Charlie Ban is the Editor-in-Chief of RunWashington, the runner's source for the DC area.
They might not all be lining up on Monday morning, but any number of these 799 registrants from the Washington, D.C. area could be racing the Boston Marathon.
The final re-measurement of the Cherry Blossom race course determined that the rerouting caused the race distance to total 9.39 miles.
A traffic accident that was treated as a crime scene near the Kutz Bridge, less than 90 minutes before the elite women’s advanced start, forced the course to reroute from its path around the Tidal Basin, instead diverting near the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial on West Basin Drive and onto Ohio Drive. The alteration affected miles five and six.
Editor’s note: A version of this story published Sunday night indicated the course had been remeasured at 9.54 miles and bonuses would be paid. As of Monday morning, Race Director Phil Stewart said the course would be remeasured again and the plan to pay bonuses based on that measurement was off.
A morning traffic accident and resulting crime scene near the Kutz Bridge forced the Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run to cut roughly .61 miles from the course.
U.S. Park Police Sgt. Lelani Woods said the accident happened at 5:52 a.m., when a man on a motorcycle heading east on Independence Avenue struck a woman who was crossing the road near the bridge, away from a crosswalk. Woods said that portion of Independence Avenue, along with others in the area, were already closed in preparation for the race. The pedestrian, an “older woman” was transported to George Washington University Hospital, where she died April 21. Charges against the driver are pending.
Runners from Pennsylvania claimed top honors at the Bull Run 50 Miler Saturday in Clifton, Va., but when the first 100 finishers were counted, the entrants who identified with the South were the team champions. Of the 325 runners who started the race, 282 had finished roughly 13.5 hours after the 6:30 a.m. start.
In terms of the individual finishes, it was a testament to the collegial nature of ultra running that when Jim Blandford crossed the Bull Run 50 Miler finish line in first place, he credited the guy who won last year.
As important as discipline and determination can be when training for distance running, the trait that was most valuable to a lot of racers at Runners Marathon of Reston was adaptability.
[button-red url=”http://www.amazingracetiming.com/events/2015/runners-marathon-of-reston” target=”_self” position=”left”] Results [/button-red]Chris Compson adapted when, after 24 miles of just trying to improve on his personal best time, he found himself in a position to win the race, after his best finish to date being ninth place at the Toronto Marathon. He was on spring break from his job teaching English and coaching track at Pittsford-Mendon High School near Rochester, N.Y. and his 2:50:35 finishing time was agonizingly close to a PR.
The District of Columbia Recreational Trails Advisory Committee has three vacancies. The committee advises the mayor on trail planning and allocating funds for trail improvements projects from funding allocations made by […]
Generally, the best bets will be, once again, to stick to Beach Drive, Hains Point, the Custis Trail and parts of the Capital Crescent Trail. Word is that the Montgomery County section is clear, but I’ve heard nothing about the D.C. section.
I’ve taken most of the unconfirmed paths off the map. Comment or tweet @RunWashington if you have something to report.
(I completely had the wrong month in mind in the original title)
With Spring marathons approaching fast and people needing their last long run for the Rock ‘n’ Roll and Shamrock marathons, trails that aren’t in direct sunlight probably aren’t going to improve much before tomorrow or Sunday morning.
