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SLR: 14 Miles Holiday Card Lane

Hello Saturday Long Runners!

Thanks to everyone who came out to the Christmas Tree Run last weekend! If you missed out on Rodrigo and Ben’s pictures they’re here! I know a lot of folks will be out tomorrow for the holidays, but enjoy your SLR wherever you are! For folks still in town, tomorrow’s weather looks decent, with temperatures in the mid-30s and overcast. Now let’s get into it:

The Route: This week we’ll be continuing our jingle jogs on another happy holiday route: Holiday Card Lane (strava, gps, pdf). This fourteen miler is sort of like a combination of Pentagon Army Navy and Long Bridge Park. We’ll head down to Del Rey via Commonwealth Ave. (which may look familiar if you’ve run the Turkey Trot) which will take us to Holiday Card Lane along East Luray and East Alexandria. The houses in this neighborhood started a tradition a few years back where everyone makes giant Holiday Cards for their front lawns. It’s one of my favorite parts of the holidays in DC and if you haven’t seen it it’s definitely worth the run by!

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 and let your mind run wild about what it would be like to have the Capitals and Wizards stadium there. 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? The water fountain at the airport is generally turned on year round, but will occasionally shut off for months at a time. There unfortunately aren't any down in Del Rey, but are some in Crystal City at Virginia Highlands Park at mile 11.3 that should be turned on year round.

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 Predictions and Resolutions 5K on New Year's Day! It's a great way to start the year off strong and a great way to get your volunteer credit for the Snowball Series out of the way! The next Snowball Series race is the Al Lewis 10 Miler at Hains Point on Saturday January 6th. SLR will be cancelled on January 6th and January 13th due to the Snowball Series races on those dates. As a reminder, Snowball Series is free for club members and a fantastic way to test your fitness, get a workout in, and do your long run somewhere a little bit different. Happy Holidays and I hope you all have a wonderful SLR wherever you may be!

Happy Running!
Anna

Christmas Tree Run Photos!

Thanks to Rodrigo and Ben for coralling the group and getting some great photos of everyone. Happy Holidays and see you all next week! And of course, a bonus poem to recap the morning:

‘Twas nine days before Christmas
And at North Meade Park
DC Road Runners were off
On their morning lark
The Christmas Tree Run
The best S-L-R of all
Ten miles of joy
And did we have a ball
We left from the start
A huge massive crew
Almost seventy people
And a new face or two!
Across Key onto M
To the tree at the House
Then the Willard and nut crackers
As quick as a mouse
City Center then Mass
into Union Station
And another photo
Full of great jubilation
Across to the Capitol
And down the big Hill
To meet another run club!
And oh what a thrill
Then up Penn to the North
The Canadian Embassy
For the last one of our
Original, official trees
To the mall and then over
Down past L’Enfant
As the pace quickened
To more than a jaunt
One more bonus tree
And then one with the barrels
Then back over memorial
Singing Christmas Carols
Thanks to Ben and Rodrigo
For all of the pics!
And the bystanders who helped
In taking our flicks
Today’s joy knows no bounds
For this club I’m so thankful
To lead this great group
Fills my heart up a tank full
This year has been perfect
And I cannot wait for more
Holiday Cards next weekend
Yes, a new route’s in store!
An excellent morning
Hope you had tons of fun!
Happy Holidays to all
And to all a good run!

Anna