RunWashington Magazine Summer 2015

CONROY ZIEN:

The D.C. area’s best running coach chosen by you, the readers

NATIONAL CHAMPS: PTVC masters bring home indoor track title

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COVER PHOTO: CONROY ZIEN was voted Best Coach by Best of Washington Running voters. He and Audrey Fincher coordinate the MCRRC FTM (First Time Marathoner) team, and he’s standing on the Rockville High School track, voted best track. RUNWASHINGTON PHOTO BY JIMMY DALY

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 OFF THE BEATEN PATH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 MILITARY RUNNING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 THE BEST OF WASHINGTON RUNNING 2015 . . . . . . . . . . . 10 RUNNING FOR TWO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 UPCOMING RACES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 A STAR IN EITHER COUNTRY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 MY KINGDOM FOR A WATER FOUNTAIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 KICKING IT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 LIFE WITH A RUNNER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 NATIONAL CHAMPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 CELEBRATE RUNNING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

SUMMER 2015 | RUNWASHINGTON.COM | RUNWASHINGTON | 1

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Let’s take a minute to appreciate what we have here in the D.C. running community.

A traffic accident closes down one of the major sections of an iconic road race, like Cherry Blossom, and an hour and a half later, the race goes off — albeit with a shortcut — and the most pervasive complaint across the spectrum of runners is that nobody can tell them if the pedestrian involved is alright.

We have compassionate runners, but we also have adept race directors and crews.

Our Best of Washington Running voters nominated some great races, and cast their ballots furiously in our final voting. Looking around, it’s easy to see why the races in the D.C. area are so successful. The competence, care and passion that race organizers volunteers and even participants bring is on display, alongside the rows of bananas, bagels and shirts.

When I talked to retiring Parks Half Marathon Race Director Mike Acuña about his time leading the most popular half marathon in the area, his passion for making it the best event it could be showed up when he described every step of the process involved in holding the race. The places he looked for inspiration for each race’s design motif (Parks won Best T-shirt, also), the algorithms that help determine how many pizzas to order and bananas to have ready at the finish line. Good work takes effort, and judging from the variety of nominations we received, you know good things when you see them.

We’ll open up nominations Nov. 1 through Dec. 31. If, during the final voting, you thought there were glaring omissions in the finalists, get to work rounding up some supporters! Everything, except my editor’s picks, is based on the number of votes, no discretion on my part.

Running breeds those good things. This issue features two local runners sharing stories of how running helped them dramatically improve their health and have lives that a few years ago would have been unthinkable. May is Mental Health Awareness Month and Cannon-Marie Green’s story has timely resonance because it poses an opportunity to recognize that mental illness can come in different forms and degrees, but it is treatable in one way or another. It gives a varied group of masters athletes a chance to come together and do something special — win a national track team championship. And it gives a man, looking for artistic direction, a nudge to help ply his craft.

See you out there, Charlie

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SUMMER 2015

PUBLISHER Kathy Dalby RunWashington Media LLC EDITOR IN CHIEF Charlie Ban charlie@runwashington.com SENIOR EDITOR Dickson Mercer dickson@runwashington.com CREATIVE / PRODUCTION AZER CREATIVE www.azercreative.com 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 ©2014 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.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR I enjoyed your article on race directors in the Nov/Dec 2014 issue of RunWashington. Thanks for giving us race directors our due.

I wish you’d interviewed me for the article. I could’ve offered a contrasting view, with the lack of red tape in applying for permits here in St. Mary’s County. Since I founded the Lower Potomac River Marathon in 2005, the county and state have basically rubber-stamped my permit app every year. The State’s a little iffier to deal with, but St. Mary’s County is very supportive. We don’t have to pay for police or EMS support, and they’re a big help with our marathon and ten-miler.

And I could tell you stories about having to make last-minute course adjustments on race morning for tidal flooding, or the time last year when I was setting the marathon course at 4:00 am on race morning and the parking brake on my truck slipped. I had just set the third mile marker and was walking back to my truck when it started to roll. I reached for the open door, thinking I could hop in and stomp on the brake, but I was knocked to the pavement as the truck continued to roll backward across the two-lane highway. I didn’t even notice my bloody knuckles as I got up and began to sprint after it, frantically waving my flashlight at an oncoming car. I chased the truck downhill for about 100 meters until all I could do was put my fingernails to my teeth and watch as it rolled across the shoulder and into a muddy ditch, with the passenger side sitting 45 degrees higher, and the open door wrenched forward. I was fighting gravity as I climbed in from the low side to get my phone out of my backpack, and slipping and falling in the mud, which sucked a shoe off my foot. I managed to pull my phone out while lying across the driver’s seat, then reach my arm into elbow-deep water to retrieve my shoe. I called the auto club, and after the usual menu runaround, a tow truck arrived an hour later. I had to slide out the passenger door at every mile to finish placing the rest of the markers, but I got the course set and made it to the finish line in time to start the race and even give a condensed version of my usual briefing. I was covered with mud, and my fingers were caked in blood, so I was glad to just get those runners out the gate so I could hose off before attending to the rest of my RD duties. Other than that, the race was the usual success. After all that, what was one hour lost to DST on race morning?

Liza Recto Lexington Park, MD Thanks for sharing your story, Liza!

Let us know how we’re doing! Send letters to the editor to charlie@runwashington.com.

CORRECTION In the Spring 2015 issue, Yvonne Merriweather had breast cancer, not lung cancer as reported on page 48. The phrasing of her time frame when she ran her marathons, with less than a month to live, easily gives the impression she was aware of the amount of time she had left. That was not the case, and RunWashington regrets the error.

CONTRIBUTORS CRISTINA BURBACH (The Bases for the Oases) is a local Masters runner who supplements her running with blogging and cross training (of the two, she prefers the blogging). In her free time she is a licensed attorney specializing in workplace monitoring, privacy law, and other technology issues. She blogs at www.wellimtryingtorun.blogspot.com.

EMILY DUFTON (Love Me, Love my Running Shoes) received her PhD in American Studies from George Washington University and is currently an analyst at the Center for Public Integrity. You can often find her running around the Mall or walking her giant shaggy dog, Bruno.

LAURA FINCH (Running for Two) is a Midwest native who misses the Illinois Prairie Path every day, but fortunately DC offers some okay alternatives. She works at C-SPAN and lives in Alexandria with her husband and son.

/runwashington @runwashington

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ASHLEY RODRIGUEZ, (Carrying the Flag) of Alexandria, is a public relations rep by day and freelance writer by night for Running Times and RunnersWorld.com. She started running in late 2011 when her husband encouraged her to find a hobby and she has now finished four marathons.

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BY JAKE KLIM

CABIN JOHN TRAIL MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD.

The Cabin John Trail, located just outside the Capital Beltway in Montgomery County, zigzags for nearly 9 miles along the creek it’s named after from the suburbs of Rockville to the Potomac River. Although the trail is marked by a blue dash throughout (thanks to the help of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club) and official park signage, the 8.8-mile greenway crosses six different roads, some of them major, so it’s important to pay attention and use caution because crosswalks aren’t always available. With that in mind, it’s best to break the trail into five different sections.

designed for his son in the 1950s. Rumor has it that Wright’s grandson reportedly still lives here. In another quarter mile you’ll reach Bradley Boulevard. Before crossing the street, take note of the old stone house on your right. Prior to World War I, the building was used as an electrical substation for the Great Falls trolley, which ran from downtown Chevy Chase to Great Falls. Bradley Boulevard was later built on top of the rail line.

MCARTHUR BOULEVARD TO RIVER ROAD ~ 2.6 MILES

Start your adventure by parking at Cabin John Local Park, just off MacArthur Boulevard.

A sign marks the start (or end, depending on your perspective) of the trailhead in the rear of the lot. Peering below, you’ll immediately see the steep decline, complete with railroad ties, that awaits you. As you continue, you’ll notice that the first mile of the trail is quite technical and requires a bit of rock-hopping, but know that it only gets better from here.

Approximately two miles into the run, the trail intersects Seven Locks Road. Turn right and run along the sidewalk, underneath the Capital Beltway, for about a quarter of a mile until you reach a small parking lot with a sign that directs you back to the trail. In another half mile, you will once again find yourself facing Seven Locks Road, immediately south of the intersection of River Road. Although it’s hard to see, the trail picks up on the opposite side of the street, just beyond the guardrail. Alternatively, and especially if the trail is muddy, you can run to the intersection of River Road, turn left, and follow the street until you reach a sign for the trail on the right side of the road.

RIVER ROAD TO BRADLEY BOULEVARD ~ 1.2 MILES

Once you’re safely across River Road, you’ll enter one of the most rewarding sections of the trail. Even in the middle of winter, with the trees absent of leaves, the woods here are eerily quiet. In addition, wildlife abounds; beaver, fox, raccoon and deer frequent this section of the valley. In about a mile, you’ll reach a grove of bamboo trees, which is your cue to look to the right. Positioned atop a hill, you’ll notice a unique-looking house partly hidden amongst the trees, which the worldrenowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright

BRADLEY BOULEVARD TO DEMOCRACY BOULEVARD ~ 1.8 MILES

Recent rains have eroded portions of the trail alongside the creek north of Bradley, so it’s advised to follow the new trail, which runs parallel (but further up the hill) to the original trail. There are a few small hills throughout this section, but the surrounding beauty will take your mind off the undulating terrain. The trail will suddenly end at Seven Locks Road, but hop the guardrail, turn left and continue north until you reach the intersection at Democracy Boulevard. The trail picks up caddy-corner from where you’re standing, so cross both roads and precede east up Democracy until you see a sign on the left hand side of the road directing you back to the trail.

DEMOCRACY BOULEVARD TO TUCKERMAN LANE ~ 1.9 MILES

If you’re interested in getting in more than 9 miles, you’ll find plenty of runnable trails between here and the next road crossing. In fact, these are arguably the best trails in all of Cabin John Stream Valley Park.

Once you’ve run your share, climb a hill, cross a strip of power lines, and descend towards Tuckerman Lane.

TUCKERMAN LANE TO GOYA DRIVE ~ 1.3 MILES

The Robert C. McDonnel Campground, which is frequented by boy scouts and girl scouts alike, sits on the opposite side of the road and hosts a variety of paths.

However, to continue down the the trail you’ve been running on for the past 7 miles, turn left on Tuckerman and cross the street after you pass the group picnic area where another sign directs you towards the trail. You’ve finally entered the home stretch. Climb one last hill, and then descend towards the creek. In about a mile, the trail concludes, uneventfully, at the end of Goya Drive. Hopefully you’ve arranged a pick-up. If you haven’t, you’ve got another 8.8 miles to run.

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COL. KEVIN BOYLE RUNWASHINGTON PHOTO BY DUSTIN WHITLOW/DWHIT PHOTOGRAPHY

BY ERIN MASTERSON Hard to believe, but a soldier stationed at Fort Belvoir, Va., as close as it is to D.C., might live in the area for three years and never see the Washington Monument. Or visit a Smithsonian museum. Or catch a glimpse of the cherry blossoms in spring.

The pressures of the job make it easy to get into a routine and stick to what you know.

Especially when the life of an Army soldier includes a permanent change of station every two to three years to a location of the Army’s choosing. The loss of community, friendships, networks, and familiar faces make these repeated transitions challenging for military service members, as Col. Kevin Boyle well knows. Running is his way of helping his soldiers get connected.

“When you get to a new city, you don’t know anybody or anything,” he said. “Running is a continuity. When you get to a new city, you’ll always know they’ll have races, and roads for running.”

Boyle, an Army lawyer based at Fort Belvoir, has been running for more than 35 years and now runs with the U.S. Army Garrison Fort Belvoir Army Ten-Miler team.

Led by co-captain Capt. Ryan Goltz, 212th military police detachment commander, and

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Maj. Amy Neiman, an Army Judge Advocate General (JAG) Officer, the Fort Belvoir openmixed team raced to a third place finish out of 149 teams in the 2014 Army Ten Miler, with a time of 4:22:27. Their active duty mixed team finished in 28th place out of 52, with a time of 4:58:05.

Boyle, 51, finished the 2014 Army TenMiler in 1:04:38. He completed 29 races last year and ranked fifth overall in his age group in the 2014 RunWashington Runner Rankings.

Boyle got his start while running collegiately at St. John’s University under Matt Centrowitz, now the head track and cross country coach at American University. Boyle plans to retire from the Army this summer and join Centrowitz as a volunteer assistant coach at American.

As a leader in the Army JAG Corps, Boyle has made a habit of requiring his soldiers to explore their local community through running, wherever he may be stationed. While in Germany, he required all of his soldiers to travel the 45 minutes to Paris, and either run the Paris Marathon or cheer as a spectator. “If you don’t make them do it, they would never see Paris,” he said. “People just hunker down and stick to their routines if you don’t make them venture outside of it.” He did the same while stationed in South Korea and Hawaii.

In addition to better integration in the D.C. community, Boyle notes the benefits of running for his soldiers include having more energy and improved performances on physical fitness tests, better mental and emotional well-being, and enhanced team building and teamwork.

“Running in the Army is not just about PT [physical training],” Boyle said. “It’s about overall wellness and health.” Boyle did observe, however, that all his runners have done much better on PT while stationed at Fort Belvoir than at their previous installations. He also said that they are “peppier” after a hard morning hill workout, and believes that the benefit of a hard workout can last throughout the day.

Running has also shown to help both the mental and emotional well-being of the 20 staff members who work in Boyle’s office.

Lawyers, they are responsible for writing, researching, and arguing the appeals of soldiers convicted at court martial.

“We are basically defense lawyers at the appeal level,” he said. “All cases can be stressful, including the several death penalty cases we have in the office. I have to constantly monitor their stress levels, and I find that the running helps reduce stress, especially when they are working a big case.”

The long and brutal D.C. winter was hard

on all local runners, but the runners under Boyle’s watch persevered, in part due to the benefit of the team, Boyle said. Usually he pairs his runners up with someone new so they can get to know others on the team. “My job is to keep an eye on everybody, and make sure they’re motivated,” he said.

Boyle also organizes an annual Amazing Race-style event in which runners are paired off and run to various memorials and monuments throughout D.C., with different clues at each meeting point. This event, in addition to the team’s regular runs throughout the city, also helps with Army soldiers’ integration into the community. “We do a monthly run in D.C., always tied to a holiday theme, and every run is a chance for them to see the city,” Boyle said. “D.C. is always different.”

The Army JAG office at Fort Belvoir also has organized a Run Across America campaign, in which each runner’s mileage is tracked via pushpins on a map in the office, with the goal to reach San Francisco. “It’s an office distraction, and a great way to motivate people,” Boyle said.

Boyle counts among his top runners Maj. Amy Neiman, who just missed making the Olympic Trials in the marathon in 2004; Yolanda McCray-Jones, who ran the 55- and 110-meter hurdles at West Point and is still ranked in the academy’s top five of all time in that event; and Brian Andes, a top age grouprunner in many local D.C. races.

Maj. Neiman is “the enforcer” of the group, said Boyle. “She is a leader, in a good way, and she doesn’t take any nonsense,” he said. “Everyone looks up to her, because she did really, really well on the Army Marathon team, and she inspires everybody.”

Neiman ran the 10K in college at University of Southern California. She then raced for the Army Marathon team while stationed at Fort Bragg, N.C. Now, describing herself as “burned out from road marathons,” Neiman began running ultramarathons six years ago, and hopes to run her first 100 miler this year, after taking some time off to give birth to her daughter last November.

Her husband, Army Special Forces Officer Seth Neiman, lost a leg from an injury sustained in Afghanistan two years ago. He still serves on active duty in the Army and just completed his first 5k since the injury.

Neiman appreciates Col. Boyle’s role as a leader on the team at Fort Belvoir. “Coming to D.C. is unique for service members,” she said. “For the first time in their careers, they are not part of units that do organized PT. So Col. Boyle’s group runs have really helped with that, as well as orienting people to the area. He encourages people to do local races, integrate with the running community, and go to places they might never have gone.”

The effects can be felt around the office, including increased sharing of running and race stories around the water cooler and in the hallways. “You see the benefit across the spectrum,” Neiman said. “We develop a better team, and one that has gotten into the pattern of exploring D.C. through running.”

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BY CHARLIE BAN The voters made their voices heard, even louder than their footsteps. This year, 2,472 people cast ballots for the Best of Washington Running. That was almost a 50 percent increase from last year’s voting.

Of those, 1,386 votes were cast the day the survey was emailed to recipients of RunWashington Express and by the end of the day several winners held leads they would not relinquish.

Maryland voters spoke loudly, claiming several categories with their races of several distances, the best track and sweeping the best coach category. The voting power of the Montgomery County Road Runners Club is such that any presidential hopefully would be well served by giving a stump speech at the Pike’s Peek finish line.

The “Best 10 Mile” category received the most votes — 1,835. The Cherry Blossom crew got a chance to show why they were the best when they pulled off the 2015 race despite a section of the course being unavailable. Overall, though, the Marine Corps Marathon was the largest single vote-getter, with 1,535 votes of the total 1,832 cast. I’d rather bet on middle schoolers not writing their names in wet cement than bet against Marine Corps.

We also had some really close categories. A summer evening staredown between the Rockville and Crystal City twilighters for the best evening race was almost called because of darkness. Woody Wilson’s tendency to show up at many races throughout the year helped him challenge Miles, the Marine Corps Marathon bulldog. Rockville High School’s track won by just seven votes over Washington-Lee’s. RnJ Sports in Rockville nearly nipped Fleet Feet in Gaithersburg.

I love to see this kind of enthusiasm and I hope everyone will participate in our two-month nominating survey on our website, www.runwashington.com, in November and December.

Onto the winners!

Miles

BEST MASCOT

RUNNERS UP: Woody Wilson, Dr. Bear

LIGHT. STABLE .

REMARKABLE CUSHION. THE BONDI 4.

LET’S GO .

MILES, THE MARIN CORPS MARATHON BULLDOG PHOTO COURTESY OF THE MARINE CORPS MARATHON

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Iwo Jima (Arlington, Va.)

BEST HILL

RUNNERS UP: Mormon Temple (Kensington, Md.), Shoreham Drive to Woodley Park (Washington, DC)

IWO JIMA, THE LAST OBSTACLE MARINE CORPS MARATHON RUNNERS HAVE TO SURMOUNT, ROSE ABOVE ITS COMPETITORS FOR BEST HILL. RUNWASHINGTON PHOTO BY SARA ALEPIN/PHOTOS FROM THE HARTY

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North Face Endurance Challenge

BEST OFF-ROAD RACE

RUNNERS UP: Stone Mill 50 Miler, Backyard Burn Series

Pacers (Alexandria)

BEST SPECIALTY RUNNING STORE (NOVA) RUNNERS UP: Pacers (Clarendon), Road Runner Sports (Falls Church)

Marine Corps Marathon

BEST MARATHON

RUNNERS UP: Rock ‘n’ Roll DC Marathon, Freedom’s Run Marathon

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Parks Half Marathon

BEST HALF MARATHON

RUNNERS UP: Rock ‘n’ Roll DC Half Marathon, Woodrow Wilson Bridge Half Marathon

LORI CHANG GRINS HER WAY THROUGH THE PARKS HALF MARATHON. PHOTO BY MARK SCHADLY 14 | RUNWASHINGTON | RUNWASHINGTON.COM | MAY JUNE 2014

DARCARS Rockville Rotary Runfest

BEST EVENING RACE

RUNNERS UP: Crystal Cit y Twilighter, Run Under the Lights 5k

Pike’s Peek

BEST 10K

RUNNERS UP: MCM 10k, Veterans Day 10k

Parks Half Marathon

BEST RACE T-SHIRT

RUNNERS UP: Cherry Blossom, Jingle all the Way 5k

Rockville High School (Rockville, Md.)

BEST TRACK

RUNNERS UP: Washington-Lee High School (Arlington, Va.), American University (Washington, DC)

Fleet Feet (Gaithersburg)

BEST SPECIALTY RUNNING STORE (MARYLAND)

RUNNERS UP: RnJ Sports (Rockville), Charm City Run (Baltimore)

Conroy Zien

BEST COACH

RUNNERS UP: Lisa Riechmann and Julie Sapper, Karen Craney

MCRRC First Time Marathoners

BEST PROGRAM FOR BEGINNING RUNNERS

RUNNERS UP: Fleet Feet “No Boundaries,” Pacers – Logan Circle Fun Runs

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Jingle all the Way

BEST 5K

RUNNERS UP: Run Under the Lights, Race for Every Child

JASON PLAUTZ PUTS A LITTLE EXTRA EFFORT INTO HIS FINISH AT THE JINGLE ALL THE WAY 5K. PHOTO BY BRIAN W. KNIGHT/SWIM BIKE RUN PHOTOGRAPHY

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Pacers (Logan Circle)

BEST D.C. SPECIALTY RUNNING STORE RUNNERS UP: Georgetown Running Company, Fleet Feet (Adams Morgan)

Cherry Blossom

BEST 10 MILE RACE

RUNNERS UP: Army Ten-Miler, George Washington Parkway Vlassic

Capital Crescent Trail

BEST NON-TRACK WORKOUT LOCATION RUNNERS UP: C&O Canal Towpath Trail, Mt. Vernon Trail

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Editor’s Choice: The Best of Washington Running

THE (MOSTLY) UNSEEN PEOPLE WHO MAKE OUR ENVIRONMENT READY FOR RUNNING

A MEMBER OF THE POTOMAC APPALACHIAN TRAIL CLUB BUILDS A TRAIL. PHOTO COURTESY OF POTOMAC APPALACHIAN TRAIL CLUB

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ARLINGTON COUNTY’S PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT CLEARS THE CUSTIS (BLUE) AND BLUEMONT JUNCTION (RED) TRAILS AT THE SAME TIME AS THEY TREAT MAJOR ROADS.

Arlington County Department Parks and Recreation The specter of snowfall can debase the most civilized human. We ransack grocery stores for milk and bread, drive like maniacs and find ourselves reduced to running on a treadmill because the sidewalks and trails are covered with snow.

Though the National Parks Service clears Beach Drive and East Potomac Park, that is mainly for the benefit of the cars. As we saw in February, a Saturday snow, when the roads are already closed, means it will be a day until the roads are clear, while they are closed for the weekend.

Thanks to Arlington County, there’s a reliable option out there for inundated runners. Last November, the County Board gave the Department of Parks and Recreation more than $300,000 to buy equipment to make sure the county’s multiuse trails were cleared as soon as the snow had fallen. Now, 10 miles of trails in the county are prioritized as much as the major roads.

“It was clear there was a lot of interest,” said Jane Rudolph, director of parks and recreation. “The trails are very, very, very heavily used.

The Custis Trail, from Lynn Street in Rosslyn all the way to the East Falls Church Metro station, is the lion’s share of the work, 4.4 miles. The 1.25 mile Bluemont Junction Trail; 2.25 miles of the Four Mile Run Trail, between Shirlington Road and Ronald Reagan National Airport; and a little less than half a mile of the Route 110 Trail all get care.

Rudolph credited the bicycling community with lobbying the county, but said the decision was as much for general recreation as bicycle commuters.

The county parks employees do the work, mainly because they are more familiar with the nuances of the trails and contractors might be liable to damage the trails, Rudolph said.

That meant shuffling around staff members, who used to spend snowy days clearing parking lots.

Crews make multiple passes with plows, equipped with snow blower attachments for more than 4 inches, sometimes with two plows on the same trail.

“We’re seeing other municipalities do this, and we’re hoping together we’ll have a network with plenty of options for runners and bikers.”

The National Parks Service did some clearing of the D.C. portion of the Capital Crescent Trail, and Montgomery County plowed its portion at times, but Arlington County got the job done consistently this winter.

Potomac Appalachian Trail Club The trails don’t take care of themselves, so thank goodness for the volunteers from the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club. They maintain a variety of trails in the D.C. area and welcome help. You can reach volunteer coordinators for the following trails: • • • • • • •

Rock Creek Park wdctrails@yahoo.com The C&O Canal Towpath south of Great Falls The Bull Run-Occoquan Trail The Potomac Heritage Trail D_PHT@patc.net The Manassas National Battlefield D_MANASSAS_NBP@patc.net The Cabin John Trail Prince William Forest Park mark.ellis21@comcast.net

More information www.patc.net.

is

available

at

SUMMER 2015 | RUNWASHINGTON.COM | RUNWASHINGTON | 19

Runners take in the sights during the 2015 Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run. Photo by Dustin Whitlow/D. Whit Photography 20 | RUNWASHINGTON | RUNWASHINGTON.COM | SUMMER 2015

Why do you love running in the D.C. area?

“Variety! Marathons small and big. triathlons , obstacle races. Everything you need or want is around this area. Plus, plenty of places to train.. Reston’s trails, the W&OD Trail. The Reston Triathlon is my favorite, but honestly there isn’t anything I don’t like doing.

Absolutely everything I’ve participated in, I’ve had a great experience.”

-Tom Kalka, Potomac Falls, Va. “The running community is great and there are a lot of friendly runners out there.

There is also a fantastic trail system in place for runners and not to mention running on the mall in D.C. Also, we get all four seasons to run in as well and it’s fun to change it up.”

- Chris Gault, Gaithersburg, Md. “I love the first warm day of running when you get into Rock Creek Park and it’s just a party of runners!”

-Lauren Gabler, Arlington, Va. “It’s a beautiful place, great races, great community. I love the Capital Crescent Trail.”

-Norm Coleman (not the former senator), Chevy Chase, Md. “I like to run on the Mount Vernon Trail. I love the George Washington Parkway Classic.

There are so many good 10 mile races around here, and they all benefit good causes.”

-James Koller, Alexandria, Va. “You get to run around the monuments, and I can get there from work. I love running in the Cherry Blossom and Army Ten-Miler and I’ve run Marine Corps four of the eight years I’ve been running. I got in this year!”

-Amy Fabella, Alexandria, Va.

“My second practice (as a Teens Run DC mentor), I’ll never forget it. One of the kids asked me why we were running so slow. I got so motivated to become a good mentor and I got back in shape for them. I wouldn’t run if it wasn’t for them.”

-Nicole Rivera, Washington, D.C.

“It’s amazing. My family called me from Florida and Cherry Blossom was on the local news down there. It’s such a big race and it’s right here. The historic surroundings, the people, the encouragement, the cheering, the scenery, I can’t imagine running in a better environment. I wouldn’t consider doing a race without going through the PR training program. The camaraderie, the friendships you establish through it. It’s amazing.”

-Lynn MacGillivary, Stone Ridge, Va. “There’s nothing better. I couldn’t imagine running at home in India, the climate here is perfect. I turned things around after being diagnosed with diabetes at 32, now I’ve done Marine Corps and the Chicago Marathon. I’m doing the New York Marathon this fall.”

-Jay Duraikkannan, Herndon, Va. “I like running through the more touristy areas. The monuments, the cherry blossoms.

But you can get out of the city if you want on the C&O or Rock Creek Park. The standard running spots.”

-Lauren Rice, Washington, D.C. “I love the variety. You can run through the Mall or Rock Creek Park. Trails, pavement… you can get whatever you want there.”

-Megan Sullivan, Takoma Park, Md.

SUMMER 2015 | RUNWASHINGTON.COM | RUNWASHINGTON | 21

Photos taken by the author on her runs.

RUNWASHINGTON PHOTO BY LAURA FINCH

BY LAURA FINCH With a yellow marker, I highlighted two symptoms of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome on the printout from my doctor’s office: obesity and infertility.

Taping it next to my bed, where I’d see it every morning, I remembered my doctor’s advice: “There’s not a lot you can do other than to try to lose some weight.”

Then I started running.

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, or PCOS, is actually a hormonal imbalance which may be genetic and is thought to be linked to excess insulin. It can lead to ovarian cysts, weight gain and a laundry list of other un-fun symptoms, but most importantly, it prevents ovulation — step number one for anyone trying to get pregnant.

In fact, PCOS is the number one cause of infertility in women, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

And the hard thing about it is that it often exhibits no symptoms — until a cyst is rupturing while you’re at work and you think you might die, or until you’re trying to get pregnant. In my case, moves between cities, jobs and insurance plans had delayed my interest in starting a family until my late 20s. Meanwhile, the lack of a consistent doctor during all the transition delayed my diagnosis. I knew facing infertility at 30 could potentially be tough, but I really, really hoped to avoid facing it at 40.

Luckily, I was living just a few blocks

22 | RUNWASHINGTON | RUNWASHINGTON.COM | SUMMER 2015

from the National Mall. Bookended by the U.S. Capitol on the east and the Lincoln Memorial on the west, it’s the perfect inspirational route. I measured runs not in miles, but in landmarks that now feel like good friends: Capitol Hill was where I first huffed through a workout without walking. The Air and Space museum marked the turnaround point for a three- mile route. The Washington Monument was a major moment of victory, since I made it there and back without even a cramp on my first ever five-mile run. When I finally ran to Mr. Lincoln for a full six miles, about four months after starting training, I wanted to climb up and kiss those big granite lips.

When you run in Washington, it’s impossible not to wonder who you’re running with. Here were, no doubt, chiefs of staff, White House officials and members of Congress, sneaking out pre-dawn for some stress relief before a long day of running… the country.

I saw a certain female senator from New Hampshire on several occasions. Between the people watching and the stately Smithsonian Museums lining the route, every early morning was like a history lesson. I’d get into the office after a great run and pore over my RunKeeper routes, planning for the day I’d make it to the Kennedy Center — or even further.

After a long summer of pounding the gravel, it was October, and time for the Army Ten-Miler — my first time racing anything longer than a 5k. A friend flew into town to run it with me. The day before the race, as we walked along the mall, he told me that he and

his wife were expecting their first child, and she had just cleared the first trimester. I was thrilled for him, but more motivated than ever.

We spent the rest of the weekend — including much of the race itself — dreaming about parenthood, debating which Chicago suburb they should move to, and pondering how to balance careers and families. Even with the crowds, I ran my fastest pace yet.

It is easier to get motivated when you have a looming, threatening goal to fear—like possible infertility. But I also found that running became the most luxurious part of my day. In direct contrast with most of my time, which was spent trying to meet the perceived expectations of people around me, running was the only time of day I was doing something purely for myself.

In my new temp job, I was racking up media hits in an attempt to earn a full-time position.

On Saturdays, I was enduring eight hours of graduate school classes. In the evenings, I was trying to find the time to cook real food and still hang out a bit with my husband.

But every morning at 6 a.m., I determined the route. I learned to listen to my body. I learned the best and worst meals for the night before a long run (best: black beans and rice; worst: beer and popcorn from Nationals Park). In the end, I lost more than 40 pounds and dropped three sizes. I was happy, but the cysts stuck around.

And then at some point, I stopped caring about them. Somewhere during that year, I realized that I wanted to run, not for the sake of some theoretical future child, but

just for me. It was my health and happiness at stake. If I didn’t carve out time to cultivate that, nobody else was going to do it for me.

That seems to me like a pretty good lesson for anyone—especially someone hoping to become a mother.

This Mother’s Day, I’ll set out from our new apartment in Alexandria for a walk on the Mt. Vernon trail — with a precious, pudgy six-monthold named Charlie. Sometimes, late at night, I watch his sleeping face and wonder if all those miles logged on the mall made the pregnancy possible. Of course I’ll never know, but I know for sure they have and will make me a better mom, because they taught me about self-care.

In fact, I stopped running for a long time after he was born because I was so discouraged by our brutal and unwanted C-section experience. I felt cheated, as if I’d been training for a marathon for 10 months, only to be told that I wouldn’t be allowed to cross the starting line “for fear of infection.”

My new doctor, part of the midwifery practice at George Washington University, coaches pregnant women to “chop wood, carry water, hunt and gather, chase the antelope.” She advocates for 30 to 60 minutes of outdoor exercise a day, and “eating foods that your great grandmother would recognize as food.” Even if her recommendations don’t add up to a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean), I now know how to take care of myself, in order to take care of someone else. I hope Charlie remembers me as happy, healthy and relaxed, chasing down antelope for him.

SUMMER 2015 | RUNWASHINGTON.COM | RUNWASHINGTON | 23

MAY 9 ADAM’S ANGELS 5K FAIRFAX, VA RACCOON RUNN 5K FAIRFAX, VA LACE UP FOR RAINN VIRTUAL 5K WASHINGTON, DC MERCY 5K WASHINGTON, DC NATIONAL POLICE WEEK 5K WASHINGTON, DC WOOD ACRES JOGFEST 5K BETHESDA, MD ROCKET RUN 5K ROCKVILLE, MD RALLY IN THE VALLEY 5K PURCELLVILLE, VA

MAY 10

LOGAN’S RUN

RED SHOE 5K

SILVER SPRING, MD

HERNDON, VA

ETHIO-AMERICAN 5K

BODIES IN MOTION 5K/10K

CARDEROCK, MD

WARRENTON, VA

GERMANTOWN 5 MILER

MAY 19

GERMANTOWN, MD TURTLE TROT 5K ARLINGTON, VA

DCRRC ONE HOUR TRACK RUN ALEXANDRIA, VA

PAIGE R SAUCEDO 5K

MAY 23

HERNDON, VA

GLOWDOGGLOW 5K

RACE TO VICTORY 5K

MANASSAS, VA

BRISTOW, VA

SAVE THE TRAIL 5K

CLIFTON CABOOSE TWILIGHT 5K

BETHESDA, MD

CLIFTON, VA

MAY 24

CARTER’S RUN 5K ASHBURN, VA CASCADES FIRECHASE 10K/5K STERLING, VA

ALEXANDRIA RUNNING FESTIVAL HALF MARATHON AND 5K ALEXANDRIA, VA

FALCON 5K

MAY 25

ANGEL KISSES 5K

DALE CITY, VA

JEREMY’S RUN 5K/10K

FAIRFAX, VA

HOLY FAMILY FALCON 5K

OLNEY, MD

2015 PUBLIC SERVICE 5K

DALE CITY , VA

RINGING IN HOPE 5K/10K

WASHINGTON, DC

FOUNTAINHEAD OFF-ROAD

ASHBURN, VA

GIDDY UP FOR HEALTHY HEADS 15K/5K

HALF MARATHON AND 10K

MEMORIAL 5K

MIDDLEBURG, VA

FAIRFAX STATION, VA

GAITHERSBURG, MD

HOPE FOR HENRY’S 5K

RACE FOR LINMARIE

BETHESDA, MD

WOODBRIDGE, VA

MAY 30

RUN AWARE

CAPON VALLEY 50K

CABIN JOHN, MD

YELLOW SPRING, WV

MOTHER’S DAY FLOWER POWER 5K ALEXANDRIA, VA

MAY 17

COMMUNITY RESIDENCES 5K ARLINGTON, VA RACE4RESPECT WASHINGTON, DC

LOUDOUN LYME 5K

BLUE CRAB BOLT 5K/10K

ASHBURN, VA

TRAIL RUNNING SERIES-RACE #1

CAPITOL HILL CLASSIC 10K

GAITHERSBURG, MD

WASHINGTON, DC

SOAR LIKE AN EAGLE 5K

MILES FOR MELANOMA

ALEXANDRIA, VA

WASHINGTON, DC

VIRGINIA WINE COUNTRY HALF MARATHON

SEMPER FI 5K

5K RUN TO BREAK THE SILENCE

PURCELLVILLE, VA

WASHINGTON ,DC

ON OVARIAN CANCER

WE’VE GOT YOUR BACK 5K

GAZA 5K

FAIRFAX, VA

RESTON, VA

WASHINGTON ,DC

JOE CASSELLA 5K

MAY 31

MOTHER’S DAY 4 MILER RESTON, VA MOTHERS HELPING MOTHERS 5K SPRINGFIELD, VA

MAY 16

GREAT FALLS, VA

OAKTON FOOTBALL 5K OAKTON, VA

24 | RUNWASHINGTON | RUNWASHINGTON.COM | SUMMER 2015

JUN 6

JUN 21

AUG 2

BORN TO RUN 5K

FATHER’S DAY 8K

RILEY’S RUMBLE HALF MARATHON

CHANTILLY, VA

WASHINGTON, DC

BOYDS, MD

BLUE CRAB BOLT 5K/10K

ZERO PROSTATE CANCER 4 MILER

TRAIL RUNNING SERIES-RACE #2

ARLINGTON, VA

AUG 7

CLARKSBURG, MD

FATHERS HELPING FATHERS 5 MILE

EMPOWERING ACTION 5K

FAIRFAX STATION, VA

GAITHERSBURG, MD

RUN WITH DAD 5K

AUG 14

COLLEEN’S BA 5K

RESTON , VA

LOST DOG 5K

KENSINGTON, MD

JUN 28

ARLINGTON, VA

REV3GLOW RUN 5K

LOST DOG 5K ARLINGTON, VA

FREEDOM FOUR MILER

AUG 16

ARLINGTON, VA

LEESBURG 20K AND 5K

MANASSAS PARK, VA

JUL 4

LEESBURG, VA

BELMONT BAY BELMONT STAKES

AUTISM SPEAKS 5K

AUG 21

WOODBRIDGE, VA

POTOMAC, MD

LOST DOG 5K

BALTIMORE 10 MILER

FIRECRACKER 5K

ARLINGTON, VA

BALTIMORE, MD

RESTON, VA

JUN 7

FREEDOM 5K

AUG 22

ALDIE, VA MANASSAS PARK TIE-DYE 5K

OY VEY 5K ROCKVILLE, MD

JUN 12 DC FRONT RUNNERS PRIDE RUN WASHINGTON, DC

JUN 13 LAWYERS HAVE HEART 10K/5K WASHINGTON, DC RUN AMUCK-MCM SERIES

FAIRFAX, VA

JUL 5 LITTLE BENNETT CROSS COUNTRY 10K CLARKSBURG, VA

JUL 18 DCRRC TRACK CHAMPIONSHIPS ARLINGTON, VA DARCARS ROTARY TWILIGHT RUNFEST 8K

JUL 19

PURPLESTRIDE

POTOMAC RIVER RUNNING BIRTHDAY BASH 5K

WASHINGTON, DC

FAIRFAX, VA

CROFTON KIWANIS/TEAM SURLIS

SWEATFEST 5 MILE

10KCROFTON, MD

LORTON, VA

TWILIGHT FESTIVAL 4 MILER

JUL 25

JUN 20

AUG 23 SOUTH LAKES 10K RESTON, VA

AUG 28 LOST DOG 5K ARLINGTON, VA

CRYSTAL CITY TWILIGHTER ARLINGTON, VA

RUN FOR THE ROSES 5K

AUG 1

WHEATON, MD

FRIENDS OF W&OD 10K

BLUE CRAB BOLT 5K/10K

VIENNA, VA

GERMANTOWN, MD

DICKENSON, MD

ROCKVILLE, MD

QUANTICO, VA

ASHBURN, VA

EASTERN COUNTY 8K

Upcoming races is not a comprehensive listing of road races, but are chosen for their proximity to the Washington, D.C. area. Listings are based largely on information provided by race directors on the free online race calendar at www.runwashington.com. It Is wise to confirm event details with organizers before registering for an event. Date and times are subject to change. Race directors should add their events to the free online calendar as soon as race dates are confirmed. If race will be held between Aug. 17 and Oct. 31 and you would like it to be included in the Fall 2015 issue, please add it to the online calendar

by July 10.

SUMMER 2015 | RUNWASHINGTON.COM | RUNWASHINGTON | 25

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HIRUNI WIJAYARATNE, near the finish of the 2015 Rock ‘n’ Roll D.C. Half Marathon.

PHOTO BY MARATHONFOTO

BY ASHLEY RODRIGUEZ SUMMER 2015 | RUNWASHINGTON.COM | RUNWASHINGTON | 27

For Hiruni Wijayaratne, the last six years have been a whirlwind adventure. The track star — who won a 3,200m state championship as a junior at Herndon High School — is now eyeing the chance to represent her native Sri Lanka at the IAAF World Championships in Beijing this August.

Although her career at the marathon and half marathon distances has been brief — only spanning about six months — it’s been wildly successful. Last October, she was the first-place female finisher at the Evansville Half Marathon in Indiana. A month later, her debut marathon in Indianapolis — where she clocked 2:43:35 — was just seconds shy of making the marathon trials-qualifying cut for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials. It was fast enough, however, to qualify to compete as part of the Sri Lankan national team.

But the excitement of qualifying has been somewhat clouded by immigration regulations both at home and in a country nearly 9,000 miles away. Like millions of other immigrants, Wijayaratne renounced her native citizenship upon becoming a U.S. citizen last year. Now, to solidify her place on the Sri Lankan World Championships team, Wijayaratne needs to become a dual citizen of Sri Lanka — which has been an extensive process.

“The Sri Lankan government was willing to consider me a ‘special case’ and accept a request for dual citizenship. Then the Sri Lanka elections occurred [in January], a new president stepped into office and, since, the political agenda and regulations have been a mess,” she explained. “They are now requesting double the application fee — which is a lot of money — and to summon a special committee to review any application, which is taking a very long time.”

Wijayaratne has spent the last 15 years away from the country, making her a relatively unfamiliar face in the Sri Lankan athletics scene.

She has several Sri Lankan national records pending in the half-marathon, 15k and 10k, and did receive positive press when a national newspaper, The Sunday Times, wrote about her stellar performance at the Monumental Marathon in Indianapolis. But her best chance to make the team is to do well at her first Boston Marathon appearance on April 20, when she’ll toe the start line with the elite women.

“I hope to run fast enough in Boston for my ‘net worth’ in athletic terms to increase, which should lead to an expedited [dual citizenship] process,” she said, adding that she expects to know the Sri Lanka Athletics Association’s final decision shortly after the Boston Marathon. Despite the high stakes, Wijayaratne is thrilled just to be competing in the iconic race.

“Boston will be my first time in a race of that caliber,” she said. “I’m in the elite field and I’m ecstatic. I don’t know how that happened.”

28 | RUNWASHINGTON | RUNWASHINGTON.COM | SUMMER 2015

Wijayaratne humbly credits her success as “beginner’s luck,” but Pete Sherry, her coach at Herndon, knew she had the potential to be a great runner since she took her first lap around the track back in the fall of 2005, when she was just a freshman.

Sherry, who won silver in the World University Games in 1991 and qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials three times, credits her success to talent and consistent training. He coached her for four years in high school and, since then, they’ve stuck together. Sherry now coaches her via phone from her new home in Evansville. Although it comes with challenges, Sherry believes their decadelong relationship serves them well.

“I know her so well that we’ve clicked. I get her,” Sherry said. “Not being able to see her work out is the only real issue. There are times during training I may have given her more or less depending on how she looked. She is incredibly driven. To be able to handle this training, work full time and live in Evansville is amazing.”

Wijayaratne, who also received her MBA from the University of Kentucky in 2014, works approximately 60 hours each week as an executive team lead at Target, which she said is a demanding job, both physically and mentally. She spends roughly 90 percent of her workday on her feet. Couple that with running 80-100 miles a week and the lack of quality training facilities in Evansville, and Wijayaratne has a tough workload.

“This is where Pete Sherry excels,” she said. “He understands I can’t train like a professional marathoner because I’m not one.

So we have figured out a way to squeeze in workouts wherever and whenever. There are days I run just before midnight to get the miles in that day! But, hey, what’s success without a little sacrifice?”

She and Sherry make it work, shifting workouts and rest days depending on her schedule each week. Wijayaratne logs 10 to 12 miles three times a week, with strength training and treadmill work on Thursdays. Her long runs of 16-22 miles typically land on Tuesdays — a bit “unorthodox,” she said, but allow her to get the recovery time she needs. Wijayaratne works every other weekend, so on her Saturdays off, she gets in a second workout.

Despite Wijayaratne’s unconventional schedule, she’s confident she’ll perform well in Boston later this month. Her goal is simple: just run faster than she did in Indianapolis.

From there, she’s gunning for a spot on the 2016 Olympic marathon team in Rio de Janeiro, when she’ll be 25.

“I think the goal is feasible,” she said.

“I’ve already run under 2:44 for the Sri Lankan team. But if for some reason it isn’t in the plan for this coming Olympic games, then Tokyo [in 2020] would be one of my last and best chances either for Sri Lanka or the U.S.”

Sean O’Leary catches a quick drink at an NPS-run water fountain along the National Mall on Jefferson Drive.

PHOTO BY DUSTIN WHITLOW/DWHIT PHOTOGRAPHY

30 | RUNWASHINGTON | RUNWASHINGTON.COM | SUMMER 2015

Looking for a drink on the run?

Know what to expect from water fountains

BY CRISTINA BURBACH It’s a simple expectation. You press the button and water comes out. Except sometimes it doesn’t.

After one too many betrayals, and with summer on the horizon, I decided I’d track down exactly when the fountains were turned on or off for several local trails. Surely there had to be a consistent policy? And one for the bathrooms as well?

I was naïve. As any local race director will tell you, the D.C. area is a splatter painting of administrative jurisdictions. It’s not surprising that there is no one group managing all D.C. area trails and associated support (water fountains, bathrooms, etc). What is surprising is that, even within the confines of a single path, different elements can be managed by different groups.

On the Washington and Old Dominion Trail (W&OD), for example, the trail itself is maintained by NOVA Parks, the new acronym for the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority (previously known as NVRPA). However, ownership of the fountains and bathrooms along the W&OD varies by location. Some are maintained

by NOVA Parks, while others belong to Arlington County or the towns of Leesburg and Vienna. Similarly, along the Capital Crescent, some facilities are maintained by the Montgomery County Department of Parks (MC Parks), and others by the National Parks Service (NPS).

The area commonly known as Rock Creek Park is actually two separate parks that share a border and a namesake. Within the confines of D.C., from the Potomac River to the D.C.Maryland border, it’s known as Rock Creek Park and is administered by NPS. North of the border, it’s called Rock Creek Trail and is managed by MC Parks.

The C&O Towpath is comfortingly simple – all 180 plus miles of it is maintained exclusively by NPS as a single park. But then there’s Hains Point, also maintained by NPS, as a counter example. Hains Point is officially four distinct areas: East Potomac Park, West

SUMMER 2015 | RUNWASHINGTON.COM | RUNWASHINGTON | 31

Potomac Park, and the Martin Luther King Jr. and Thomas Jefferson memorials. Only the King and Jefferson memorials are listed as official entities on the NPS website; neither East nor West Potomac Parks exist, if the NPS website is your guide.

A few calls to the National Parks Service revealed that East and West Potomac Parks do in fact exist, and that they fall under the broader “National Mall and Memorial Parks” group. (If you’re curious, the dividing line between East and West Potomac Parks is Interstate 395, with East Potomac Park lying to the south and east of the overpass.) However, I was unable to get a consistent answer as to which group within NPS managed the facilities at East Potomac Park.

And the complexity doesn’t end with the jurisdictional questions. Even within a single park there can be different types of water fountains. The majority of the fountains in the DC region are seasonal, but some are “frost free” and thus left on year round. As for which are which? It varies by the location of the fountain, and in some cases, by the shape of it.

The frost-free fountains of the DC area include those on the Maryland side of the Capital Crescent trail, the fountain at Catoctin Circle in Leesburg on the W&OD trail, some of the fountains within Bon Air, Barcroft, and Bluemont parks on the W&OD, and some of the fountains within the D.C. portion of Rock Creek Park. In Rock Creek Park, the frost-free fountains can be identified by their appearance – square brown or green bases with stainless steel rounded basins. Within that park, it’s the older fountains that are embedded in stone or concrete that are shut off for the winter.

32 | RUNWASHINGTON | RUNWASHINGTON.COM | SUMMER 2015

Frost-free fountains are the exception, though, and not the rule. Most fountains along the local trails are turned on and off with the seasons – “winterized” is the official term. The exact on/off dates depend on the trail. Along the C&O towpath and at Fletcher’s Cove, the fountains are turned on the last week in March, and off in midNovember. In the DC portion of Rock Creek Park, the seasonal fountains are on for a shorter period of time, from April through October. And along the Maryland section of Rock Creek Trail, there are no set dates - the fountains are turned on or off to coincide with temperatures falling below or rising above freezing.

Along the W&OD trail, the seasonal fountains include those at Shirlington (mile 0), West End Park in Falls Church (mile 7), Reston (between miles 17 and 18), and Lawson Road in Leesburg (between miles 32.5 and 33). These fountains are winterized between mid-November and mid-to-late March, with the exact dates determined by conditions. There are also seasonal fountains within Bon Air, Barcroft, and Bluemont parks, which are available between March 15 and November 15. And the fountain at Maple Avenue in Vienna is on its own schedule.

It’s turned off the day after the Vienna Halloween Parade in October, and on again during the last week in March.

As for Hains Point, within both parks and both memorials all water fountains are winterized. This includes the fountains with a green/brown square base – though fountains with that appearance are on year round in Rock Creek, they are seasonal on Hains Point. There are no official on/off dates for the fountains on Hains Point, since the

timing hinges on when temperatures are reliably above freezing. However, NPS targets the annual blooming of the cherry blossoms as the very latest date the fountains will be turned on for the year.

Of course, water fountains are only half of the runner’s biological equation. Fortunately, the majority of bathrooms along DC area trails are open year round, though not necessarily 24 hours. But there are those that are locked for the season, or even closed generally, to the despair of runners in urgent need.

Within most National Parks Services facilities, including Fletcher’s Cove, the C&O Towpath, and Rock Creek Park DC, the bathrooms are officially open at dawn and closed at dusk year round, to match the hours of the park. There is one exception – the comfort station at Picnic Grove 10 in Rock Creek Park is closed on November 1 of each year and reopened on April 1, due to a lack of power and presumably heat at that station. If you’re in need at that station come winter, your best bet is to run south a mile down Beach Drive to the comfort station at Picnic Grove 6.

And though the facilities along the Towpath and in Rock Creek are only officially open during daylight hours, they may be left unlocked at other times, even 24/7 in the case of Fletcher’s Cove. Of course, even if the bathrooms are formally closed at those times, as long as they are unlocked, technicalities have little meaning to the desperate.

As for the section of Rock Creek Trail in Maryland? While there are bathrooms in park activity buildings near the trail, those bathrooms are available only to those who have reserved the building from Montgomery County Parks in exchange for a fee. For the rest of us, there’s shrubbery and Starbucks (in

reverse order of preference for this author).

Along the W&OD in Virginia, there are bathrooms at both Bluemont and Bon Air Parks within Arlington. The bathroom at the western portion of Bluemont Park is open year round, while the bathrooms at Bon Air Park and the eastern section of Bluemont are off from November 15 to March 15.

On Hains Point, the bathrooms in West Potomac Park are affiliated with the Jefferson and King Memorials. These bathrooms generally open at 6 a.m. and close at 11 p.m. to follow the opening and closing hours for those parks, though they may also be open at other times, depending on park police schedules.

But then there’s East Potomac Park. The schedules of the facilities along Ohio Drive remain a mystery. According to the general information number for the National Mall and Memorial Parks, the bathrooms within East Potomac Park are opened and closed by the National Park Police at their discretion.

However, the National Park Police in turn responded that they did not manage the bathrooms – the National Parks Service did.

Calls and emails to the media point of contact for the National Mall and Memorial Parks group went unanswered.

This confusion, of course, is consistent with my general experience of the bathrooms along Ohio Drive rarely being open (and never when you truly need them). The lesson here is that it is always best to have a back-up plan when running on Hains Point.

And that’s really the general lesson here as well. Though there is a general method to the madness, the actual availability of water fountains and bathrooms can be as unpredictable as the weather. The wise runner always plans ahead, with multiple fallback options.

SUMMER 2015 | RUNWASHINGTON.COM | RUNWASHINGTON | 33

Register or donate today at LawyersHaveHeartDC.org

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Eighth Annual 5K Charity Race to Support the Equal Footing Foundation hosted by W2 Communications (w2comm.com)

Sunday, September 27, 2015 at 8:00 a.m.

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You don’t have to be a lawyer!

Saturday, June 13, 2015 Washington Harbour at Georgetown

CANNON-MARIE GREEN grins throughout the 2015 Cherry Blossom run.

PHOTO BY MARATHONFOTO

BY CHARLIE BAN SUMMER 2015 | RUNWASHINGTON.COM | RUNWASHINGTON | 35

Cannon-Marie Green called her shot with confidence that would make Babe Ruth blush.

Living in California in 2014, she was determined to get into the Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run. She knew volunteering was her best chance to ensure she got in the next year, so she signed up to help out. After flying to Lexington, Ky. and picking up her car (long story), she drove it to Washington, D.C. At the end of her road trip home, she walked into her parents’ house and announced she was moving to D.C. That move was unthinkable years before, when she was a smoker whose anxiety was, at times, crippling.

Hooked Green took her first drag from a cigarette as a high school senior while visiting a former exchange student in Paris.

“I asked her to teach me how to inhale,” she said. “I turned into that after-school special cautionary tale, where you have one cigarette and you’re hooked.”

Cigarettes became a bandage over her fundamental inability to manage her stress.

They also provided her a refuge.

“People didn’t want to hang around with a smoker,” she said. “So when I would have a cigarette, I’d be off on my own and alone with my thoughts,” which she liked.

She first tried to quit as a college senior, 15 years ago.

“It was part of a big effort for me to do everything right,” she said. “I was going to eat healthy, take care of myself, drink more water.

It was a lot to change at once.”

Despite taking an optimistic attitude into it, the chemical dependency was too much, and it was the first of several failed attempts.

“When you’re trying to break a habit involving a substance, you have to face how ugly it can get,” she said. “I didn’t, for a long time.”

Law school and a subsequent career practicing law didn’t help matters. Stress was

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part of her daily routine.

“She was feeling hopeless, in her career and marriage,” said Caroline Ramierez, one of her closest friends. “She was going through the motions, but a lot of her life seemed out of control.”

In 2011, then living in Kentucky, she was ready to kick her habit, and this time she made a comprehensive effort. A month’s preparation involved thorough analysis of her mental state, tracing back the feelings that accompanied her reach for her cigarettes.

“It wasn’t like when I eat because I’m hungry; there was a reason I was choosing to light something on fire and put it in my mouth,” she said.

She tried “the gum,” but soon discovered that the ultra-light cigarettes she smoked had far less nicotine than she was chewing.

“That was nice, at least I wasn’t coming down from as high of a tolerance to nicotine.”

This time, she was entirely focused on the smoking cessation. The diet, exercise, all of that was secondary and would wait. But she was lucky and found those variables took care of themselves. Within a month of her last smoke, she was in the gym, walking on the treadmill. Five months after that, she decided to start running.

It was going to be gradual, but significant.

The first day, she ran a quarter mile, then the next day, a half mile. Three-quarters on the third day. Then she ran an entire mile. It was the first non-stop mile of her life.

“Once I finished that mile, I was hooked,” she said. “I never expected I’d like running, but I was getting so bored on the treadmill.”

Her cousin, a national-class triathlete, was one of her biggest supporters, both emotionally and technically.

“She encouraged me very early to do races,” she said. “Once a month, try different kinds of races, different conditions.”

And she did, but that, too, like her drive from Kentucky to California, by way of D.C., was complicated.

SUMMER 2015 | RUNWASHINGTON.COM | RUNWASHINGTON | 37

The other thing Overwhelming anxiety had accompanied her cigarette addiction. Her life was out of her control. She constantly assessed her environment and ways it could harm her, a condition known as hypervigilance.

“I had doctors who were telling me, ‘this is how it’s going to be for the rest of your life, kid,’” she said.

And it could have been. Hypervigilance is considered a component of post-traumatic stress disorder, which gets a lot of attention in the context of combat veterans, but less so in more mundane circumstances, where it can go undiagnosed.

Green has not been around any improvised explosive devices or gunshots, but trauma comes in many forms and exists on a spectrum, said Kristal Wortham, executive director of the D.C. chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

She described her own experience with PTSD, when tripping on a sidewalk left her with a torn ligament in her leg.

“Now when I’m walking down the street, I’m looking two, three, four steps ahead to make sure the sidewalk is level,” Wortham said. “It was a trauma, not the kind people normally associate with that word, but it was traumatic to me.

“Our society has almost pigeonholed these conditions and our perspective of what PTSD can mean.”

Green identifies the underlying trauma as her consistent anxiety, being unable to cope with demands placed on her, many times demands she welcomed because she never said no.

“I would run myself ragged and just accept it,” she said. “I was anxious as a teenager and in college. When I was an adult, the stakes were higher and I had a tendency to hide from my problems. When I’d look out, I saw they had just gotten worse.”

Her key, she said, has been to be willing to say no to things, to keep her plate clean, something Wortham said is fundamental to managing a mental illness.

“Self awareness is priceless,” she said. “If you don’t understand your triggers, you won’t be able to enjoy the longevity of recovery.”

Green anchors herself with her planner, which she uses to budget her time and her peace of mind.

“I like the tactile sensation of having something I can touch,” she said. “It’s more real than the calendar on my phone.”

But running helps, too With hypervigilance, concerns over how much a person can control rule the day, so going outside into an uncertain world is a terrifying gamble.

“It interfered with my quality of life,” she said. “Leaving my house to go grocery shopping was frankly, an ordeal.”

But when it came to running outside,

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where anything could happen, the pros far outweighed the cons for Green.

“Running kicked out the walls and reminded me that I am fearless,” she said. “People who aren’t runners can feel intimidated by what we do, but it’s such a warm, welcoming community. I wouldn’t enjoy this nearly as much without the community.”

She rolls out of bed to run to the Lincoln Memorial from her home in D.C. She keeps focusing her running energy on enjoying the sport and places no expectations on it.

“I never want to get too serious about it,” she said.

That makes a lot of sense to Wortham.

“Mental illness often results from a chemical imbalance, and physical activity is a major factor in producing those chemicals,” she said. “And it helps to find something you love, something you’d move around other parts of your life to do.”

It fits into Green’s philosophy of doing only what she cares about now, putting her effort into 50 things, rather than a lesser effort into 100. And she cares more about running than being afraid.

“I wish I could go back and change things, but I worked with amazing people along the way,” she said. “And I realized that we don’t talk, as a society, enough about hypervigilance.”

Wortham concurs.

“People experience trauma all the time, they may not identify it that way, but things that could be underlying problems that develop years later,” she said. “An experience during childhood, something that happens when you’re asleep and don’t even notice, they could all contribute.”

It wasn’t all easy after she started running.

She separated from her husband — amicably — moved and found a new job. But she was coping in a way she hadn’t before.

“After being unable to change so many things, running gave her a way to literally move forward and take her life back,” Ramirez said. “It’s empowered her in a way nothing else has in other areas of her life, too.”

The morning of last year’s Navy-Air Force Half Marathon was the anniversary of Green’s separation. And she was doing great.

“My cousin told me to make a list of one person to think about each mile,” she said. “I still have that sweaty piece of paper.”

She was about to run in a crowd of thousands of strangers. As she fed off them, and later, as her friends fed her pancakes, she felt like it was the best day of her life. She proved that she hadn’t just come from Kentucky and California to come to D.C. She had come even further.

Likewise, when she ran Cherry Blossom this year, a dream after childhood visits to the Tidal Basin when her Navy dad was stationed here a smile spread across her face.

“My cousin had me run in all kinds of conditions, so I was ready for anything,” she said. “When I finally got to run Cherry Blossom, the sun was in my face, and I just ran into it.”

BY EMILY DUFTON

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The author relaxes after doing the hard training as her husband, DICKSON MERCER, heads out the door for his own run. Bruno looks on.

RUNWASHINGTON PHOTO BY SARA ALEPIN/ PHOTOS FROM THE HARTY

SUMMER 2015 | RUNWASHINGTON.COM | RUNWASHINGTON | 41

He didn’t run the day I moved in. Instead, we bought tuna steaks and grilled them with fresh pineapple in the park behind the house.

“Wow,” I thought, “this is going to be great.”

But the next day, after he came home from work, he laced up his sneakers and I didn’t see him again for an hour and a half. Then the next day, he put on his shoes and went out again.

And on the third day, when I realized this probably wasn’t a phase, I asked him, “So you run every day?” Almost reluctantly, the man who would become my husband said, “Well, yeah, it’s what I do.” And, save for when he was sick or recuperating from another race, he’s run every day since for the past 10 years.

For better or worse, running has the ability to define a relationship. In the Washington area, where, regardless of the weather, you’ll always find runners pounding the trails or circling the National Mall, you can often see couples running together, maybe even pushing a jogging stroller to boot. For some, running can be a bonding experience, providing countless training hours and racecourses to be shared.

But for many others, there’s a hidden side to their habit – the partner, spouse, boyfriend or girlfriend who spends the mornings back at home, caring for the children, preparing the meals, or maybe just sleeping in. They’re the ones who wait for the workout to end, wondering when they can finally go to dinner.

They’re the ones who silently think that you don’t actually need another pair of running shoes. And they’re the ones who, even though they love you, don’t understand what all the fuss is about.

In an asymmetrical running relationship, the non-runner rarely gets much attention.

While the runner gets the medal, the t-shirt and maybe a new PR, the non-runner is in the background, holding the sign and taking the pictures, keeping the spare set of clothes warm and dry. But whether they’re a cheerleader or a Sherpa, the non-runner is an integral part of the running experience, and, even more importantly, to the runners themselves. We non-runners may not have a stack of medals, but it’s about time we got some of the glory too.

What you sign up for So who are we, the non-runners in the relationship? We’re the ones who, blearyeyed and gripping coffee, line the racecourse, cheering for our partners and holding up signs. We’re up early on race day, taking care of the kids and making sure there’s a new stick of BodyGlide in the car. We’re happy when there’s a new PR, and consoling when the day doesn’t go as planned. And we’ve come to accept the sport’s staggering expense – in money that will be spent on shoes and entry fees, and in time that will be devoted to

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logging miles.

After all, when you love a runner, you have to be prepared to make sacrifices.

There will be countless canceled Saturday night plans when a particularly tough long run is scheduled for Sunday morning. Even on vacation, the runner is going to run, so if you signed up for the sunrise tour of the Grand Canyon, you’ll probably end up going by yourself – the runner will already be awake, exploring the running trails on their own.

And, when you see all those happy couples at weekend brunch, you’ll stare at them from the other side of the road as your hold your runner’s backpack at another 5k.

But the runners are making sacrifices, too. When Joel Rivera, 36, of Ashburn, and his wife, Mayra Vargas, had their first child, Rivera knew that balancing running with work and a growing family was going to be more difficult than before. So the 3:06 marathoner started a new habit of waking up at 5 a.m. to ensure that he could fit a run into his day. And he’s more willing now to compromise when family commitments force him to cancel a workout.

Though it used to bother him, Rivera knows that missing “one day of training will not make me or break me.”

This wasn’t always the case, however.

Rivera also admits that he almost brought his running gear along to the hospital for the birth of their daughter. “I was training to complete my first marathon at the time and didn’t want to skip a training session,” Rivera said. His wife “didn’t take it too well.”

Running can also bring couples together, even if only one partner crosses the finish line.

Leah Kasowitz, 33, an ultramarathoner from Southwest Washington, said her fiancé John Pan “takes pride in being the best Sherpa he can be.” “He loves cheering other runners along at races by holding signs, ringing cowbells and carrying everyone’s dry clothes for later,” she said. Pan is such a trooper that “he will wake up at 5 a.m. to drive with me to a race, even in below-freezing temperatures.”

For longer races, like the Seashore 50k in Virginia Beach where Kasowitz scored her PR of 5:24, Pan has also been known to volunteer at aid stations that need a helping hand.

But Kasowitz is hardly the only person benefitting from her sport. Kasowitz said Pan “enjoys his quiet time” after Kasowitz goes to bed every night at nine p.m.

For Jennifer Forman, 36, of Gaithersburg, the 3:52 marathoner said that running has improved her life and her relationships with her family in more ways than one. “Running helped me lose nearly 100 pounds as I was preparing for my wedding,” Forman said.

And, by helping her clear her head and destress from the day, running has made her “a better person,” she said. Now Forman runs to stay fit and healthy, as well as to be a role model for her two young sons.

Her husband, Ryan Forman, also runs two to four times a week, usually on the treadmill in their basement. But you won’t see the husband and wife completing races together any time soon. Forman said Ryan “doesn’t feel the need to compete with anyone” and “prefers to work out in the comfort of our home.” But that doesn’t stop him from supporting Forman at her races, even under dramatic circumstances. After spending the night celebrating at his friend’s bachelor party, Ryan still made it to Pennsylvania when Forman raced the Philadelphia Marathon in 2013. “He went to his friend’s party, which ended very late, came home, packed up the kids, and drove to Philly – on no sleep,” she said. “He stationed himself with my sons right at the half marathon point, and was positioned at mile 26 to cheer me on.” Forman couldn’t be more grateful for her husband’s support.

“He’s my biggest cheerleader and I love him for it,” she said.

But running can also drive couples apart.

The long hours spent training, the new groups of running friends, and the experiences that only the runner is having can sometimes cause tension and heartache. Melissa Hutchinson, 38, of Clarksburg, Md., wishes her husband Taran would run, if only to understand why Hutchinson, whose 5k PR is 22:54, loves the sport. “I run to feel good, to stay in shape, to help with my anxiety and depression, for fun, and for the bling,” she said. She’s also friends with several couples that run together, and wishes that “we had something like that to share.” But Taran simply isn’t interested.

“He’s a bigger guy, so it’s harder for him, I think, but he just doesn’t seem to get the same experiences or feelings I do out of it,” Hutchinson said. Still, “I know he’s proud of me,” she said. “I just wish he were at the finish line cheering me on sometimes.”

There are also plenty of runners in the area who would love to have their partner join them on runs, but that’s not always possible.

Joel Rivera’s wife Mayra has tachycardia, a condition where the resting heart rate is faster than normal, and running is not recommended.

And for others, like Angie Wilcox’s husband Ted, running can sometimes be boring and painful. Wilcox, 35, of Silver Spring, has been running for fourteen years, and she proudly “beat Pamela Anderson” in the New York City Marathon in 2013. But Ted won’t be joining her any time soon. He “thinks running is boring,” Wilcox said. “He doesn’t enjoy the monotony and finds it physically uncomfortable.” Still, Ted is “very supportive and almost always will be out cheering me on in a race,” Wilcox said.

“And he got a nice tour of New York City while following me at the marathon!”

Edward Dudlik’s wife feels similarly.

Dudlik, 33, of Glover Park, is a 3:11 marathoner, and his wife Merasi understands “how important running is to my overall happiness

and sanity.” But Merasi “just doesn’t get any enjoyment from running,” Dudlik said. “It’s not her thing.” She stills supports him at his races, though, and may get carried away, sometimes literally, on the course. “I had signed up for the Savageman, the world’s hardest half Ironman,” Dudlik said, “and by the time I got to the second lap of the run, I was pretty trashed. I was just determined to finish, so when I saw Merasi on the side of the road, I decided to do something goofy.” Dudlik called Merasi over and then scooped her up, carrying her, fireman style, down the road. “Let’s just say it seemed like a good idea at the time,” he said.

Quid Pro Quos Where You Can Get Them As for me, I would run with my partner, but I’m afraid I can’t keep up. My husband, Dickson Mercer, is a 2:29 marathoner who considers running second only to breathing as a necessity of life. There are times when he tops one hundred miles a week. And no matter where we are – West Africa with the Peace Corps, Paris on vacation – the daily run must be had. “I can’t just take a zero,” he explains.

But I’ve just gotten into the sport, finishing this year’s cold and wet D.C. Rock and Roll marathon in 3:51, with Dickson cheering me along the entire way. Before I began running, I could never understand what Dickson meant by the pain and nausea he felt “in the twenties,” or why it seemed like fun to sign up for a race months in advance and plan the rest of your life around that event.

But now I do, and it’s something we can share as we drive out for our Sunday long runs, or guiltlessly eat pizza when the marathon is complete.

And while I still don’t plan on putting in 100-mile weeks or running on vacation when there are beaches and margaritas to be had, there is something about sharing the sport that lets Dickson and I connect on a new level.

I’m so proud of what Dickson does, and I know that he’s proud of my accomplishments too, no matter how much they pale in comparison to his own.

So, as a non-runner who is slowly metamorphosing into a runner myself, I’ll still be there at the end of his race, holding Dickson’s backpack and a set of dry clothes.

I’ll be there, surrounded by my fellow nonrunners, as we cheer on the finishers, ringing our bells and holding our signs. We’ll do this because we know what it means, both for us and for the person we love. And together, we’ll wait for that moment when the race is over and our partner crosses the finish line, gets their medal, and walks over to wrap us in a big, sweaty hug.

I’ll do this at every race Dickson runs.

Unless, of course, I’m running it too.

SUMMER 2015 | RUNWASHINGTON.COM | RUNWASHINGTON | 43

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SUMMER 2015 | RUNWASHINGTON.COM | RUNWASHINGTON | 45

Most of the highest-profile people who work in Washington owe their accomplishments to turnout. Now the Potomac Valley Track Club can claim something in common with the president and members of Congress.

“Half of life is showing up,” said club president Craig Chasse.

His collection of over-30 runners, jumpers, throwers and race walkers showed up to the USATF 2015 Masters Indoor Track & Field Championships, held March 20 to 22 in Winston Salem, N.C., and won a national team title. The team finished with 682 points and 39 gold medals, ahead of 60 other teams, including second-place SoCal, which trailed with 648 points.

The meet was held at JDL Fast Track, a warehouse that was converted into an Olympic-caliber indoor facility.

Chasse said that part of the strategy was to put athletes in as many events as possible.

Team members gamely participated in events they don’t necessarily train for or particularly excel at to contribute to the overall score.

For example, Chasse took second in the 3,000-meter race walking event, despite being lapped 5 times by the winner (who was averaging a 7:30 pace, if you wondered how fast race walkers can go). Or 76-year old-high jumper Tami Graf, who ended up taking gold in the long jump, despite not having done it before. Her commitment to training probably contributed to her ability to pull off this performance. Graf prepped for her high jump success doing western rolls on a mattress in her basement over the winter.

PVTC also fielded men’s relay teams in the 4x200, 4x400, and 4x800 categories in both the 80-89 and the 90-99 (yes, over 90) category, winning both. The 80-and-over contingent was manned by Darrell Dempster, Robert Gurtler, Lawrence Dickerson and Ino Cantu. The 90-some-year-olds were Orville Rogers, Charles Ross, Roy Englert and Dixon Hemphill. PVTC actually held the first fourman relay team in the over-90 category at a meet this summer, establishing the world record. Rose Green won the 60 meters for women aged 75-79 in 10.82 seconds and set an American record in the process.

Founded in 1972, PVTC’s motto is “all ages, all paces, all ways,” and their aim is to foster a love of track and field across generations. They provide residents in the

46 | RUNWASHINGTON | RUNWASHINGTON.COM | SUMMER 2015

region with year-round opportunities to participate in track and field. In addition to serving as a venue for post and way-post collegiate athletes to compete at a high level, they also actively cultivate the next generation of track and field enthusiasts.

Their meets serve as fundraisers for local high school teams, with the hopes that kids identify track and field as a sport to enjoy and pursue. Track and field has its time in the spotlight every four years when the Olympics are on, but even that glory has a hard time competing with professional sports like basketball or football. But, Chasse said, he wants kids to see track and field as viable even if they don’t “want to grow up to be professional track athletes.”

The nominal fees contributed by participants at PVTC’s open meets serve as a fundraising opportunity for high school clubs. PVTC’s service-oriented model also includes putting on skills clinics prior to their competitions so that anyone who’s curious can learn a new aspect of the sport. The idea is to draw as many people into or back into track and field as possible, and give them a chance to train and compete.

Some athletes aspire to set world records. Others do it for the camaraderie and the spirit of competition. Some do it to train for national championships, and even world championships. But all comers are welcome, and there is something for everyone.

PVTC has events and practices at various high school tracks and other facilities, and the group is diverse, both in terms of ages and experiences. Master’s track & field starts at age 30 and, as PVTC members are proving, can last for many decades. Former high school, collegiate and even Olympic athletes mix it up with people who find the sport at a later phase in life.

The thing about track and field, Chasse said, is that “everybody has their own personal record; you can have a bunch of people in the same race, all exceeding their personal benchmarks.”

The Potomac Valley Track Club certainly showed up and blasted its own records in Winston-Salem.

Through collective effort, committed athleticism, and the never-to-beunderrated feat of just showing up, their success in both collective and personal achievements is an inspiration to athletes of all calibers.

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BY DUSTIN RENWICK A college textile design class marked the beginning of the end of Landon Peacock’s competitive racing career.

Sure, he finished his collegiate career at the University of Wisconsin — Madison as a two-time All American and a Big 10 Conference Champion in cross country. But he’d found his next passion in that introductory art class.

Peacock didn’t explore the art world in high school. He was winning a Michigan state title in cross country, setting the Division 2 record for the 3200 meter run at the state track meet, and finishing fifth at the Foot Locker Cross Country National Championships.

“I’ve always liked anything that involved self-expression,” he says, in a reference to his art. The sentiment could have also applied to his running, but now instead of sweat and laces, Peacock’s translation of the world happens in brush strokes and swipes of a palette knife.

Only recently has he discovered that his two worlds can merge with beautiful results.

Running is his latest artistic muse.

“That experience is so familiar to me,” he says. “It doesn’t take a lot of effort to put myself in a certain mood when I’m painting.

Those intangible things you’re attempting 48 | RUNWASHINGTON | RUNWASHINGTON.COM | SUMMER 2015

to represent on canvas, expressing through color or surface.”

Peacock moved to the area a few years ago to work at his uncle’s Alexandria studio.

The experience granted him the space to explore his world in oil paints instead of rubber soles.

He’s moved into DC now, and the lack of a formal studio has unexpectedly provided a better way to work. It forced him to switch to acrylic paints, which don’t stay as wet and unworkable as oil paints.

“I can layer so fast, I can lose myself in the painting a little bit more. When you spend that time with a painting and that constant conversation, you get lost in it more and find something in the paint.”

However, regret is not something mixed into those coatings of color.

“It’s not about reliving the glory days,” Peacock says. “It’s about communicating a feeling with the medium of paint. The running is important because it’s so alive in my mind and because running is so emotional. I’m completely content.”

Check out Peacock’s paintings in Pacers stores around the area or at www. landonpeacock.com.

We’re issuing a declaration

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START TIME: 8AM Sweat red, white and blue; then enjoy your first beer on the house!

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4/17/15 4:20 PM