Editor’s note: Five years ago, we published one of my favorite stories, and I wanted to share it with you here.
Matthew Hua relished his first season of cross country at J.E.B. Stuart High School (now Justice High School). With no prior athletic background, his 24-minute three mile time is a point of pride. Lifelong health problems have been an obstacle in his running career, but they haven’t stopped him from fully participating as part of the team — except maybe in the team dinners.
The Washington D.C. metropolitan region ranks near the top of most lists of things that cause stress — from traffic to cost of living, poverty, work demands and more. And since November, tensions have seemed to run higher than usual in the city, with the fate of federal jobs seemingly hanging in the balance. But you don’t have to buy a coloring book or move to Canada to feel better. Whatever your worries, locals in the know agree that running is a vital tool to care for yourself in stressful times.
Just ask Dr. Keith Kaufman, a runner and a clinical psychologist specializing in sport and exercise psychology. At his Northern Virginia practice, he works with high-performing athletes and beginners trying to develop exercise routines. He’s seen it all — student athletes pushing themselves to the breaking point, elites trying to achieve new heights in performance and of course the stereotypical Type-A D.C. professional whose day is scheduled down to the minute. A self-described Type A himself, Kaufman is an evangelist for running to manage stress or anxiety.
When Charles J. Colgan, Sr. High School opened last year, there were no championship banners hanging in the gymnasium. No trophies lined the trophy cases. No records existed to be broken by ambitious younger generations. Traditions, legends, the stuff of student mythology was yet to be written. So when administrators chose to field a varsity cross country program in the school’s first year, there was only potential before them.
They hired Dave Davis and Bill Stearns, two of the most accomplished coaches in local running, to build their team. Davis was a 2012 finalist for the Brooks Inspiring Coaches award and was inducted into the Virginia High School League Hall of Fame in 2011. He has won seven state titles to Stearns’s five. Stearns, for his part, has coached a Marine Corps Marathon winner, state and national champions, and All-Americans across his career. With Davis’s longtime assistant coach Melissa Tirone rounding out the leadership, they formed a kind of coaching dream team. Their task? Develop their athletes until they could challenge any of the other eleven schools in Prince William County.
Three years ago, we introduced the running community to Matthew Hua, a runner at J.E.B. Stuart High School who would not allow his unique medical condition slow him down. In the time since, Matthew has proven unstoppable. In fact, within four days, Matthew hosted a dinner for the many champions who’ve supported him and his family over the years, graduated from Stuart with an international baccalaureate diploma and underwent surgery to further improve his breathing capacity.
RunWashington caught up with Matthew and several of his champions to find out what has changed in his life since 2015, and how running has changed him.
Runners who enjoyed the mild start to May were reminded Wednesday morning that conditions can get uncomfortable and downright dangerous quickly. And more likely than not, tough temperature and humidity will be a factor for the next few months.
Nowhere was that more apparent than at the ACLI Capital Challenge in Anacostia Park, an annual three-mile race that gathers a collection of runners and non-runner colleagues, game for the competition, from the three branches of government and the media.
On Oct. 1, 2016, seven-year-old Lily Rancourt wore her Wonder Woman costume and brand new red sneakers with “hero” and “heart” on the tongues. With her family and friends, she braved cold and rain to toe the starting line for the Race for Every Child 5k in D.C.
At Lily’s urging, “We Don’t Miss a Beat” became the largest team at the race, and along the way, team members raised more than $18,000 for the Cardiology and Heart Fund at Children’s National Medical Center, making it one of the top fundraising teams, too.
Runners in the District can expect more miles of trails in the city in the next few years, as the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) prepares for the next phase of construction on the Metropolitan Branch Trail in northeast D.C. DDOT is seeking contractors to build the next off-road portion of the trail, from John McCormack Drive, near Catholic University in Brookland, to the Fort Totten Metro station in Upper Northeast D.C. Once that contractor is identified and work begins, they estimate the construction will be complete in 18 months. If the process goes smoothly, DDOT hopes to award the contract by Summer 2017.
Until this point, the route through this section of the trail has been largely on uneven, narrow sidewalks, past the pungent Fort Totten waste transfer station and up a steep incline. While runners may enjoy the hill training, bicyclists have long cited safety concerns on this stretch, as the sidewalks are not suited for riding and the grade of the hill makes it difficult to maintain a safe speed in the road.
Tensions run high in the D.C. region these days. The recent political transition has created uncertainty for federal workers and brought thousands of protesters into the streets, and all this lands on top of deepest winter and the other everyday stresses we all endure. Amid all this, one group of runners recently ran random acts of kindness through the city at the DC Capital Striders’ Random Acts of Kindness Run.
Heather Rosso, 46, of Reston, inspired and led the event, which featured a route planned by DCCS President Rick Amernick. On Jan. 26, Rosso and nine friends met to run a three-mile route through the Shaw and Bloomingdale neighborhoods of D.C. Along the way, they handed out more than 60 gifts–candy, toiletry packs, hats, gloves and even just kind words–to the people they encountered. Some they left out for passersby to find.
You probably know an ultrarunner, and not just the ones you read about in Born to Run. The sport has grown significantly in recent years as more marathoners ask what’s beyond 26.2 miles. In D.C., ultrarunners hide in plain sight, working for the government, opening donut shops, or practicing law. They infiltrate your road marathons, casually enjoying a bagel while you’re trying to stomach another gel. They’re your colleagues, your neighbors, your friends. And if you’ve been thinking about taking on these more extreme distances and conditions, they’re your best resource for getting into the sport.
The Marine Corps Marathon brings thousands of spectators to Washington D.C. and Arlington every October, all of whom just want to see their runner and enjoy their time in the nation’s capital. In 2014, we published a spectator’s guide of advice from our editor. This year, we asked local runners and their friends for their best advice to making the most out of that morning. Use this guide while developing your plan for the day to best support your runner and make the most of your morning!