Name: Molly Ritter
Self-described age group: 33
Residence: Arlington
Occupation: ICU Nurse
Volunteer roles in the running world: Volunteer Cross Country Coach at Yorktown High School
Why you run: With all of the races being cancelled this spring this is a question I have had to frequently ask myself. I run for the way it makes me feel on the good days and the bad. Running has always helped my mind find clarity. The other reason I have stuck with running for over 10 years is because of the wonderful people it has introduced me to along the way.
How has your running changed in the last four weeks: Besides not being able to run with friends/teammates I would say I’ve found new inspiration to run during this very strange and difficult time in our country. Running has allowed me a place to release physical and emotional stress after the long hours at the hospital during the pandemic.
New Marine Corps Marathon PR Coordinator Jheanel Walters talks about her adjustment to the job and how the MCM race series is adjusting to COVID-19.
With the Virginia outdoor track season canceled, the District Track Club is sponsoring a competition for high school teams to compile their training and performances, and will hold three competitions where time trials will be scored against each other at the end of the month. Learn more here. More detailed instructions are available here.
Arlington’s Mike Wardian ran 262.53 miles to win the Quarantine Backyard Ultra, a competition among runners completing 4.1667-mile loops every hour. He ran for 63 hours. More from Outside.
RunWashington contributor Kelyn Soong wrote in the Washington City Paper, where he is the sports editor, about people turning to running during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dan Frank hadn’t done the training he normally would have for an ultramarathon, and he didn’t have a route planned. There were some tough points during his run, which lasted nearly a day.
But the Columbia resident and Paint Branch High School math teacher had plenty to keep him going as he ran about 102 miles in a fundraiser for the Community Action Council of Howard County, which includes the Howard County Food Bank.
The idea came about when Frank and his wife were on a walk. Their daughters’ school, Phelps Luck Elementary, usually has a mobile food pantry available one day per month, he said. But now, schools are closed because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“In good times, about 40 families show up every time we have that mobile food pantry, and I can’t imagine what it would be like now, with how many people have lost their jobs and everything,” Frank said.
Name: Brian Kapur
Self-described age group: 31
Residence: Arlington
Occupation: Operations manager at a dental office and freelance journalist
Why you run: I run for the physical and mental health benefits. It helped me reverse several health problems and lose 65 pounds. In addition, the thrill of pushing myself beyond what I thought was possible.
When the Rock ‘n’ Roll D.C. Marathon, stripped of its permit in the face of D.C.’s state of emergency order, announced its postponement, it hit a lot of runners right as they were starting their tapers.
But not all were planning to wait for the Nov. 7 makeup date. They had a marathon on their calendars for March 28, and they were going to run a marathon on March 28.
Georgetown alumnus Jon Green, who coaches Olympic Marathon Trials runner-up Molly Seidel, tells the story of how he got into this situation.
New stay-at-home orders in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. carve out exceptions for outdoor exercise, which includes running. I’m sure I’m not the only person breathing a sigh of relief.
It’s up to runners to be responsible with this. In the grand scheme of things, running in a group isn’t as likely as most social activities to promote transmission of the coronavirus, but considering the ground runners cover, it’s a high profile activity that I worry could easily be seen as nonessential. It’s low-hanging fruit. And frankly, you should be doing everything you can to limit your exposure to other people.
Chicago closed its Lakefront Trail after it got too crowded. D.C. closed part of the Mall when people crammed the Tidal Basin to see the cherry blossoms. The D.C. Parks and Recreation Department just closed all of its facilities. In France, you can’t run more than 1.25 miles (they call it 2 kilometers) from your home. It’s not runners tipping the balance in most of those places, but let’s not change that.
Most of the sidewalks and trails around here aren’t wide enough to accomodate two people running side-by-side with approriate distance between them (and six feet is the minimum distance you should keep from people, anyway). Heck, Beach Drive is barely wide enough for that, given all the people out there on weekends. Run alone for a while.
