The patterns in the Virginia state cross country championships repeated almost as frequently as the pop music on the public address system.
By the time someone started wondering why Pink Floyd’s “Run Like Hell” didn’t make the mix, it was apparent: Dominant individual performances led to team victories.
Joe Divel took the enthusiasm that guided his training with him on marathon day.
“We tell the first timers, just enjoy it, it’s your first time,” said First Time Marathoner Coach Conroy Zien. The goal of the group’s six month training process is to gradually build up runners to marathon mileage, and give them the resources and support to get to the start line healthy. Zien, a veteran marathoner, and the other pace coaches, are personally invested in each runner getting the opportunity to experience the elation of completing a marathon. The plan paid off for Joe Divel, and many other FTM members at this year’s Marine Corps Marathon.
Amelia McKeithen didn’t go in for a rigid training plan that told her what days to run, when to cross-train, or what to eat. She knew back in March when she committed to running the Marine Corps Marathon as a fundraiser for The Children’s Inn at NIH that a structure like that would cramp her style.
If one thing has defined McKeithen’s approach to marathon training, it’s been having fun throughout the process. “Fun” isn’t always the first term that the average person, or even the above average runner, equates with preparing to run 26.2 miles consecutively. But McKeithen, a lifelong athlete, is always pushing her limits, and finding new ways to challenge herself physically and mentally. A competitive intensity is right beneath the surface with McKeithen, easily obscured by her easy smile and self-deprecating wit.
Nominate the Best of Washington Running 2016 through Dec. 31. The top six nominees will move on to final voting in January and February and winners will be announced in RunWashington‘s second issue of 2016.
Also, nominate the best running photo of 2015 by emailing [email protected] with a link to the photo.
Entrance to the main part of the zoo, and the Harvard Street bridge to North Road, will be will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and until 7 p.m. March 15-Oct. 5), a change from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. (7 p.m. in the middle of the year). The gates to the trail, which allows pedestrians to circumvent a nearby tunnel shared with cars, will remain open from dawn until dusk, a zoo spokeswoman said.
Taylor Knibb repeated as D.C.’s champion at Fort Dupont Park to kick off a slew of state meets over the next eight days of state meets for local cross country runners. She’ll also have a chance to defend her D.C./Maryland Private Schools championship next Saturday in Derwood, Md.; Virginia’s public schools have their state meet Friday and Saturday in The Plains; and Maryland’s public schools will face off Saturday at Hereford.
Though she faced scant competition on her way to a 71 -second victory in 19:32, an improvement over her meet record that left her wobbly-legged afterward, Knibb hammered the entire course, not with disregard for next week’s private school state meet, but with an eye toward it.
Read more about Will Etti here, here, here and here.
Will Etti completed the Marine Corps Marathon in 5 hours and 14 minutes, a 37 minute PR over last year’s effort. In last year’s Marine Corps Marathon effort, Etti hobbled through cramping through the later stages of the race, an experience that has been at the forefront of his mind since he began training for this year’s redemption six months ago.
Sunday’s 40th Marine Corps Marathon started out on the wrong foot when rain and unusually long, slow security lines frustrated thousands of runners, but fortunately, it’s not how you start a marathon, it’s how you finish.
The 23,217 finishers made it the third-largest in the race’s history, with 4,438 coming from the immediate D.C. area.
The Montgomery County Cross Country Championships were going to be lonely for Rohann Asfaw, so for a half mile, he relished the crowd.
He hung back early on, content to run the collective pace and eat up some ground on the 5k course at Bohrer Park in Gaithersburg.