Hello Saturday Long Runners!
Summer isn't over yet and we'll be getting some heat tomorrow! With mid-run drinks and plenty of water fountain options along the way, we'll hopefully be able to stay cool, but bringing a bottle never hurt anyone. We've got a new twist on a classic route this week! Now let's get into it:
The Route : This week, we're doing an Arlington running legend and one of my personal favorites, the Arlington Loop (strava, gps, pdf). This time with a bit of a twist. In the past, SLR has, well to put it nicely, cheated a bit when it comes to the Arlington loop by missing out on the Mount Vernon Trail section between Rosslyn and the Memorial Bridge. This week, we'll be (finally) adding that extra little bit of mileage to do a "true" Arlington Loop. We'll head down Lynn Street the Mount Vernon Trail, take a right down to the Four Mile Run trail, continue onto the W&OD (which celebrates its 50th birthday next weekend!!), and then take a right onto the Custis Trail. We'll run about 17 miles and all of them except the initial miles to get to the Arlington Loop will be on paved two lane bike paths!
Want Something Shorter? For around 15 miles, instead of coming back along Custis take the Bluemont Connector trail (which is a different bike trail about a mile before the turn for Custis). This will take you to Wilson Boulevard, which you can take into Court House and hop down to the park from there! Otherwise there are some options for more complex loops, but the least mentally taxing will definitely be an out and back. Turning around at the turn onto the Four Mile run will get you 11 miles and getting to the W&OD will run you 15.
Need a Longer Route? My personal favorite way to add onto the loop is to addan extra out and back along the W&OD before turning onto Custis, which allows you to get any number of extra miles. You can also add on along the Mount Vernon Trail both at the 6 mile mark and the 16 mile mark!
Thirsty? Thanks to Frank and Greg for mid-run drinks this week! They'll be at the start of the W&OD. Thank you also to Don for post run drinks! There are plenty of water fountains around the loop, including some under the metro near the airport at mile 5, at the start of the W&OD at 7.6, at the corner of Custis at 11.7, and just past W&L at 13.8.
Need a Bathroom? Like water fountains, there are some good options! There are plenty of portopotties at Gravelly Point at mile 3, though their cleanliness is always questionable. There are also some great ones at mile 10.6 near Bluemont park (both in the park and at the corner by the Caboose).
The next club race is the rescheduled Bastille Day 4-Miler now with less Bastille Day than ever! It'll be held on September 15th and 9 AM for a much cooler race than what was initially planned. We also need volunteers for this event, come get your Bunion Derby credit before it's too late! The Book Club also will be meeting next Sunday at 4 to discuss "Do Hard Things" by Steve Magness! Reach out to Eunja or Virginia for more information!
Happy Running!
Anna
Anna
