The Fall Backyard Burn Trail Running Series wrapped up Dec. 1 at Hemlock Overlook Regional Park in Clifton.
The race attracted local cross country runners and trail running aficionados. Runners in the 5.5 mile and 10.3 mile race encountered rugged conditions, with a few small patches of ice thrown in for good measure. The course took runners through hiking trails (including the Bull Run-Occoquan Trail), open fields, and dirt roads by the Occoquan River and Popes Head Creek.
If anyone knew what the Footlocker Cross Country Championships were all about, it was Sean McGorty.
In 2011, as a Chantilly High School junior, he earned a trip to San Diego with a sixth place finish in the south regional meet. He had heard all about the race from Ahmed Bile, an Annandale Atom making his second trip. Two of his high school mentors who ran for Chantilly, Brad Siragusa and Eric Post, were Footlocker veterans with plenty of advice. As proud as they all were, nobody was quite as thrilled that he’d be staying at the Hotel del Coranado as his mother. And it wasn’t just because she was proud of her son.
Tyler Andrews, 23, registered last-minute for the Drumstix Dash 8k while visiting family for Thanksgiving in the D.C. area.
Although the temperatures were a far cry from what he’s used to while living in Quito, Ecuador, Andrews took first place overall in Saturday’s race with a time of 28:02.
Thanksgiving, a day organized around gatherings, started with a cold race for thousands of people. More than 10,000 registered runners preceded any pie with the SOME (So Others Might Eat) Trot for Hunger.
For many participants, the 5k embodied the essence of the holiday.
Sometimes it’s good to be a local running king.
It comes with the perks of using your influence to throw a community race and help raise money for your children’s preschool.
What might be better than a crowd of eager runners hungry for a win? Simple: a crowd of eager runners racing to feed the hungry!
Saturday, November 23, marked the second year that Columbia Baptist Church in Falls Church held its Spend Yourself 5k along the W&OD trail. For runners and organizers alike, this community race holds a clear sense of running for a purpose.
Even after 50 miles of running, Zach Miller was still happy to be out on the JFK 50 Mile course.
For a guy who spends five months at a time at sea, the latest champion of the east coast’s big fall ultramarathon doesn’t take any time on land for granted. Miller, not to be confused with  2003 runner up Zachariah Miller, is based in Columbia, Pa., but that’s just a place his junk mail shows up while he’s on the boat.  Results
From global to local, the .US National Road Racing Championships in Alexandria, Va. catered to runners of all skill-levels. The race not only featured 30 Olympian and world-class athletes, but also included a community 12k. While many competitors did not have their sights on a new world record like Molly Huddle did when she broke through the tape with a time of 37:50, runners looked forward to competing in a new distance that guaranteed 12k newbies a personal record.
Among the several hundred runners who clenched a 12k personal record was Alexandria City Council Member Justin Wilson and Del. Rob Krupicka, who represents Virginia’s 45th District. Usually rolling out of bed on Sunday mornings to run together, they competed with hundreds of their constituents and a number of world champions all in one race—and in the same town they both represent in public office.
Season after season, on the track, on the roads – at one national championship after another – Aaron Braun has been in the mix, establishing himself as one of the top distance runners in the country.
Braun, 26, broke through to the top this morning on the streets of Alexandria – taking firm control at the 10k mark of the .US National Road Racing Championships to win his first national title. Results