Any runner who understands the basics of delayed gratification — a principal so central to this sport — could appreciate the Leesburg 20k’s new course, now in its second year. The rolling hills on Dry Mill Road are gone, replaced by a long, grinding grade on the W&OD Trail, one that snuck up on South Riding’s Tatiana Sheptock.
“My eyes wouldn’t see it, but my legs felt it,” she said. “It definitely felt a lot better on the way back.”
It wasn’t Metro accessible, there weren’t bands every mile and the race might not have had the panache of a national series, but sure enough, a marathon went off Saturday morning in Northern Virginia.
The inaugural Runner’s Marathon of Reston and accompanying half marathon took charge of the streets and trails in a race that billed itself as being “designed by runners, for runners.”
May is the month of maybe. It may be really hot (2009). It may be real humid (2010). Or it may be both (2011). Running is still booming so the field drew 25% more than last year race for the two events, 5K and 10K. The awards expanded out to two deep in ten year age groups.
Before the race Bernie Gallagher, 70, proudly announced he would be running the 5K with his granddaughters. Gallagher, always near the top of his division when healthy, claims he has recovered from an injured humerus (like he needs an arm to run a race), and will soon be mounting a charge for the division crown. He allowed Greer to step on the ChronoTrack mats a second ahead of him. Her older sister Taitumn jetted on ahead to finish eighth overall in 24:11.