Off the Beaten Path

Off the Beaten Path: Yellow Schoolhouse Road

Published March 27, 2021 at 2:00PM | Updated March 30, 2021 at 12:54PM

Looking west on Ebenezer Church Road at its intersection with Yellow Schoolhouse Road. Photo: Charlie Ban

Once in a while during the D.C. summers, you get a cool, dry day that makes you forget all of those squishy shoes and the necessity of pre-dawn long runs.

I got one in late July 2017, the same morning as I drove out to western Loudoun County to meet up with Ed Lull to shoot our magazine cover – the Loudoun Valley boys’ cross country team. Looking for a rolling dirt road, Joan Hunter pointed us to Yellow Schoolhouse Road, near Bluemont. It did the trick alright. We only drove about a mile out, but I liked what I saw. I also knew it was an hourlong drive for me from D.C., so I had better make sure it was going to be worth my time to go out there.

Long distance challenges motivate Germantown woman after preganancy losses

By Charlie Ban

Published March 23, 2021 at 3:00PM | Updated March 24, 2021 at 11:21AM

Erin Kelman and Kristen Serafin push through the Seneca Creek Greenway 50k March 13. Photo: Roman Gurule

When Kristen Serafin felt like a failure, running helped come back. Twice.

The first time, it was on a monthlong road trip with her now-fiancé Erin Kelman. The second time, when it was even more complicated, it gave her insight and an incentive to share her experience and strive to come out of it more motivated.

Off the Beaten Path: The Potomac Heritage Trail

By Charlie Ban

Published January 18, 2021 at 11:00AM | Updated January 19, 2021 at 4:40PM

You’ll never have a still enough day to see it quite that way, but the Potomac River is a mirror.

Celebrate National Wildlife Refuge week at the Patuxent Research Refuge

By Dustin Meeker

Published October 13, 2020 at 11:00AM | Updated October 13, 2020 at 3:44PM

If it wasn’t for the eastern screech owl with one bad eye, I might still be unaware of the Patuxent Wildlife Research Refuge’s North Tract and its many miles of undulating dirt roads, a mere 25 minutes south of my home in Baltimore. An unseasonably hot and humid day in October 2017 resulted in a shortened run at Greenbelt Park. My wife and I had driven south on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway intent on logging 90-minute runs on Greenbelt’s principal loop and adjacent athletic fields, but the conditions exacerbated our training fatigue. We decided to cut our losses make the most of the afternoon by exploring the area.

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Idled teacher uses time off to explore new trails

By Calesse Smith

Published March 24, 2020 at 11:00AM | Updated March 24, 2020 at 1:11PM

Kerry O'Brien prepares to explore Maryland's Muddy Branch Trail. Photo: Kerry O'Brien

When Kerry O’Brien woke up on Friday, March 13, she hadn’t expected to have an entire day free, because she’d been planning to go in to school to teach her 6th grade special education class. When she got the memo that her school would be closed for at least the next several weeks due to COVID-19, she seized the opportunity to tackle her bucket list of local trails. O’Brien set a goal to run a new trail every weekday she is out of school, which Governor Northam just announced will now be until the end of the school year in June.

O’Brien has an inspirational notebook where she keeps lists of places she wants to travel, books she wants to read, and of course, trails she’d like to run. When she first moved to the DC area from upstate New York in 2012, she craved community, so she joined a Meet-Up group that met every Saturday morning at Teddy Roosevelt Island for long runs.

Off the Beaten Path: Neabsco Creek

By Calesse Smith

Published December 30, 2019 at 11:00AM

The Neabsco Creek Boardwalk. Photo: Myla Neal

As a new resident of the Woodbridge and Occoquan River region, I was eager to explore what the local running trails had to offer this past summer. On one early morning run in June, I passed a freshly paved blacktop trail veering off from the sidewalk along Rippon Blvd., which hadn’t been there the week before.

I followed the trail for a few minutes to discover a spacious parking lot and a playground. As I continued, I came around a bend in the trail to discover a wide, pristine boardwalk winding like a serpent over Neabsco Creek and the surrounding wetlands.

Trail races are chill, but you know what’s even more chill? A “Fat Ass”

By Sara Davidson

Published November 18, 2019 at 11:00AM | Updated November 18, 2019 at 1:06PM

Trail races are already pretty chill, but those looking to take low-key to an even lower level should go find a Fat Ass.

Fat Ass events are free, loosely organized group runs that focus on trail community and camaraderie over competition. Depending on the organizer, races will sometimes have aid, sometimes swag, and sometimes course markings, but an entry “fee” is always a donation of food or drinks to a communal aid station.

Ultra runners share their lessons from the trails

By Sara Davidson

Published September 9, 2019 at 11:00AM | Updated September 9, 2019 at 12:45PM

Bernedette Kilcer says to dress for what works for you, not someone else, when prepping for an ultra. Photo: Courtesy of Bernedette Kilcer

My first ultramarathon was supposed to be the North Face 50K in September of 2009.

My actual first ultra was the Rosaryville 50K that July. Then the Catoctin 50K in August. Then The North Face 50K in September.

Follow the roots of some of the D.C. area’s trail race directors

By Sara Davidson

Published August 19, 2019 at 11:00AM | Updated August 19, 2019 at 11:45AM

Pictured with Tracey Dahl is Furbutt, the VHTRC mascot, who she bought for the 25th Women’s Half Marathon in 2017.

Putting on a race is no small task.

Race directing usually involves hours (and hours) of prep work to scout course routes, secure permits, find and order materials on time, and coordinate an army of volunteers. Not to mention scrambling to make last-minute adjustments for terrible weather or missing volunteers.

When preparation pays off: The Old Dominion 100

By Sara Davidson

Published July 15, 2019 at 1:00PM | Updated July 15, 2019 at 3:01PM

Sara Davidson cruises through mile 29 of the Old Dominion 100. Photo: Karsten Brown

During the pre-race brief, organizers of the Old Dominion 100-Mile Endurance Run described the race as a battle of the runner against the course against the clock.

Runners have to conquer 100.01 miles of all types of terrain, 14,000 feet of elevation gain, all in Virginia‘s oppressive early June heat and humidity. To count as a finisher, they must complete the course in less than 28 hours; but those who want to go home with a coveted silver belt buckle must do so in less than 24.