If you’re hoping to catch some looks in Georgetown, hop behind the wheel of race organizer Jay Wind’s maroon Ford Aerostar XLT van. I did in 2011, for a spin around M Street and Wisconsin Avenue. It handled well enough, but what mattered was inside. Enough equipment to manage a road race, or have a lot of fun on the lam:
On back-to-back weekends, local high school distance runners performed well at Virginia’s state meets and the national outdoor championships.
The top performance at New Balance Outdoor Nationals in Greensboro, N.C. June 13-15 came from West Springfield’s distance medley relay team, which ran 11:39.45 to win thanks to performances by Katie Kennedy, Michelle Lipka, Reagan Bustamante and Caroline Alcorta, who lowered their 11:51.45. Lake Braddock was third at 11:52:17. The Spartans were also third in the 4×800 at 8:58.32, and Poolesville was 27th in 9:31.67. In the girls 4xmile, Lake Braddock finished 23rd in 21:33.87.
History buffs might outnumber runners in D.C., but the National Park Service ranger runs blend the two popular aspects of capital culture.
“What a great concept,” said Russell Briggs, of Syracuse, N.Y. He’s in town for a project with the U.S. Forest Service, and he saw the sign for the run on his walk home from work.
Finding out the best aspects of the Washington running scene is harder than one would expect. Generally, the top few vote-getters in each category separated themselves from the rest of the field, but there were a few blowouts. Most voters agreed that the C&O Canal Towpath was the best natural surface trail, the Jingle All the Way 8k was the top race in the winter (though it’s technically before the solstice). Cherry Blossom wins top spring race and, like it was ever a question, the Marine Corps Marathon dominated the fall races.
Thank you to everyone who nominated their favorites and then voted for them. I hope that when out-of-towners voted, and I know several did, that they got a good look at what we have to offer in Washington and suburban Maryland and Virginia. I don’t think I speak out of turn when I say it’s all pretty great.
Freedom Plaza was a sea of purple June 14 for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network’s Purple Strides 5k. With little humidity and a light breeze, the weather was perfect for thousands of runners and walkers to make their way down Pennsylvania Avenue.
[button-red url=”http://www.zippyraceresults.com/search.php?ID=4043″ target=”_self” position=”left”] 5k Results [/button-red]Griffin Mackey, 16, of Pittsburgh easily won the race, crossing the finish line in under 17 minutes. Just coming off his track season at Sewickley Academy, Mackey broke away from the field after the first mile and ran unchallenged for the rest of the race. Brian Mahoney of Washington, D.C. finished second.
Colleen Smith showed up at Covington and Burling ready to put her legal studies to work as a summer associate. She found out pretty quickly that the partners were also interested in her background in distance running. She ran track at the College of Idaho.
“Alan Pemberton told me on my first day I’d be running on the Lawyers Have Heart team,” she said. “The firm is pretty serious about it.”
Dan DiFonzo is a public relations professional who has been writing for RunWashington, usually about his native Montgomery County, since 2014. That includes a tribute to friend and fellow coach Mike Broderick, published earlier this year. Read more of his work here
Name: Dan DiFonzo
Age group world record
Falls Church’s Reinhardt Harrison broke an age group record for 10-year-olds at the Alexandria Running Festival Half Marathon May 25, running 1:35:02 to eclipse Noah Bliss’ 1:37:15, set three weeks earlier. U.S. athletes hold 17 of 85 single-age records for the half marathon, which are kept by the Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Harrison set a world record for 10-year-olds at 10 miles at the Cherry Blossom Ten Mile in April, running 1:11:24.
Carl Klein woke up one night to a police officer knocking on the window of his Ford Explorer. He was parked in a lot right off the highway, and the officer told him he couldn’t sleep there. Carl started his car, drove to another location and fell asleep again.
He was 17 years old.
A lot of federal and media employees found out what their coworkers looked like in shorts at the ACLI Capital Challenge.
[button-red url=”http://www.capitalchallenge.com/2001_cabinet/history2001.html” target=”_self” position=”left”] Results [/button-red]The annual three-mile run, a staple of many offices in Washington, featured strong individual performances from the Executive Branch, with Coast Guard’s Patrick Fernandez edging House aide Paul Balmer, and Erin Taylor of the General Services Administration outlasting Rachel Beckmann, another Coast Guard team member. The out-and-back course in Anacostia Park featured a slight headwind after the turnaround. Both Fernandez and Taylor train with the Capital Area Runners. Balmer lead Rep. Earl Blumenauer‘s (D-Ore.) Red White and Blumenauer team to the House championship for the fifth consecutive year.