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
