still open (but no volunteers needed, thanks to everyone who is helping out).

Happy Running!

Anna