Chip time doesn’t mean a thing while chasing an Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier. It was going to be up to Rachel Viger to hurry across the starting line at the California International Marathon, then run the 26.2 miles even faster than the 2:45:00 qualifying time.
She wound up taking 12 seconds to get across the starting line because she didn’t make the elite start, coming into the Dec. 8 race with just a 3:03:59 personal best, set a year before at the Marine Corps Marathon. From that alone, running under 2:45, plus those extra seconds, would seem daunting. But she did it, with 46 seconds to spare.
“She was a 3:03 marathoner but she wasn’t really a 3:03 marathoner,” said Capital Area Runners Coach George Buckheit. “It looks shocking to a lot of people, but most people don’t realize how good she was in high school and college.”
Running along the C&O Canal Towpath last fall, Dan Meteer bumped into Arlingtonians Mike Crozier and Clint McKelvey. Typically a solo runner, Meteer joined them, and listened to the two discuss a friend’s marathon training.
By Meteer’s retelling, they expressed skepticism their friend was running enough to help him break 2:19 and qualify him for the Olympic Marathon Trials. Approaching his own debut marathon at California International a few months later, Meteer, 24, was eager to hear their opinions, then horrified.
“I’m just like oh god, they’re basically talking about me,” he said. “I decided, ‘screw it, I’m going to run 100 miles a week.'”
It was a risky move for a guy who spent most of five years at Brown going from injury to injury, still new to having consecutive months’ worth of training. But the gamble paid off, and he ran 2:17:43 in his first marathon.
Do you want want to start 2020 with a race? Establish a standard for running for the new year? Lean into the punch after a New Year’s Eve party? Want to enjoy some unseaonable warmth? Do you just want to run with some other people? A variety of races and running events are yours for the striding, and three – The New Year’s Day 5k in Reston, the New Year’s Day 5k in Gaithersburg and the Predicitions and Resolutions 5k – are among RunWashington’s 2020 ranked races.
Name: Tyler Eckhoff
Self-described age group: 30-34
Residence: Alexandria
Occupation: 6th/7th grade history and science teacher in the International Academy at Francis C. Hammond Middle School (ACPS) and boys’ long distance coach for T.C. Williams High School (cross country, indoor track and field, and outdoor track and field)
Why you run: This is a very loaded question. I could answer it differently every time I’m asked. Right now I’ll say for me running is nostalgic and uplifting. It’s hard to be in a bad mood post-run.
When did you get started running: I ran 400’s and the 4X100 my junior year of high school but moved to bigger and better distances my senior year. I have been running since.
Have you taken a break from running: After every marathon, I take about a month off to focus on pizza consumption. I also catch up on things that I have let running prioritize over leading up to the marathon, but mainly I eat pizza.
With two 10th place teams at Nike Cross Nationals, another individual qualifier and two girls in the top 20 at Foot Locker, the annual report for the D.C. area’s cross country circuit was quite strong. Loudoun Valley’s girls return much of their team, as do Lake Braddock’s girls, Oakton’s boys, Walter Johnson’s girls and St. John’s boys and girls. The season lacked 2018’s rain-related meet cancellations, and on a personal note, I was pleased to have state meets on three consecutive weekends, rather than two in one day.
Their pant cuffs still soaked with mud from a season that barely gave them time to dry off, our coaches panel of John Ausema Jim Ehrenhaft, Emily Farrar, Kevin Hughes, Mike Mangan, Kellie Redmond, Giovanni Reumante, Chris Pellegrini, Chad Young all had input into the selection of post-season honors for 62 of the D.C. area’s top cross country runners. While races at the end of the season held the most weight, the coaches did not discount mid-season achievements.
They chose the top 10 boys and girls overall, along with second teams — seven each from — Northern Virginia, Washington, D.C. and the Maryland suburbs.
I’ve begun moving our photos from cross country races (there are a few college and open races in there too) and road races to a SmugMug page – you can see them here. You can also read all of this season’s cross country coverage here.
See all the post-season picks for Maryland Washington, D.C. Northern Virginia
Virginia saw individual and team sweeps of the 4A and 6A divisions, with Loudoun Valley defending its titles, West Springfield boys winning their first title since 1995 and Lake Braddock girls ending their one-year title drought. Loudoun Valley nearly matched its 1-5 sweep from 2017, and Oakton’s all-underclassman team came close to upsetting the Spartan boys. The Bruins’ surprise competition came from John Champe, which made a brief stay in 6A before being divded up after redistricting next year.
See all the post-season picks for All-RunWashington Maryland Washington, D.C.
I’ve begun moving our photos from cross country races (there are a few college and open races in there too) and road races to a SmugMug page – you can see them here. You can also read all of this season’s cross country coverage here.
Suburban Maryland saw Northwood’s boys repeat as Montgomery County champions and state runners-up with a new cast and Walter Johnson’s girls fight back to the top three in the state, lead by Jenna Goldberg’s comeback year, but also a team-best finish by the Montgomery Blair boys.
See all the post-season picks for All-RunWashington Washington, D.C. Northern Virginia
I’ve begun moving our photos from cross country races (there are a few college and open races in there too) and road races to a SmugMug page – you can see them here. You can also read all of this season’s cross country coverage here. Read More
With a young team already realizing success, St. John’s figures to be a force in D.C., though Gonzaga wasn’t ready to concede the boys’ title just yet. The girls, on the other hand, avenged a state meet loss in 2018 to Woodrow Wilson. Cullen Capuano ran away for the boys’ win, but Georgetown Visitation sophomore kicked away from St. John’s freshman Meredith Gotzman for the girls’ title.
See all the post-season picks for All-RunWashington Maryland Northern Virginia
I’ve begun moving our photos from cross country races (there are a few college and open races in there too) and road races to a SmugMug page – you can see them here. You can also read all of this season’s cross country coverage here.
Name: Molly Allen
Self-described age group: 35-39
Residence: D.C.
Occupation: Housing Program Specialist at HUD
Volunteer roles in the running world: I love volunteering at races when I’m not participating. I pride myself on my aggressive cheering as a volunteer. I’m really excited to be volunteering at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in Atlanta at the end of February!
Why you run: Because I love running. I don’t think I can explain it better than this quote by Martin Fritz Huber from Outside Magazine- “Running has always given me a sense of joy and time well spent. It’s one of those rare pursuits where, while engaged, I’m never beset by the feeling that I should probably be doing something else.”
If David Sullivan meets someone and tells them he’s a runner, they invariably ask him if he does marathons.
He blanches.
“To them it’s like nothing else exists,” he said. “But I get it.”
Not so for Sullivan and the members of his Athletics East Track Club who will race at the USATF National Club Cross Country Championships this Saturday at Lehigh University.
Of the 16 masters runners who will compete for the club’s teams, 14 are D.C.-area locals, and Sullivan, of Kingstowne, hopes to keep giving runners over 40 a life beyond the marathon grind.
He found West Springfield resident Bob Briggs at Burke Lake one weekend earlier this year, during the club’s weekly Saturday run.
“David came up to me and said, ‘Hey, you look like a pretty fast old guy – want to run with us?'” Briggs said. Briggs is 62 and shooting for a sub-3 at the Houston Marathon in January. Soon enough, Briggs became a member of Athletics East, which Sullivan managed and coached while living in his native Boston, then revived in 2018.
