News

When Joel Frye tore his achilles tendon in early 2020, he expected a tough recovery and some challenges returning to his passion for running. What he wasn’t expecting was a global pandemic that affected his physical therapy, rehabilitation, work life and attitude toward training.

Frye, a 36-year-old Capitol Heights resident, had an excellent running year in 2019. He achieved his personal best in the Richmond Marathon — 3:29; he was looking forward to doing the Speed Project relay race; he had his sights set on qualifying to run the Boston Marathon. His running group, which had branched off from District Running Collective, had a solid foundation, some good momentum and big goals heading in to 2020.

Waldon Adams’ body went numb while the words poured from the physician’s mouth. As he sat aghast on a gurney in the emergency room at the Howard University Hospital, each word uttered by the doctor drove the invisible dagger deeper into his rapidly-beating heart.

To him, it just was not fair. While he admitted to routinely using freebase cocaine – cocaine dissolved by heat to be purified before use – for nearly two decades, he adamantly denied ever injecting the drug intravenously. But he said he did have an idea of how he contracted the deadly virus.

Spring is here along with signs of the season: blooming flowers, warmer temperatures and dwellings yearning to be cleaned.

Spring cleaning is an opportunity to purge and get organized, and runners may too find themselves trying to clear their homes of unneeded items such as old shoes, ill-fitting race shirts or shabby shorts. Some area organizations and business can help runners get rid of mementos gathering dust and help others in the process. (more…)