RunWashington Winter 2017 by RunWashington Magazine

Cover: Two-time Marine Corps Marathon winner, five-time Olympic Trials qualifier Darrell General at the George C. Marshall High School track, where he coaches cross country and track. RunWashington photo by Doug Stroud

PHOTO BY BORDER STAN; COURTESY OF FLICKR

EDITORâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S NOTE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . OFF THE BEATEN PATH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MILITARY RUNNING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DARRELL GENERAL: THE WORKING MAN . . . . PICKED LAST FOR KICKBALL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DNF: DID NOT FALTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LONGTIME COACH-ATHLETE RELATIONSHIPS WHY RUN? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DIVISION III RUNNING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MONUMENTAL RUNNERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . STRAVA KINGS AND QUEENS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CELEBRATE RUNNING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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WINTER 2017/2018 PUBLISHER Kathy Dalby RunWashington Media LLC EDITOR IN CHIEF Charlie Ban charlie@runwashington.com SENIOR EDITOR Dickson Mercer dickson@runwashington.com COPY EDITOR Katie Bolton CREATIVE / PRODUCTION AZER CREATIVE www.azercreative.com PHOTO BY KERRY ALLEN/SLICK BANANA PHOTOGRAPHY

I think it was 2008, when I was visiting D.C. to run Marine Corps, that I picked up a tabloid running magazine and saw an ad for Metro Run & Walk. Among the shoe and apparel offerings, it touted that Darrell General worked there. I was excited to meet him, and have enjoyed the last few years of watching his athletes at George Marshall, his main running focus these days, run some great races under his tutelage. Reading Dickson Mercer’s story about him, starting on page 13, floored me when I realized how much he juggled in his prime, all the while winning the Marine Corps Marathon and qualifying for five Olympic marathon trials. His manner and personality demonstrated to me how he was able to push on with the miles and races he was running, all the while working several jobs. He moves forward with the momentum of someone who knows there’s nothing to be gained by getting stuck in the past. There’s just no time, it seems, if you want to accomplish all you set out to do, and its a perspective I know I could use more of. Speaking of Marine Corps, stop me if I’ve told this story before, but back in 2010, I licked my sweaty wounds from a hot Chicago Marathon and, on the delirious encouragement of my friend Pokey, decided to try MCM as a rebound. In the end, chills in the last few miles made me miserable and I decided, with exactly a mile to go, that if I tried to force that last mile, three weeks after I had already completed a marathon, I might hate running. I was then and am now fine with my DNF - did not finish - and it didn’t hurt my confidence and indeed preserved my passion for the sport. Last year, when heat exhaustion with four miles to go in Grandma’s Marathon told me I would prove nothing by slugging it out, but the risk to my health was enough to tell me I was making the right call. Beth Roessner looks at a few runners’ bouts with the DNF condition, starting on page 22, and I see a lot to appreciate in their circumstances and rationales for ending their races. Finally, I got it in my head to write about Division III running (page 37) while researching where some of our All-RunWashington honorees had continued their running careers. As I tend to do in these situations, my search radius grew and before I knew it, I was scanning every roster in the country, no matter how far-flung, trying to find some kid from D.C. who found his or her way out to a school I didn’t know existed. I saw big teams, teams that finish among Division I teams at big meets, and one team that had three guys in its photo - one 5’1”, one 5’10” and another 6’2”. I found nearly 200 local runners who are continuing with the sport even when there’s much more to college than running. And everyone I talked to said that’s exactly why they loved their experiences, because running fit into their larger life in a way that more closely resembles professional life - balanced among other pursuits without drawing away from them. I think they’re onto something!

SALES DIRECTOR Denise Farley denise@runwashington.com 703-855-8145 CUSTOMER SERVICE office@runwashington.com BRANDING ORANGEHAT LLC The entire contents of RunWashington are copyright ©2016 by RunWashington Media, LLC. All rights reserved, and may not be reproduced in any manner, in whole or in part, without the written permission of the publisher. Unsolicited manuscripts, photographs, results, or other materials are welcome but are not returnable and are preferred via electronic communication to charlie@ runwashington.com. Please inform yourself of applicable copyright and privacy laws before submitting for publication; if we decide to publish your submitted material we conduct no such checks and you alone will ultimately be responsible for any violations of any laws including infringement and copyright. Views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the publisher, advertiser, or sponsors. Back issues are available for $5.00 for each copy to cover postage and handling. RunWashington is published four times yearly by RunWashington Media LLC, 4544 Eisenhower Avenue, Alexandria, VA 22304. Complimentary copies are mailed to subscribers, area businesses and events. Be advised that running is a strenuous sport and you should seek the guidance of a medical professional before beginning an exercise regimen.

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See you out there, good luck at Marine Corps, Charlie - charlie@runwashington.com 2 | RUNWASHINGTON | RUNWASHINGTON.COM | WINTER 2017/2018

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A handful of deer scatter as Jerry Greenlaw crests the hill leading to Our Lady of Perpetual Help church in Southeast D.C.’s Anacostia, and we slow to a stop in the meadow that begins at the end of the parking lot. Washington D.C. unfolds in layers ahead of us. Chartreuse weeds lead into the shadowed greens of a forest that yields in turn to the Anacostia River. The Washington Monument and Capitol anchor the city’s tier in this scene, which ends with the castle-like silhouette of the National Cathedral on the far, dark horizon. A rosy haze washes over everything because running at 6 a.m. in the first week of August means you beat the sunrise but not the glow. A few blocks down the road, we lope into the planted world and withdraw from both the city and the light. Greenlaw runs this trail almost every week, and his knowledge of the stories that seep through these southeast D.C. woods demonstrates that the elementary P.E. teacher would thrive in a history classroom. “I got into Civil War history while I was growing up,” he says after the run. “I always like to know what happened around me and the history of any place I’ve lived.” In 1860, a total of zero significant fortifications guarded the immediate capital neighborhoods. The closest protection sat more than 10 miles south of the city. However, a construction boom followed the first major military engagement of the war, the Battle of Bull Run/Manassas in summer 1861. Both sides arrived with inexperienced soldiers. Confederate forces carried out a convincing victory that served notice to President Abraham Lincoln and Union generals that the war would not feature a timely, tame conclusion. “The deer always sit on this ridge,” Greenlaw says in mid-stride. “I had a staredown with a deer once. It wouldn’t move off the trail.” We zig-zag the path down one hill and swoop up the next rise. “In the winter, you can see the Capitol through the trees,” Greenlaw says. Forested promontories and river bluffs surrounded the city of 60,000 or so at the time, a population less than one-tenth of its current size. These natural elevated areas provided the starting point for John Barnard, chief engineer for designing D.C.’s protections. Barnard aimed to keep Confederate troops from claiming the landmarks of democracy. “It is scarcely necessary to dwell upon the necessity… of holding and defending Washington,” Barnard wrote after the war. He surmised that such an event would embolden foreign governments to aid the Confederacy and create the kind of psychological ruin the British wrought when they burned D.C. in the War of 1812. Union troops armored D.C. with 68 forts by the end of the war, and the National Park

Service (NPS) now manages the remnants that ring the city. The route we’re running traces a line near five forts included in the NPS unit called the Civil War Defenses of Washington. Another herd of deer scatter in this parkland. One galloped at us before it clipped into the sparse undergrowth. The softly crunching crushed gravel and dirt path—what Greenlaw and his Georgetown Running Club teammates call The Ramble—crosses several roads. We must mimic deer to the people driving cars. Pop out of the forest. Disappear back into the trees. A flash of neon shorts substitutes for the white flag of a deer’s tail. Not a surrender, but a see-you-later, as gravity fuels another set of surges and climbs. Common sense dictates that armies build their forts on the highest ground, but that topographic advantage from a century and a half ago costs the modernday visitor. The trail is free, but the hills command their fees. Slopes downward require timbers laid perpendicular across the footpath to keep rock and earth from sliding away, which mostly works except for a hole that could have swallowed either of us. We cruise up one of the gentler inclines to a reminder of why we call the forest canopy a crown. Early sun burnishes the deep-summer green of the leaves overhead into a golden shimmer. “In the spring,” Greenlaw announces over his shoulder, “these mountain laurel are all in bloom.” After a few moments of lightness in feet, legs and mind, we plunge again into the shade. “Let’s bang a hard right here,” Greenlaw instructs. His guidance allows me to disengage my minds. I don’t need to track the time or measure progress. What’s behind fades to irrelevance, in this case obscured by trees or curves in the trail, the only elements more numerous than hills. As in life, the best and only option lies ahead. But life doesn’t move as fast as Jerry Greenlaw, and I haven’t put in the tempo mileage to keep up with the 2:26 marathoner. Greenlaw maintains his training on streets, but with 10 runs each week, he estimates four are off-road, especially any easy days. “Get your mind off your splits or your Garmin and focus on recovering,” he says after The Ramble. “When you’re on the trails a lot, it convinces you to throw your watch away a little bit, let your body go slower, take in the aesthetic appeal of nature.” Read this story online at www. runwashington.com for a detailed map of “the Ramble.”

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ANTONIO EPPOLITO finishing the 2016 Air Force 10k. PHOTO BY MARATHON FOTO

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Antonio Eppolito has done what amounts to a world-class training tour while serving in the U.S Air Force. Colorado Springs, Hawaii, Albuquerque. Germany. All of which complemented his lifelong loves of medicine and running. “Most doctors in the Air Force are in the Air Force because we took the scholarship money,” he said of his medical school financing. “They just kept dangling really sweet assignments in front of me. At every turn, I kept reupping and the next thing you know, it’s been 23 years.” Now a Lieutenant Colonel, he’s a family physician who also serves as chief of Air Force Telehealth to the Air Force Surgeon General’s Office. And, at 49, he is a standout master’s runner. “I posted most of my PRs when I was in my late 20s and early 30s, but my age graded times convert to faster than I was running back then,” he said. “That tells me two things: I am aging well, and my PRs were soft.” Most of that softness, though, comes from position to which running was relegated when Eppolito was in his prime. “I was burning it at both ends,” he said. “I was a hospitalist, I was working 108 hours a week, I was on call, I was eating junk. I was never really focused, fit and rested.” After residency in D.C., Eppolito lived in increments. First, Turkey. “I felt like I was the only runner in the entire country.” Then, Germany “The groomed forest trails are spectacular.” From there, it was three years in Colorado

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Springs, at the U.S. Air Force Academy. “That was probably the best running ever,” he said. “I was introduced to the mountains. It was all trails, all the time. I was probably the best shape of my life, for three years I was doing all my runs at 6,000 feet.” But like running progression, military careers don’t always follow linear trajectories. He was sent to Iraq. Seemingly the counterpoint to Colorado. “That was the worst place to run,” he said. “All of my mountain training went to pot.” His miles of trails were replaced by a loop around a flight line, 14 miles at a time, after working 12 hours in the base’s emergency room. “It got down to 100 degrees at midnight, so I would do my loops wearing my flack jacket.” His fortunes turned up again, with three years at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. He went from a desert to a rain forest environment, running muddy trails with goggles tucked into his waistband, ending nearly every run with a swim in the ocean. “I’d go a mile out, a mile back and come back refreshed,” he sad. When his time there was up, he was stationed at a VA hospital in Albuquerque. “It was like being back in Colorado,” he said. “That was the winter encampment for World class athletic team.” While there, Eppolito turned 40 and began what he termed “his renaissance.” After enjoying most of a decade training in glorious locales, and racing for the Air Force team, the clock started to catch up to him. Demoralized by the incremental drops in his once-youthful resilience, he started doing the

things he should have done all along. “I eat much better, I sleep better, I have a much better lifestyle in terms of workload,” he said. “Before I was a milage hound, I’d go out run long hard and fast all the time for 70, 80 miles a week. Now I do half that.” He lives in Alexandria now, and he avoids pavement to the point of driving every few days just to get on trails. “That’s the drawback to living here,” he said. “There are natural surfaces, but they take a while to reach.” He cross-trains and spends recovery days running mindless loops of a soccer field, barefoot. “I can still run hard, I’m still a little fast, but I don’t have the recovery,” he said. “I don’t bounce back in 24 hours. I need three or four days to recover, and I’m racing once a month, not twice a week.” “Age grading is a small consolation but it keeps me going,” he said. On top of peak races like the Army TenMiler and Dayton’s Air Force Half Marathon (or as of the last two years, 10k) he hits many of the D.C. Road Runners’ Frostbite and Bunion Derby series races for longer workouts. He prides himself on keeping his mileand-a-half time, the standard test for Air Force personnel, below 8:00, which puts him at 5:20 pace. He, along with Mark Cucuzzella, who was featured in the Winter 2016 MIlitary Running, developed the Air Force Efficient Running plan for outfitting and training recruits, most of whom have likely had little training in running, to reduce injury when it becomes a heavy part of their training routine.

“My two passions have been medicine and running,” and that project has been a great way to blend them. Aside from his family practice, for the past six years Eppolito has led development of the Air Force’s telemedicine imaging archive, which stores data from personnel spread among 75 bases worldwide. “With a reach like that, it’s the largest teleradiology archive in the world,” he said. “Universities also have large archives, but nothing like that.” Telemedicine allows specialists to interpret diagnostic imaging from anywhere in the world, granting service members in distant postings the same care as if they were in the same room. “You don’t have to have all of the manpower at forward remote location,” he said. “It’s the future, and growing by leaps and bounds.” He still races on Air Force teams, but with many teammates competing at half his age, he’s lower on the depth chart. Scoring in the Active Duty Masters category for the Fort Myer team at the Army Ten-Miler, run three days after this magazine goes to print, is his primary goal for the year. Eppolito marvels at the speed of his younger Air Force teammates, particularly Ben Payne (2:18:37 for 17th at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials) and Matt Williams, who also qualified for the trials. “Our top guys are faster than Mark and I ever were,” he said. “They’re not running in a fancy setup like the Army’s guys (including four Olympians). “ The Air Force guys are just regular guys who do the same thing I do: sneak out on their lunch hour to squeeze in a run.

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“I really gave up money, because I definitely was in 2:12 shape. But to me, the win will last a lifetime. Me running Chicago and getting $8,000 or $10,000— nobody’s going to remember that. I wanted the MCM win on my resume.”

BY DICKSON MERCER

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Darrell General is used to operating on a tight schedule. Thirty years ago, when he qualified for his first of five U.S. Olympic marathon trials at the Marine Corps Marathon, General was training hard and working harder at multiple jobs. Today, General, 51, is right on time for a 4 p.m. interview for the Pace the Nation podcast. As long as we get this done in 45 minutes, he’ll still have enough time to drive over to George Marshall High School in Falls Church, Va. to set up a cross country course for tonight’s pre-season time trial. General has been head coach there since 2002. Here in Arlington’s Studio 1A, as it’s called, I’m subbing for house jokemaker Docs, joined by his two podcast co-hosts: Pacers Running Owner Chris Farley and Pacers D.C. Manager Joanna Russo. General’s story has been on my mind lately as I encounter how difficult it can be to balance fatherhood (my son recently turned 1) with my running goals. After talking to General, I know I’ll have no excuses. You see, when General was running his best, he often went from a graveyard shift at a grocery store to a morning shift at a running store to an afternoon coaching job. Always, he found a way to train. Less often, he slept. General just got it done—day after day after day. And his results were proof of that. My personal pick for Greatest Working Runner of All Time, the Southeast D.C. native is among less than a handful of athletes who qualified for five marathon trials. General won MCM in 1995 and 1997. He won the Army Ten Miler three times. He was top American and 14th overall in the 1990 Boston Marathon, clocking 2:15:30, and has a lifetime marathon personal best of 2:14:42. He accomplished this despite the fact that, throughout his career, running remained subservient to physically demanding jobs, to supporting his family and, especially, to high school coaching—General’s preferred way of giving back to a running community he says gave so much to him. As it happens, this year also marks General’s 30th year of coaching. He first coached at his alma mater, Potomac High School, in Oxon Hill. Later, when he started at George Marshall, he lacked enough athletes to field a full team. Last year, the George Marshall girls won the Virginia 5A Cross Country Championship—their first ever— led by then-junior Heather Holt’s individual victory. To his athletes, General preaches what he practiced. It comes down to three components—endurance, strength and speed—and, above all, confidence. “If they have confidence in themselves and believe in me, we can do it. But you have to have both.” There were times when General was encouraged to set coaching aside to focus on his own running. He always refused. And while General no longer races much, this year he had big plans to get himself back in top shape. He wanted to celebrate the anniversary of his breakout 1987 MCM race and the 20th anniversary of his second MCM victory in style, with a big performance. But

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as we meet today, even if General doesn’t talk about it, those plans are changing. We will find out later that his mother isn’t well. Instead of training, lately he’s been tending to her, helping out his father as much as he can. In early September, General’s mother would pass away, culminating a long, tough summer. Still, if you think General’s decided not to run MCM, think again. He’ll be out there, he says, “just to clear my head and enjoy it.” General made a commitment to run, and MCM simply means too much to him to stay on the sidelines. The People’s Marathon defined his career. But even when he was winning, participating mattered more. “I love running more so than just being competitive or being a top runner.” In our interview, we looked back, tracing General’s rise from a 17-year-old marathon debutant to an elite runner who cranked out legendary performances for more than 20 years. This interview has been edited and condensed. Farley: You didn’t follow the traditional path of an elite runner where you went on to run in college. How did you get started? General: My love for running started at 8 when I was running in Southeast. Growing up, I used to watch ABC’S “Wide World of Sports.” It was fascinating to me to see guys like Frank Shorter and Bill Rodgers running at a fast pace for such a long period of time. That stuck with me as I got older as a goal of mine: run marathons. Farley: Was anyone in your family a distance runner? General: My dad used to just go out and run. That’s how I got started with running. I used to go run with him in the park. I used to go around and go around, keep passing him, and waiting for him to say something. He kind of set me up because he would never say anything. He just wanted me to keep running until I got tired. I actually enjoyed that, so I continued with that type of training. I just used to go run 15 to 20 minutes three or four times a week. Farley: Were you in high school when you first ran the marathon? General: I had just graduated. One of my track coaches was running MCM. He wanted me to run with him, and I was hesitant about it. He said he would pay my entry, so I said okay. That’s how that started. Mercer: What was your longest run at this point? General: I might have did an 18. I was learning at that point. I knew I needed to do at least 60 to 70 miles a week—that was my main goal—and to try to get maybe two long runs in. I just wanted to make sure I was strong enough to finish the race. My first aim was to do that. I was very inexperienced; I was way at the back. I went by the number, which

was 12,000, and it took a few minutes to get across the starting line. General ran “2 hours and 58 minutes and some odd seconds.” He was 17. MERCER: How did the 20s [miles] feel during that first marathon? GENERAL: I understood what the wall meant. My first one or two, right around that 20, 21-mile mark, I would hit the wall. What I did was, I was determined to train hard enough to get past that spot where you break down. I made sure my mileage was strong enough. I wasn’t really a high mileage person, but I hung around 80 miles a week to 100, even with 23 milers and 24 milers. As long as I did three 20 milers, I felt like that would get me over the hump of that wall that would come around 20, 21. FARLEY: When you took on the Marine Corps Marathon the first time, did you have an idea that you wanted to qualify for the trials at that point? GENERAL: Actually, after my first one. Even though I ran 2:58, my goal was to try to qualify for the Olympic Trials in ‘88. In the ‘87 MCM, he’d have to run under 2:22—and he did, finishing second in 2:19.

FARLEY: What was it like to be the youngest trials qualifier at 21? GENERAL: I mean, overwhelming experience. You have goals that you set for yourself, but when you achieve them it’s just like, wow. When I did, I just sort of cried, because I really didn’t think that it was going to happen. FARLEY: Tell us about what MCM means to you? GENERAL: Marine Corps is still my favorite race to date. I love that race. That’s where my career started off at. In ‘95, I actually was going to Chicago to go and run 2:12 or 2:11. But at that time I had an agent, and we talked about it, and I decided I wanted to run MCM. It wasn’t just for me; it was for my family; it was for the DC area.… I wanted to come and win it for the Washington area and get that victory there. That was important to me to win it at home for everybody. FARLEY: And Marine Corps offers no prize money. GENERAL: I really gave up money, because I definitely was in 2:12 shape. But to me, the win will last a lifetime. Me running Chicago and getting $8,000 or $10,000— nobody’s going to remember that. I wanted the MCM win on my resume. That’s something that I can look back on and talk to a lot of

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runners about. Farley: A couple of years later, you come back and win it again. General: The ‘97 marathon, I actually was in better shape than ‘95. That year, I trained through the summer, speed work and everything, because I wanted to break the course record of 2:14:01, and I actually was in shape for it. I had my game face on. I was ready to run. But it poured down rain 10 minutes before the start of the race; it was like a flood race. Once I came through Georgetown, I came through right on pace—51:30 at 10 miles. But my shoes were soaking wet, so I backed off the course record challenge and just wanted to go for the win. I didn’t want to blow my win. Farley: You were always working, too. General: When I was at my best, especially my 20s, at one point I was working at Fair Oaks Mall at the Sears. I was working about 50, 60 hours a week and training for Marine Corps in ‘84, ‘85, ‘86 while working in a loading dock. I was doing a lot of lifting. I was exhausted. I would come home and do hourand-a-half runs. I chose that path, and once I became an elite runner, I never gave that up. It’s one of those things: I didn’t know how to give that up. When you were in the world of working hard, working a job, trying to make a living, coaching high school track, I loved running so much that I focused on running and working and coaching and helping people out. I didn’t know how to give that up as an elite runner, and I think that prevented me from getting faster. I got faster at a shorter distance, but the marathon was at a standstill because I had too much on my plate. Mercer: Did you ever get sponsorship opportunities? General: I ran for Reebok ‘87, ‘89. Then ‘90 to ‘98 I was sponsored by Mizuno. It wasn’t an endorsement deal; it was more of a bonus deal. I got a lot of things taken care of, but I didn’t get a yearly stipend. I was probably two minutes shy of getting the yearly money but, like I said, if you’re an elite runner and you’re trying to go to that top level, you cannot work two, three jobs and those things. Farley: How do you even get your run in? General: I just made time. I was so focused on trying to do what I need to do on a financial level. When you start from scratch and you become ranked in the top 10 in the country, I felt like I had something to give back to the kids who think that they can’t accomplish the goals that they want to achieve. That was the biggest thing. That’s what kept me going. I never thought about, I’m going to be tired or is there enough time. I just made it happen. Farley: What time does your day start when you’ve got those jobs?

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General: At Whole Foods, I was working 1 a.m. to 8 a.m. Then I was leaving there and going to the D.C. running group— D.C. Fit. I was helping out there from 8 to 9:30. Then I was working at Metro Run & Walk from 10 to 3. Farley: You still haven’t told us how you get your run in. General: I would coach from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., so my run at that point in time was with the DC Fit. When I got off of Whole Foods, I would drive to the W&O. And once you got into August, they were already started. I stretched real quick and then I jumped in. When they saw me, I was going down, and they were coming back. All those 75 people saw me, so their goal was to keep me from catching them. It was helping them, and it was helping me. We had fun. Russo: When did you sleep? General: I didn’t get many hours sleep. I would lay down for three or four hours. When I tried to qualify for 2008 trials [what would have been General’s sixth] I didn’t realize my body was exhausted. I just worked and trained, and I was in great shape, but my body didn’t have the energy to qualify. I was working three jobs because I was getting ready to get married, so I was trying to work to save money. Both me and my wife were working so that we could just pay for it out of our pocket. She was working an extra job as well, so we both were exhausting ourselves. But it paid off, we didn’t owe any debt. Mercer: In 1989, when I was 8, I went with my family to a big road race up at Giants Stadium—the New Jersey Waterfront Marathon. My dad was racing the 10K; I did the 100-meter dash on the field. This was a huge marathon at the time, big prize money. And I recently found a New York Times article about that day, and it happens to mention a 23-year old dock worker, Darrell General, running a huge personal best of 2:14:42. It was like a five-minute PR. Can you kind of take us through your breakthrough that day? General: Well, part of the course was the Olympic Trials course. I studied the whole four or five months of how I was going to run that race, the hilly part of the course down to how I wanted each mile split, where I wanted to be and targeted it down to the last 10K. I stayed on track throughout the whole race, and everything just started clicking; everything in the second half started to roll. It wasn’t a fast flat course. I ran 1:06:52 and 1:07:50, but because of the way I strategized the race, I closed with a 4:56 last mile Mercer: And it finished on the field! General: On Giants Stadium. When I came down in that tunnel, my eyes were like, “Wow, it’s unbelievable. Is the clock right?” Farley: Your best trials was ‘96. You were 12th place in 2:16:30. Were you thinking

DARRELL GENERAL crosses the finish line at the Marine Corps Marathon Oct.26, 1997. PHOTO BY LCPL. PHILIP E. APPLETON

Olympic team? GENERAL: To be honest with you, I actually was. The downfall for me was I didn’t get out of DC. In ‘96, there was a blizzard, and I was stuck for three to four weeks in Maryland and I couldn’t train, so I lost that amount of time of training. I was fit, I was strong, I was fast, I just felt that I clearly was going to be one of the top three. MERCER: At what point did you start wondering how many trials you could qualify for? GENERAL: Approaching five, I actually thought I was going to get to seven, to be honest with you. But I kept on taking on more responsibilities. When it got to the sixth round, I was getting ready to get married. The next one I was training, but I had tendonitis, so I backed off the training for a little while. I started back but things kept getting in the way, because I wouldn’t give up coaching, I wouldn’t give up working. At that point in time, even at 42, I still was fast enough and strong enough that I could have run 2:18, 2:19. MERCER: Kieran O’Connor, who runs for Pacers Running//GRC-New Balance, was 24th in the last trials. Now he’s going for his second qualifier at MCM. He wanted to know if you ever had doubts about qualifying during your streak. GENERAL: Each Olympic Trial that I approached, I believed that I could come in the top three. Even ‘88. I was young, but in the back of my mind, anything can happen, so you can’t rule yourself out. MERCER: I think that self-belief is really inspiring, because even reading about your attempt to qualify for the sixth, it was clear that things weren’t quite clicking in training. Some of your tune-up races, you weren’t able to run Trials pace for a short distance, but you still believed on that day you could do it. A lot of runners get really self-defeated. If they can’t do it in a race leading up to it, they just

don’t believe it’s possible, but you believed it was possible. GENERAL: I always believe. The training was going well. The racing wasn’t, but a lot of my races that I’d run in previous years back, even if I ran a 31-something 10K three weeks before a marathon, I would still run 2:15. It’s all about focusing on what the goal is: I would not worrying about running 31, but convince myself I run could 32s for 10K three or four times in the race. That’s what got me through. For 45 minutes, General graciously and happily answered every question we threw at him. But when it got to the end, he had one request: He wanted the chance to thank his family. Looking back on it, remembering the emotion in his eyes, this was the one time that he revealed some of what he was coping with personally. GENERAL: I have three kids. My kids are older now, so I was trying to be a daddy as well, but do the right thing and set an example for my kids. My parents and a couple of my aunts and uncles were very, very supportive. My mom and dad would go all over the country to make sure that I had everything that I needed. From a financial standpoint, if none of the shoe companies wanted to bring me in, my mom and dad would drive me and put me up in a hotel. Now I’m married, and my wife is the same way. My wife handles everything else. It allows me to go out and train and coach and do the things that I need to do to continue my marathon streak. FARLEY: It does take a group of people, and people who are supportive and understand, because it’s not easy. You’ve got to be out there, and sometimes people see it as a selfish pursuit. It’s great to see how much you’ve given back through your running. I really applaud you for that. GENERAL: Thank you guys, and thanks D.C and the Washington area for all the support you’ve given me throughout my career!

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BY AND REA RUTLEDGE

JESSICA ROSE, sporting home field advantage at the Banneker Recreation Center track. RUNWASHINGTON PHOTO BY RICH WOODS

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Running is often derided as the sport for lesscoordinated people, which, ironically, may be what makes it attractive to those who are awkward or clumsy and are seeking ways to become fit, lose weight or galvanize a life change. And D.C. is full of them, from a former “fat kid” to the girl awarded “Most Improved in Gym.” Three participants in Pacers 14th Street’s social runs—Caitlin Briere, Mike Parks and Jessica Rose—show us that it’s never too late to discover your inner athlete. Briere is a self-described academic nerd whose parents didn’t encourage sports, because they hadn’t been athletes themselves. She remembers her younger self as “the gangly, clumsy kid who was almost always sporting at least one scraped knee,” and who was not a natural fit for athletics. “Neither of my parents were ever big into athletics, and so, growing up, neither of them went out of their way to encourage me to pursue sports. It wasn’t deliberate; I just think that sports were never really on their radar as something to encourage me to do.” She didn’t play organized sports regularly; instead, Briere was good at academics and turned her time and talent there. Over time she “didn’t make any effort to become more athletic because I thought that I just wasn’t cut out for those activities.” After moving to D.C. and in the aftermath of a breakup, Briere decided to make a productive change in her life and started the Couch to 5K program. In the process, she discovered a supportive running community in person and online, more training programs and a path to her first marathon. Since then, she has run 13 marathons and 10 halfmarathons. Briere’s parents are now on her cheer squad and she continues to run with groups like Pacers 14th Street. “The other runners in the Pacers fun run group are also really supportive, and often ask about my latest race or how training for an upcoming race is going,” she said. “Even my boss, who doesn’t run at all, tells me how impressed he is with my dedication to marathon training.” Today, Briere considers herself an athlete. “It’s incredibly empowering to have found a sport that makes me want to better myself, not to please a coach or teammates, but just for my own benefit,” she said. “When I run, I’m only competing against who I was yesterday or last month or last year, not against anyone else. I think that’s a big part of why running clicked for me so much when other sports never did.” Parks was “the fat kid” who played soccer, but was always the goalie, because running was difficult. Today he is a marathoner and trains in multiple sports. Parks regularly participated in youth athletics because his parents wanted to expose their children to lots of different activities. He was insecure about his weight,

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CAITLIN BRIERE finishes the George Washington Parkway Classic. PHOTO BY KYLE GUSTAFSON/ SWIM BIKE RUN PHOTOGRAPHY

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but always felt accepted by his peers and coaches. In Parks’s experience, “Teams are composed of neighbors and classmates, so there’s an existing bond that you build on.” As an adult, Parks made some changes, dropped the weight and keeps it off largely through running. “Running was essential to this change, particularly since I was able to measure progress and it is the most efficient calorieburning activity,” he said. Parks has been a regular runner for the past eight years and has added cycling, swimming and yoga to his routine. The Pacers 14th Street group has been a big influence on his athleticism. “Finding friends with the same interests and goals in athletics continues to keep me engaged with fitness,” he said. “Being around a good group of encouraging training partners keeps me motivated, especially when dealing with injuries.” Today, Parks spends less time watching TV and goes to fewer happy hours because working out is a more attractive alternative. “I get so much fun out of it that it never really feels like work, even when the training cycles get hard.” Rose’s early experiences with gym and school sports earned her the prize for “Most Improved in Gym” at the end of the fifth grade. Today, she runs local 5K races and logs at least one half marathon each year. A “klutzy kid,” Rose describes her elementary sports career as “gym class and recess. There was jump rope, kickball, dodgeball and square dancing! In fifth grade we added field hockey, soccer and softball.” She has three siblings, and while she was never explicitly discouraged from sports, she wasn’t encouraged either. Because she did well academically, being “good” at other things like art, music or athletics was not important. Further, teams and group activities presented other challenges. “So much of sports at a young age is really competitive and team-based... trying out for a team was just added pressure. For an introvert, team-

based sports aren’t such a great fit.” It was as she approached 40 that Rose became determined to run a 5K. “I thought that this is something I should be able to do physically—there was nothing wrong with me and this was a basic thing. I had friends who did them all the time for fun and so I went with them to my first one.” Later, when she struggled with running, she convinced her husband, Daniel Ginsberg, to start running as well. Today, with a little help from a sports medicine doctor, she is running well and continues to improve. Rose counts her husband as her major motivator and runs with the Pacers 14th Street group when work doesn’t interfere. The 5K is her distance of choice. She also hikes and takes the occasional barre class. I asked all three to give their elementaryschool selves advice based on what they learned in the years since. Briere said, “Broaden your definition of what it means to be ‘athletic’ or ‘good at sports.’ There are so many ways to be active and healthy, and they don’t all have to fit into the box of organized sports leagues.” For Parks, “I certainly wish I had been able to find a sport to consistently compete in. Not only for the joy that I get out of it now, but if I had started younger, maybe I’d actually be fast.” And Rose concludes, “Be open to trying new things and learning a sport or skill. That takes time and effort, but like riding a bike, at one point you just get it. It also really requires strong role models who support the introverted klutzy kids and help them find something they enjoy. Focus on developing skills and a lifelong enjoyment of being physically active.” These three are terrific examples of people were not high school or collegiate athletes, but who used running as an opportunity to discard previous notions about being athletic. They have learned that being picked last for kickball is no longer as important as feeling good while crossing the next finish line or claiming a new PR.

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As soon as runners cross a starting line, they have big ideas as to what their finishes will look like. It could be a fast time, a new personal best, an epic photo finish or the idea of hugging a loved one at the end. Whatever the motivators may be, they’re powerful. But there are some runners who are unable to cross the finish line. Because of weather, injury, time cut-offs, poor training, mental blocks or other issues, some runners drop out and take a DNF, Did Not Finish. After race registration fees and months of training, it’s hard to fathom the idea of not finishing a race. “Running should be fun and enjoyable,” said Kathy Pugh, a DC-based holistic health and running coach. “And if it’s not, what’s the worst thing that could happen? A DNF is not the end of the world. It’s annoying, it’s a frustration.” It can be easy for a runner to intertwine their self-worth with their times, making a DNF that much harder to swallow. “It does not define you as a person,” Pugh said. Having dealt with her own DNF, Pugh believes it has made her a better coach. She’s able to empathize with her runners and teach them that although the race may be unfinished, those miles still count. “There is always going to be another race,” Pugh said. “This is something that you learn from and reflect from…. Everyone has a bad day and sometimes that day happens at the end of a race.” But if a runner is dealing with negative thoughts in the middle of the race, keep going, she said. “You’re going to feel worse if you didn’t.” Four local runners shared stories that show a DNF is not a black mark, but instead a learning tool to aid them throughout their running careers.

The Injury Just weeks before the Marine Corps Marathon in 2014, George Shonat of Arlington, Va. noticed his foot was completely bloody after a long run. He removed his shoe and saw that a toenail had dug into one of his toes. Shonat shrugged it off, but the next day, his entire foot ached from plantar fasciitis. The pain wouldn’t go away. About two weeks later, Shonat raced the Army Ten-Miler but wasn’t sure how the race was going to go because his foot was still in some pain. But he wanted to give it a try anyway. “By mile two or three, I noticed my foot was hurting,” he said. “By mile four my foot was in excruciating pain.” He walked to the nearest first aid tent, where medics attended to him. He did not run the upcoming marathon. His foot was “out of commission.” He recalls not even being able to do yoga. It was a double whammy—pulling out of the 10-mile race and not being able to run the

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BY BETH ROESSNER

GEORGE SHONAT stands where he dropped out of the 2014 Army Ten-Miler. RUNWASHINGTON PHOTO BY RICH WOODS

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marathon. “I called it quits at the right time,” Shonat said. “I knew it sucked to drop out of the race, but I heard horror stories from people needing surgeries from plantar fasciitis. And I didn’t want that.” His foot took six months to heal. Although that process was hard, he never thought of this DNF as a negative on his running career. “I want to stay healthy enough in the long run rather than trying to go all out for the TenMiler or the Marine Corps,” he said. “I’m only 30 years old. I don’t want my running career to end.”

It’s Never Too Late, Until It Is The 2014 JFK 50 Mile was going to be Chateau Mangaroo’s debut as an ultrarunner. The course, which starts in Boonsboro, Md., is known for rugged, technical hills on the Appalachian Trail, over 1,100 feet of gained elevation in just the first six miles and a 26mile stretch on the C&O Canal Towpath. And because it takes place in November, it’s notoriously windy and cold. That all worked against Mangaroo. “Instead of moving on the trail with a purpose, I kind of just walked it and lollygagged,” Mangaroo, 41, said. “I remember thinking, ‘I can take my time in the beginning, but I can make it up on the flat.’” The Arlington resident did not make the time cut-off at mile 27, but she continued running until mile 38. She ran for 11 miles, knowing she was done. “The biggest thought was that I was never going to attempt this again,” Mangaroo said. “It’s too cold, too much training and just too far.” What was hardest, she said, was seeing other participants in their race shirts and medals. Although she had a shirt too, it acted as a reminder that she didn’t finish the race. Mangaroo left the shirt in her hotel room. “I’ve been running for well over 20 years, so I was able to get over it,” she said. “I didn’t linger on it as much as I thought I would, but there was some processing.” But she couldn’t let go of the race. This was the one ultra she really wanted to complete. So, the following year, she tried one more time (as runners often do). With a better plan and weather, she completed it in just over 11 hours, beating the 12-hour cutoff. Throughout Mangaroo’s running career, she had several other DNFs, but the 2014 JFK 50 Mile made a significant impact. Her other incompletions were because she didn’t

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meet a training goal and stopped the races a bit short. But with the JFK race, her only goal was to finish. Looking back, she thinks it could have been avoided. “We learn more from failure than we do from success,” she said. “I didn’t control my DNF. I didn’t finish because I couldn’t meet the time. What it taught me the most was training the way you plan on racing.”

Exuberant Ambition Kerry Allen has quite the running resume with three half-marathon wins in 2017 alone, but her recent efforts also include two uncompleted marathons. The problems started at the end of the 2016 racing season, at the New York City Marathon. Allen, a DC resident, started the run excited and confident. She hoped to smash a 2:43 marathon. At the halfway point, she checked her paces and realized she was working a little bit harder than she should have been. She also started to feel some pain at the bottom of her right foot. While heading into Manhattan after the Queensboro Bridge, she had trouble breathing and the foot pain became unbearable. She stopped at mile 16. “That was really disappointing. It took me a few days of wallowing to get over it,” Allen said. Her second DNF of the season came at the 2017 Grandma’s Marathon in Minnesota. Allen, 29, was training for shorter distances but registered for the race anyway. She considered it “a gamble” because she was undertrained, so when she didn’t cross the finish line, she didn’t feel too bad. With hot, humid conditions striking for the second year in a row, Allen’s race ended with her vomiting and dry heaving on the side of the road. “This shows what a tricky distance the marathon is, and how a little bit of bad luck can go a long way,” Allen said. “My main goal in running is for it to bring me happiness. But I’ve learned that I don’t feel the need to subject myself to those ultra-miserable experiences.” Her other big wins, including at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Washington DC in March, helped soften the blows, she said. Allen’s next 26.2 will be the California International Marathon in December, and she hopes to qualify for the U.S. Olympic marathon trials. “If I hit that, I think it’s safe to say that I’ve completely gotten over the DNF,” Allen said.

A Foundation in Disguise Marisa Carden of Northern Virginia has a

unique perspective on her DNF. “I think the DNF is pretty rad. I had ambitions out to have an unblemished record, but I think that DNF makes me a better runner,” Carden, 27, said. “Instead of looking at it as a failure, it revealed to me what my limits were, so now I can push them further.” That’s not to say she didn’t struggle. When she knew she wasn’t going to complete the 2017 Quest for the Crest, she says, she felt like “a shitty runner.” “That was my immediate thought,” she said. “It kept going through my head that I was a shitty runner. And I would eventually have to divulge to people that I didn’t get to finish my race.” She’d have to admit she wasn’t fast enough. This spring, the newbie ultrarunner set out to complete the Quest for the Crest, a rugged 50K tucked in the mountains of Burnsville, N.C. The race boasts 11,300 feet of elevation gains, 11,700 feet of elevation loss and a low finish rate. Carden knew it was an ambitious goal. Maybe it was poor race-day execution, a sprained ankle just before the race or a late start to elevation training, but the race did not go according to plan, she said. “I got to a little over 19 miles, about 7,000 feet of elevation and it took me eight hours to do,” she said. “I timed out and was an hour behind schedule.” The DNF made her really doubt her running abilities, and she was dreading telling people that she was unable to finish the race. What was most awkward, said Carden, was the morning after the race: in the tiny host town, finishers and race shirts surrounded her. It was incredibly disheartening, she said, to see all these runners and hear them talk of their accomplishments. Despite the challenges, Carden needed closure; she needed to conquer Mount Mitchell, the hill she never was able to crest. She spent the next several months doing extreme elevation training and mileage gains. In July, she rounded up some of her running buddies and they made the trek back to North Carolina. “The ultimate closure was going back to that exact spot where I had to exit the course. I got to climb up the hill instead of going down,” she said. “There was no way I could wait until next year to finish this course.” Now, Carden feels much more at peace and plans on tackling this race again come 2018. “Registration opens in October and I have an alarm set on my phone!”

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2017

Fair F airfax fax Four M ileer il Four Miler

december 31st @ 6pm

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run in the new year! Post Race Pizza Party

fairfax four hoodies

Last Race in 2017

stroller and pet friendly Rolling Hills & glowsticks!

The Long Haul: Coach–Athlete Relationships Over Time By Mollie Zapata Every day, more runners transition from casual to competitor, from I’m in it to finish to I want to PR or place in my age group. At any point in this progression, a coach might be helpful—whether as an advisor or a cheerleader or an accountability partner—and there is something especially powerful about the coach–athlete relationship that lasts over time. The dynamic changes as each person gets to know the other better. Coaches tailor training programs to unique athlete needs, know better when to push and when to rein in a zealous competitor and better understand the athletes’ challenges outside running that might affect their training, attitude or motivation. On the other side, athletes learn their coaches’ particular training philosophies, build trust in their coaches’ advice and in many cases gain a friend and mentor who, though primarily focused on running achievements, helps them in other parts of their lives. “Jenn first came to us about five years ago,” said Julie Sapper, an attorney by day and co-owner of a coaching business with Lisa Reichmann. Though the pair coach many athletes through an online program as well as in-person practices, Jenn Forman—local runner, reading specialist and mom—stands out to them for her personal growth over the time of their training. “At the beginning she was very focused on time and pace and really hard on herself,” Reichmann explained. “She was getting in her own head and it was holding her back.” Sapper added that, like many runners, Forman tended to compare herself to other people, so they first focused on the positive aspects of her running and getting her to turn her watch off and shift to a process mindset. Sapper focused on getting Forman to see that accomplishment during training, emotionally and physically, are as important if not more important than achieving race time goals. David Wertz, a stand-out local masters runner, environmental consultant and father who began working with Coach Jerry Alexander over 11 years ago, noted a similar lesson. “I learned to go out there and compete and enjoy the process that gets you to that point as well as you can, and from doing that, the results have come about naturally.” Unlike Forman, Wertz didn’t set out to find a coach. He was running with a local group—the Northern Virginia Running Club—

and the coaching relationship with Alexander “evolved over time.” “At the beginning I didn’t care about competing so much, didn’t take it that seriously, but once you stick with it and start getting better and thinking, ‘Oh, I could be better,’ you start hitting those goals and you see how far you can take it,” Wertz said. Alexander noticed Wertz’s talent almost immediately. He’s now coached Wertz to many PRs, and today Wertz is one of the top masters runners in the country. Wertz himself suggests that one of the main benefits of having a coach is having an outside voice suggesting goals he may not have considered himself. “Coach will just put something out there like, ‘Oh, I think you could break that time,’ some time that I hadn’t thought achievable, and then that gets into my head and I start thinking that maybe I can.” A short-term coach often serves in the advisory role; coaches are, at their core, technical experts after all. But a long-term coach has time to build other critical aspects of the coach–athlete relationship. A Canadian Olympic study of primary factors in athletes’ success determined that the coach–athlete relationship was “one of the most crucial factors in winning an Olympic Medal or producing a personal best performance.” Unsurprisingly, communication, trust and mutual respect were identified as critical factors that take significant time to develop and strengthen. Athletes in the study emphasized that their coaches cared for them not just as athletes but as individuals, and the article concluded that successful athletes equally require technical coaching and emotional support to be successful. Though most D.C.-area runners are not vying for an Olympic medal, the importance of the coach–athlete relationship transcends all levels of running and competition. Most people who have had or have been a coach know that the relationship is so much more than workout plans, splits and PRs. “It’s really different for each person and it takes time to figure out,” said Reichmann. “What does this person expect a coach to be? Is it their counselor or therapist? Or is it someone who holds them accountable? Or maybe they want their coach to be checking their Garmin or Strava, analyzing their data. Or someone to ask questions to? Or someone to pump them up?”

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JENN FORMAN (center) with coaches JULIE SAPPER (left) and LISA REICHMANN. RUNWASHINGTON PHOTO BY MARLEEN VAN DEN NESTE

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She and Sapper sit down (sometimes virtually) with each new athlete to get to know their schedules, motivations and challenges, and start building an understanding of where they’re coming from. “Do some people treat me like a therapist? Absolutely,” said Sapper when asked what duties go beyond the narrowest definition of coaching. She notes that she’s careful not to advise on topics where she’s not a professional (she is a lawyer, after all), but she recognizes that “when people are running regularly, they’re doing it for a reason, and you just don’t know what other people are going through unless they tell you.” For Forman, Sapper and Reichmann have become much more than coaches. Over the years they’ve been working together, Forman has faced many personal challenges. “I had no expectations other than someone would give me a schedule,” Forman said. “But I check in with them at least a couple times a week and can go to them if I have an injury, a question on a workout or to let them know if something traumatic has happened in my life and how my running might be affected by that.” Forman noted that she has set personal records at every distance from 5K to marathon since working with coaches, and “despite, to be honest, some really terrible stuff that’s been going on, they’ve helped keep me focused and been super supportive.” The role of a coach as an accountability partner is hugely important for many runners, especially because most D.C.-area runners have jobs and families and myriad competing priorities that might easily get in the way. “I wouldn’t be where I am today without Coach,” Wertz said. “The key thing is that he provides an accountability partner with respect to your running.” Alexander mentions that Wertz’s intense work schedule and later the birth of his daughter required adjustments to his running. “I don’t expect him to make it to every practice. I know he’s working hard.” Sapper and Reichmann noted that one common thread with their longest committed athletes is that they’re parents, they work and they’re busy. “It’s hard for people like that to go to a trail on a Saturday morning and meet a group, so for them the accountability of reporting to us—just that simple weekly check-in—is what keeps them going.” The coach–athlete relationship often lasts long after actual coaching ends. Both Sapper and Alexander have long-term coaches of

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their own. Sapper began running after law school and credits her coach, the late Mike Broderick, as instrumental in developing her as a runner. Her work with him was part of what inspired her to become a coach, because she wanted to help runners tap into their potential and learn more about the sport. Similarly, Alexander has been in touch with his college coach for the last 30 years. “He’s always interested to hear about the exploits of my athletes.” All three coaches recognize how much they’ve learned from and been inspired by their athletes. “He continues to exceed my expectations,” said Alexander of Wertz. “Every year he does something that amazes me.” Wertz started running competitively in his 30s, later than most athletes who end up as successful as he has been. “I see how tough he is. He’ll never fail for lack of gutting it out. He ran his first track race of his life when he was 35 against college kids—he wasn’t afraid to stick his nose in. He’s always been successful because he’s willing to take a chance and give it a go.” Reichmann and Sapper both comment on how inspiring it has been for them to work with Forman. “She’s worked so hard through all these things that could be great excuses,” Reichmann said. “She went into the Annapolis 10 Miler last year having had a really tough week. There are plenty of people who would have bailed, and reasonably so, because of the stress. But Jenn ran a four-minute PR and we were just so, so excited for her.” What makes these three coaches successful is their expertise and commitment to their athletes as people. Each talked at length about the importance of tailoring workouts, emphasis and approach for each athlete. Their success is reflected not only in Forman’s and Wertz’s impressive results but also in their clear admiration and appreciation for the coaches themselves. Forman tells the story of her first DNF last year at the Erie Marathon. Like any runner would be, she was incredibly disappointed. “Julie called me on the way home and she told me a story about an elite runner in the marathon trials who pulled herself out of the race because she wasn’t feeling well to make me feel better and put things into perspective.” Forman clearly intends to stay with Sapper and Reichmann for the long haul. “They’re more than just coaches…. We’ve established a relationship that means so much to me.”

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By Andrew Gates If you’re a runner, you’ve probably heard the question before: “Why do you like to run?” To the uninitiated, running may seem like more of a chore than a hobby. But every runner knows that behind those miles, there is a passion that drives us forward. For D.C.’s Ally Amavisca, running is not just a sport, it’s part of her identity. A new resident of D.C.’s Shaw neighborhood by way of North Carolina, Amavisca currently works as an educator at the Smithsonian National Zoo and as a tour guide in downtown D.C. Despite her busy schedule, Amavisca makes time to run when she can. “Running has always been my thinking time. Whenever I have something to consider, it’s always mulled over on a run,” she says. Like many runners, Amavisca got her start in running through her high school cross country team as a way to stay in shape for soccer. “Since then, I have loved running,” she admits, “whether it’s on the trail or on the road. I’ve been a little sidelined lately while I heal from a nasty Achilles rupture, but I’m slowly building up distance again and will hopefully be running races again someday soon.” “My current longer-term goal is to get up to half marathon distance again. I used to run half and full marathons often, and as my Achilles regains strength, I’m eying which half will be my re-entry into the racing world. Short term, I just want to run hills without Achilles pain,” she says. To the non-running crowd, the desire to push on through a painful Achilles injury may seem crazy, but for many runners, it is just part of life. Will Peterson, a senior at Loudoun County High School, understands what it’s like to fight through tough times. Peterson, 17, recently underwent treatment for a rare form of lung cancer known as a Metastatic Synovial Sarcoma. As part of his treatment procedure, half of his lung was removed. He says running is his way of recovering, both mentally and physically. “Since the surgery, I’ve been working out to improve my health,” he explains. “I run partly to improve my lung capacity.” Peterson was a very active runner before the procedure. “I ran in a middle school running club on and off for two years and ran in [high school] freshman cross country and I didn’t really enjoy running as much then, because I spent most of the time comparing

myself to others.” Now back into running again, Peterson no longer compares himself to the runners around him. He says his main goal is to “stay in shape and push my boundaries.” He hopes to do that by building up his endurance so that he can run longer and farther. While some runners are just getting back into the sport, Phillip Le, manager at Potomac River Running’s Arlington store and resident of Springfield, Va. has been running competitively for the last 10 years and sees no end in sight. Le started running during his junior year of high school, after friends convinced him to try out. “I fell in love with it after running my senior year,” he said. “It’s been a little bit of everything to me, from a way to relax to more structured and focused training. I’ve enjoyed it being a consistent part of my life,” Le says. For Le, running provides him with more than just a structured schedule. Like Amavisca, running allows him a place to clear his head and stay mentally prepared. “Running’s been one of the more consistent parts of my life since high school and it’s helped me through some rough patches…. The ability to get out, get moving and think about whatever I want to is really nice. I get motivation from all sorts of people, whether it’s an elite or someone that wants to run down the block for the first time, the courage that it takes to challenge yourself is really admirable,” he says. But for some runners, their start came later in life than others. Cindy Cowen, a mother of two from Leesburg, Va. did not start running until long after high school. Cowen admits she was not always a runner. “I used to race bikes,” she says. For years, Cowen competed in numerous cycling races, both on and off-road. But Cowen put her cycling days behind her after the birth of her children. “I didn’t really start running until after kids,” she explains. “It took a lot less time to run than to go out for three-hour training rides for the bike.” She’s been running for the last 15 years. Like Le, Cowen says part of what keeps her motivated is the structure. “I love training. I love a training program. I will follow it to a T if someone writes a training program. I like the sanity of it, the escape if you will.”

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ALLY AMAVISCA during the 2015 Rock ‘n’ Roll San Diego Half Marathon. PHOTO BY MARATHON FOTO

But most importantly, Cowen’s goal is to keep running 20 years in the future. “When I’m 66, I want to be not broken,” she explains. “You see people who are still out there and they’re still running in their 70s and you think ‘That’s really cool. I want to do that.’” Amavisca admits she has a similar goal. “I hope to stay active as long as I’m standing, many years into the future,” she says. For many, running is also a great way to meet new people. “Running has always been highly social for me. I’m always on the lookout for another great running partner. I love doing long runs and chatting with a friend,” Amavisca says. Cowen can certainly relate to that. She says running provides her with a great opportunity for a “girls’ night.” Whether for a piece of mind, a desire to escape or a desire to continue with a sport for years to come, every runner has their own distinct motivation. But that does not mean there isn’t a dark side to running. Le warns that despite the benefits, sometimes his desire to run can go too far. “I put in a really focused block of training leading up to [the] Rock ‘n’ Roll [Marathon] this spring. In hindsight, it may have been a bit too much… plus coupling that with putting in a lot of hours at the shop made some runs and workouts feel like work, which it shouldn’t.” Hoping to put the past behind him, Le now plans to get back to what made running special to begin with. “I’ve been running when

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PHILLIP LE during the 2016 Rock ‘n’ Roll D.C. Marathon. PHOTO BY MARATHON FOTO

I’ve wanted to and haven’t put the pressure on myself to nail any particular pace or mileage goal. Am I in the best shape I’ve been in? No. But I’m totally fine with it.” Peterson can relate to Le’s story. He has some advice for runners who might fall into similar traps. “Don’t try to go all out within a short period of time,” he says. “Ease into it, because you can be intimidated by longer distances or faster times if you compare yourself too much…. Don’t worry too much about other’s accomplishments. Just worry about yourself and your improvement.” “As someone recovering from about the worst injury a runner can have, I just want to say that sometimes recovering from a bad injury can be disheartening and frustrating. You won’t feel like yourself, but whether it’s a minor sprain or a major surgery, you can get back out there. It’s hard to not get down on myself when I can’t do what I used to, but having a good running community, and trying my best to not be hard on myself when I struggle to run a 5k, has allowed me to fight through a brand new wall. I may never be the runner I used to be, but I can still go from A to B, just maybe a little slower than before, and I will always be a runner,” Amavisca says. Cowen recommends to anyone debating getting into the sport to “stick with it. It gets easier.” In conclusion, Le adds, “Running has already given me way more than I ever thought possible. From the amazing relationships I’ve made, to the experiences I’ve had, it’s been a really great ride.”

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Between the Techs and the States, the Hoos and the Hoyas on the starting line, there are dozens of other college teams. Their uniform designs might be a little funkier. There might just be five runners in their boxes, if that. And they might need to give you a hint as to what state their school is in, but what they lack in scholarships and big budgets, they make up for in passion for running. Because on the Division III level, that’s what it takes. The 90 Division III schools that carry D.C. area natives on their rosters are giving them an opportunity to continue their love for running, for being part of a team and for pushing their bodies’ limits. The non-scholarship division, mostly small private schools, represents the NCAA’s largest division, with 451 colleges and universities, besting Division I by 100. You think Virginia Tech is the college destination of choice for local runners? The Hokies sport 15, but on the other end of the state, 18 runners are on Christopher Newport University’s roster. Freshman Eric Speeney is one of them, picking it over Division I schools because of the freedom the program would give him to live his life as a student athlete. They might not be getting their degrees for free, but they’re chasing their passions on their terms. Passion drives the 194 local runners who are on 90 different Division III cross country rosters this Fall. Because Division III doesn’t offer athletic scholarships, they’re running for school pride and their own motivation. And they may be running longer. Brian Flynn, who competed for Lynchburg College and now coaches at Bridgewater College, both Division III, is one of many who say that the intrinsic love of running that leads a student to commit to a team on top of their academic load helps keep Division III runners in the sport after graduation. “At our level, nobody’s making you do it, you don’t have a scholarship,” he said. “You do it because you love the sport and want to get better.”

Who Are They More than 92 high schools sent runners to 90 Division III colleges in 24 conferences. Nearly two-thirds stick to Virginia, Maryland or Pennsylvania schools, but you’ll find some at Claremont, Occidental, CalTech and the University of Dallas. Our locals favor Capital Athletic Conference, which claims 61, nearly a third of our DIII runners. Christopher Newport (18), Mary Washington (14), Frostburg State (6) St. Mary’s (5), Salisbury (4) and Marymount (4) make the CAC Championships seem like a high school reunion. “I’m talking to teammates and we’re realizing we ran against each other in high school races years ago,” Speeney said. Among the local high schools who feed these programs, Georgetown Day School

leads this year’s pack with 10, though five of them go to Williams College. BethesdaChevy Chase is close behind with nine, Albert Einstein sports seven and Walter Johnson, Lake Braddock, Richard Montgomery and Thomas Jefferson each have six runners on Division III teams. With seven varsity runners on most high school teams, there’s a good chance one or two will get some scholarship interest, two or three will retire from the sport after graduation, and another few might run Division III. And others will come out of left field, like Andres Merlos, who runs for St. Mary’s College in Maryland. On the Einstein team, he was an unlikely college runner, which coach Eric da Silva noted. “Andres running at SMCM is a surprise, all of the others were varsity runners at some point,” he said of his seven Division III collegiates. “He was a kid who struggled to run half a mile when he started with us, never was in the top 15 in high school, yet he is running in college. I love that there is a way for a kid like him to continue running.” For some, the fit is just right. When Flynn was a senior at Damascus High School in Montgomery County, he looked at smaller schools, owing to shyness as a teenager. “I didn’t want to get swallowed up at a big school,” he said. “I didn’t know if I was good enough to run at a DI school. I knew I wasn’t good enough to get a scholarship.” Lynchburg, in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, gave him a chance to lead his life as an education major and a runner, without one detracting from the other. “It was an environment that catered to individuals’ needs emotionally, academically, socially,” he said. “It was a great balance and a situation where I could excel. Being a bigger fish in a smaller pond helped me mature as an athlete.” Flynn’s younger brother, Ricky, followed him to Lynchburg and won the 2009 individual NCAA cross country title. The balance Brian Flynn talks about attracted Tara Landy to the Mary Washington team when she graduated from Lake Braddock. “I could have a job, focus on school and run,” she said, “Running was never super stressful.” She determined how much emphasis she would put on running. She admits she was pretty strict about it, but it was a relief compared to the schedules her friends at Division I schools reported. Division III has also given runners a chance to develop. Shauneen (Garrahan) Werlinger didn’t realize how much she loved running until she competed in cross country, indoor and outdoor track for the first time at Thomas Jefferson. That was her senior year, though, and she hadn’t yet run the times that

By Charlie Ban

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would impress Division I coaches. Knowing running had to be part of her life going forward, she crossed off what was her top college choice in favor of Amherst College, where she went on to win four NCAA titles, including the 5k/10k/3k steeplechase triple in 2007. “(Amherst) checked all the boxes of what I was looking for in a school: academics, cost, location, size, people,” she said. “I think being Division III helped enable running to always be something ‘fun.’ I always knew that I trained and raced hard purely because I loved running and representing my school. I’m not sure how I would have dealt with pressure of obligations under the terms of a scholarship.” Like Landy, she doesn’t think her extracurricular interest in student organizations, research and part-time jobs would have fit into a Division I schedule.

Passion propels them Da Silva takes pride in the number of his Einstein runners who run for Division III schools, particularly that they found a love of running in his program. “I think all of them continued running because they love the sport, and love being part of a team,” he said. “ I also think that for many of them running is a part of how they see themselves.” Georgetown Day School, home of the 10 2017 Division III runners, gets its chemistry from coach Anthony Belber, himself a Haverford alumnus. “We aspire to give [our student-athletes] a lifelong passion for running, not just an afterschool activity,” Belber said. “We work hard to train our students how to balance academics and running so it’s part of their routine, and naturally becomes part of their identity.” That balance, he said, makes success in DIII institutions a natural progression for GDS graduates. But the sense of inclusion in this programs is important too. Another Haverford grad, Peter Rook, has spent 10 years bringing a Division III mentality to the Stone RIdge Academy of the Sacred Heart in Bethesda. “It’s a culture of steady improvement and my goal is to get the entire team to the startling line healthy,” he said. “We’re in a virtuous cycle where we’re focusing more on daily work and don’t worry so much about short-term results.” He admits there are some holdouts who aren’t thrilled with delayed gratification, but seeing results like they did at the DCXC Invitational, with several seniors running career races, is helping reinforce the culture. “We’re not hammering the freshman from day one, expecting to see results,” Rook said. “We give them some intermediate goals to work toward, but the key is to always be doing something to ultimately move you ahead.” Some of his seniors are focusing their college searches on Division III schools,

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St. Albans alumnus MARCELO JAUERGUI-VOLPE (43) races for Haverford College at the Main Line Invitational. PHOTO BY DAVID SINCLAIR

despite running at a level that would interest Division I coaches.

The Road Ahead As a Division III coach, Flynn pitches what Bridgewater will mean to a prospective student-athlete’s future, focusing on their academic and professional career. He just hopes he can do enough to help make sure that includes running. The synthesis of conversations with several former Division III runners is that the schools’ environments and the flexibility both forces student-athletes to figure out the priorities and routines. They do this without the structured lifestyle they saw in friends in Division I programs. When running was part of a larger juggling act of classes, research, clubs and part-time jobs, it was an easier transition to professional life. “At the Division III level, you see a lot fewer quit cold turkey,” Flynn said. “At some Division I programs, it feels so regimented, almost like a job.” Landy saw the same when comparing her experience to her friends’. “I don’t have too many friends who stuck it out all four years,” she said. “In Division I, running always comes first, and it makes sense if you’re getting a scholarship. I just don’t think I missed anything.” That’s not to say that Division I programs will burn their athletes out. They make up the bulk of professional runners, with a few outliers from Division II, Division III and the NAIA. But for raw numbers, it’s tough to beat a subset of schools that sports 100 more schools. As runners tend to do, many chase the spectre of improvement long after graduation. Werlinger left Amherst riding the momentum her college routine built up. “I’m pretty sure I ran all of my personal bests post-graduation while I also moved forward with my professional life,” she said. “ I think that it really helped that I got so used to balancing running with all my various activities at Amherst.” Flynn still races, and three days after this magazine goes to the printer, he’s heading into town for the Army Ten-Miler. “The passion grew, I wanted to continue training hard and racing,” he said. “So many of my teammates still run, we’ll get together and do half marathons. Everyone’s doing it, at all different levels.” Sometimes it’s a feeling of unfinished business that keeps them going. “If I had a halfway decent college career, there’s no way I’d still be training to race right now,” said Liz Tawa, a Swarthmore alumna. Rook, “horribly injured” for five years through much of his 30s, still sees goals to be reached, too, but he’s on a longer-term plan. “My goal is to get healthy by the time I’m 50, so I can dominate the 50-55 age group,” he said. Laura Scaduto contributed.

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Late this summer, RunWashington debuted a weekly online feature — Monumental Runners. It’s a chance to get to know some of the personalities of the people you’re surging to catch, passing on the trails and grabbing water from during a race. It’s also a chance to recognize some of the runners who contribute to our running culture but haven’t been recognized. If you know someone you’d like to see featured, email charlie@ runwashington.com. We’re on the lookout for people who don’t get much attention, and some who aren’t necessarily looking for it. Here’s a sampling of some of the runners we’ve featured so far and some of what they’ve said about themselves. Name: Mike Tosto, 30–34 , Springfield, Va. Why I run: It’s about a 50/50 mix of pure enjoyment and testing the limits of what I can do. The hardest race you’ve ever run: It seems non-threatening on the surface, but to me the hardest distance to race all-out is a 5K. Ideal post-run meal: Avocado, egg and cheese on everything from Brooklyn Bagel, with an iced coffee and a second bagel with cream cheese to bring home and munch on later. Pet peeve: The speed-snob attitude that Color Runners are less valuable to the running community than Boston Marathoners. I think one of the greatest things about our sport is its inclusiveness, which lets any one of us show up to the same start line on the same day as Shalane Flanagan or Eliud Kipchoge. Goals: To one day have my eye on age group awards in the 80+ division. Name: John Ausema, Masters, Greenbelt, Md. Occupation: High school science teacher and cross country coach When did you get started running: I started in middle school—my teacher had a challenge for us to run 50 miles during the last marking quarter of the school year. I then went out for cross country in high school and have not looked back! Running mentors: Brian Diemer and Al Hoekstra (cross country/track coaches at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich. Diemer is also a three-time steeplechase Olympian) Favorite flavor of gel, gu, etc: Anything with a little caffeine Pet peeve: Groups of pedestrians who take up the entire width of a trail and appear oblivious to their surroundings Your advice for a new runner: Be consistent and don’t be too aggressive in ramping up mileage. Don’t be discouraged by setbacks. Why is the D.C. area a great place to be a runner: Great trails, scenic routes and mild winter weather. (I am originally from Michigan, so to me DC is mild in the winter! Usually the temps are above freezing in the afternoon and the snow and ice do not stick around for long).

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Name: Susan Pereles, 50–54, Potomac, Md. Occupation: Director, Field Development, Autism Speaks (creator & race director for July 4 Autism Speaks 5k in Potomac for the last 17 years) Have you taken a break from running: My big breaks from running have come during my pregnancies, which were high risk. However, during my first pregnancy, I ran until my 35th week. Other big breaks have come from injuries and those time periods have been crushing! Coach or training group: My coach and training group is a group of one, my husband, Dan Pereles. We’ve been running together since 1983 and have run most of our races/marathons together. I’ll return to volunteer assistant coaching at Winston Churchill High School this fall after taking a break. This will be my 9th season working with the girls team. Once again, I’ll be training with the girls from August–November. Running mentors: My older brother Mark was my first running mentor. I owe my interest in running to him. He ran marathons before it was ever “cool” to do them and he was fast. He was a great long-distance runner. Now, unfortunately, he has a son with severe autism and running must take a back seat. My husband Dan always inspires me and keeps me focused on the positive when my injuries derail me. He’s been able to get me back to running every single time. Dave Warren, Assistant Track Coach at Winston Churchill—I’ve had the pleasure of working with Dave for several years and observing him coach the team. I admire how he overcomes his own personal injury but also how patient he is as a coach and how dedicated he is to his own training routines. Favorite local race: Besides the July 4 Autism Speaks 5K in Potomac? I really enjoy the Bethesda Turkey Chase (or Trot)…. We’ve done that one a lot when we have family in town for Thanksgiving. It’s well run and lots of fun. Another small but fun local race is the Bullis Gives Back 5K in May. Great race because they use the school cross country course and the race benefits the special needs community. It’s a race that feels really good and I do love a good cross country course. Goals: I would love to be healthy again. I have had Achilles tendinosis since last May 2016 and have had two cortisone shots, PRP [platelet-rich plasma injections], bone marrow aspiration, been booted for several weeks, taken time off, etc. and am now back, albeit running very easy. Feels great. I would love to run one more marathon with my daughter someday. For now, a 5K or 10K is just fine. Song in your head during a run: I’m a Jersey girl so we always ran to Bruce—Born to Run, Running on Empty, Ready to Run…. Why is the D.C. area a great place to be a runner: Big running clubs e.g. MCRRC, lots of people run together, lots of great trails and scenic places to run, great weather….

Name: Amanda Marr, 40–45 Washington, DC Volunteer participation in running: I’m the chair of the board of directors for Girls on the Run - DC, a nonprofit organization that runs 10-week programs for girls in grades 3–5 that teaches them important life lessons, while also training to run a 5k. It’s an incredible program. We serve girls in all wards of the city. Most adventurous decision you’ve made with your running: I can’t say that I’m a very adventurous runner, but I have started to dabble in trail racing. And I’ve done several relays. Running at night is probably one of the scariest things I’ve done. (I know, not saying much.) My favorite place to run in the D.C. area is: Rock Creek Park, hands down! Favorite local trail: Western Ridge in Rock Creek Park is my go-to. I’m lucky to live a block away from the Soapstone Valley Trail, which takes you right into the park. My best race was: It wasn’t the best in terms of time, but my first marathon, Marine Corps in 2010. That high lasted for DAYS. Favorite flavor of gel, gu, etc: For marathon training, I try to recreate Coach [Don] Megerle’s pb&j. I love eating real food when possible. But I do gu and my favorite is the espresso flavor. Your advice for a new runner: One of the best pieces of advice from a friend when I was training for my first marathon was, “Just stay out there.” So I say that to new runners too. Plan a three-mile route. And just stay out there until you finish. It doesn’t matter if you walk, just commit yourself to a goal for each new run. Eventually you’ll build up your stamina. Favorite running book: Run Like a Mother by Dimity McDowell and Sarah Bowen Shea. A really fun read about learning to incorporate motherhood into running. Song in your head during a run: The poppiest of the pop. My playlist is basically the pop charts top 25. Occasionally, I listen to podcasts but not anything that’s funny because running and laughing don’t work. Running quote: “Perfect is the enemy of the good.” That’s generally my life’s motto as well, but it certainly applies to running. Not every run is going to be perfect (few are) so make sure you pat yourself on the back for just getting out there. Why is the D.C. area a great place to be a runner: I’m miserable running here in the summer, so I’ll have to say that winter running in this area is amazing. Rarely too much snow (though I actually enjoy running in the snow as long as it’s not too icy), cold and a great way to get outside during the winter months. I also love running as a version of sightseeing, especially neighborhoods I haven’t yet explored.

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By Maggie Lloyd

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“If it’s not on Strava, it didn’t happen.” Runners and bicyclists frequently use this phrase, either jokingly or sincerely, to describe the fitness-tracker-turned-social-network. Miles, splits, maps and sweaty selfies are all compiled into one social media experience. It may be your non-running friends’ nightmare, but it offers a unique opportunity to connect with both local and international athletes. Robbie Brusso, a member of the Northern Virginia Running Club, knows all 18 people he is following on Strava with one exception — local running celebrity Michael Wardian. “I mean, he’s a machine, so if I was going to follow any stranger, it made sense to follow him,” he said. During a trip to Orlando earlier this year, Brusso struggled to find running routes, ultimately resorting to loops around the shuttle entrance for Disney World. “After syncing my watch I saw that I ran a segment that ranked me second out of the people I was following.” How was that possible, he wondered. “I click the link and then I see it — Michael Wardian. He’s everywhere.” Another Strava plus: D.C.’s straight streets provide an advantage for athletes looking to send a message. On Inauguration Day this year, a cyclist used a 12-mile route to spell out “THANKS OBAMA” between Chinatown and Columbia Heights. Tracking about 10 new activities worldwide each second, Strava is also known for making its data available for analytic side projects, which it features on its website under the name Strava Labs. In February, a Runner’s World article compiled 40 of the most popular running routes in 20 U.S. cities based on Strava data. Not surprisingly, the National Mall and Rock Creek Park made the top of the list in D.C. Another Strava project, The Roster, allows users to visually analyze their group activities and training partners. It’s like a personality quiz for runners who want to know whether they’re a “Lone Wolf” or “Social Butterfly.” Perhaps one of Strava Labs’ most amusing options, Flyby, offers a playback option where users can see who was running or biking nearby during a workout. Amanda Hicks says this feature helped her make friends with athletes who often crossed paths with her in her morning runs. Jeff Redfern tried to use it to track down a cyclist that had swerved at him at high speeds during one run. Redfern also started a club page on the app for his running team, Dojo of Pain, which team co-founder Daniel Yi says has helped teammates stay connected when they can’t make it out to workouts. The competitive spirit on Strava is fueled by features that allow athletes to give kudos on each other’s workouts and set CRs, or course records, on segments created by users. Athletes who lose a CR receive the dreaded “Uh oh!” email from Strava. “Got what it takes to reclaim your crown?” the message goads. RunWashington contributor Jen

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JULIE DICKERSON and CAROLINE MOSLEY race each other up the Klingle Valley Trail. RUNWASHINGTON PHOTOS BY CHRIS FERENZI

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Maranzano avoids using the app even though she has an account. “I worry that I would start focusing too much on what other people are doing as opposed to just trusting my own training,” she said. “I’m a sucker for course records on Strava,” said Hicks, who currently has more than 120 D.C.-area course records. “The pursuit of a CR has taken me to routes I otherwise wouldn’t have tried, especially when I travel. “The downside of making my workouts public is I have had people I don’t know in real life make pretty harsh comments on Strava about my training,” she said. Hicks made her entries private for a little less than a month after that, which helped take the edge off the negative side of Strava. It’s not all cutthroat, though. Julie Dickerson follows Hicks on Strava, and even though they have never met in person, Hicks congratulated Dickerson on the app when she grabbed the CR on a segment near Piney Branch Parkway. “This sense of community and recognition of our common striving to be better runners felt really good,” Dickerson said. Recently, she and her running friends Liz Lauzon and Caroline Mosley decided to pursue CRs for added motivation through the hot summer months. Lauzon joined the quest from Mexico: “I love that Strava has created a community where we can follow each other’s efforts no matter where we are located — I know Julie and Caroline cheer me on, and I do the same for them!” Dickerson says their quest has been successful so far and she’s setting their sights on the overall record (“Watch out, men!” she says) for the 16th Street hill. In late June, things got a little intense. D.C. opened the Klingle Valley Trail, a threequarter-mile paved route that stretches from Woodley Park to Rock Creek Park on what was, for decades, a broken down road. The Strava community got to work almost immediately. Hicks, who lives close to the trail, created the half-mile Strava segment “Giddy up Klingle” for the path. She loves hills, so the 5 percent elevation grade plays to her strengths. Then Dickerson and Mosley added Klingle to their CR hunt. When they ran the path together, Dickerson momentarily wrested the CR from Hicks by one second. Kerry Allen claimed the crown in mid-July, but Dickerson carved 20 seconds off the record the next day, which put her in the overall top three Klingle finishers. On the men’s side, Georgetown Running Club teammates Kyle Wagener and Lukasz Olenginski gap the rest of the field, along with Matt Psaltakis. “I plan to try to reclaim the Klingle crown,” Hicks said. “It might not hold for long because we have a ton of fast ladies around here. We’ll see how low the record can go this Fall.” Dickerson sees it as an opportunity for women to rise in the race for the overall crown with male runners. “Hopefully we can push each other further up on that list,” Dickerson said.

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BY CHARLIE BAN

The Glover Archbold Trail RUNWASHINGTON PHOTO BY CHARLIE BAN

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If I wake up without any real idea where I want to run, you’re it. I kiss my ankles goodbye and stumble on down to Georgetown. Charles Glover, Anne Archbold, thank you for your park and its trail. I commit that to writing because at least once throughout my hour-long stumble, I’ll curse its name. Usually more. I know I shouldn’t be keeping track, but first mile split gets slower and slower, and it irks me, even though I cross those wet rocks and am terrified of tripping and falling down those stairs near Massachusetts Avenue, like Bullwinkle falling down a mountain. When I think about it, I should be thrilled that I can reach an unpaved trail a few minutes from my front door, but I always find a reason to complain. Is it all a metaphor for my running career? How did Jake always run so fast down this thing? Five times, I tripped and bruised my ribs on this trail over the course of a year. Yet, I keep it up, like a kid who keeps sticking his tongue in a fan, thinking it will be different this time. This damned bouncing back and forth hasn’t done my hips any favors. Tongue in the fan... One day, a dog is going to run right at me while I’m crossing this pipe, I’m going to slip, and that will be it for me... The National Park Service fencing at the bottom? It’s a mere suggestion. I know holding my hands up over my head when I pass over the trestle won’t save me if anything falls, but it has to help a little, right? I’m heading to Chadwick’s, only it’s not called Chadwick’s anymore. Turns out it hasn’t been for three years. I hear the wifi network is hanging onto the name as long as I am, though. When I get there, I turn around, think of all the climbing ahead of me, and wish I had stayed in bed. The traffic on Massachusetts, so busy I had to wait two minutes on my way down, is now mercilessly sparse as I bound, exaggeratedly, up the steps because I’m out of breath, I’m getting old and maybe today is the day I throw in the towel with this sport, take up golf. Looking at my running log. It says I’ve run this 37 times this year. That’s my lucky number. It seems high, but it also seems low. I’d better fix that...

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