Runners,
On Sunday, January 31, 2016, the Washington Running Club (WRC) hosted our Annual Meeting at Dog Tag Bakery in Georgetown. With over 20 runners in attendance, we were able to reflect upon 2015 as a club and brainstorm ideas on how to make WRC even better in 2016. Here are some of the takeaways from the meeting:

2016 WRC Board Members
The following members have stepped up to a Board position for 2016:

• President: Lauren Masterson
• Vice President: Carla Freyvogel
• Treasurer: James Scarborough
• Volunteer Coordinator: Patrick O’Keefe
• Sunday Distance Run Coordinator: Jordan Konig
• Grand Prix Coordinator: Joni Waldron
• Race Team Coordinator: Julia Taylor
• CIO/Website: Lauren Masterson
• Newsletter Editor: Lauren Masterson and Julia Blakely

Helen Burns has offered to serve as our Track Coordinator, but details of these workouts are still being worked out. Stay tuned for more information!

THANK YOU to everyone who volunteered for the 2016 WRC Board. You play a critical role to the success of the club!

Making WRC Great in 2016
A large portion of our meeting was spent discussing how to make WRC even better in 2016. Everyone contributed great ideas and I look forward to working with all of you to implement these ideas and help shape the club to the best it can be.

Immediate Actions

• Monthly happy hours: Starting on Thursday, February 18, WRC happy hours will take place on the third Thursday of every month (and will aptly be named “Thirsty Third Thursday”)
• Regular communications: we’ll send monthly newsletters, along with race and run information on an as-needed basis. “Race awareness” messages may also be sent to coordinate registration deadlines, team events, and transportation to races.
• Coordinated runs and workouts: WRC’s official run is the Sunday Distance Run, but many (if not all) of us run on a regular basis from varying locations. We invite you to post these runs and workouts on our Facebook Page to see if others in the group have an interest in joining you.
• parkrun event support: parkrun just started in Washington, DC and they need volunteers. This is great opportunity for WRC to support the local running community and network with other runners.

Long Term Actions

• “Lazy Person” Saturday Runs: a second regular WRC run in the making – stay tuned!
• Sunday Distance Run Location Changes: on occasion, we may switch up the starting location of our Sunday Distance Run. For example, we may start at Tris Krueger’s house and finish with a swim in his pool after, or even go on a weekend running retreat.
• WRC Gear: we want to show our WRC pride – what better way than through sweet gear? We’ll look into ways to make this happen.

Remember, if you have other ideas, or want to help put these ideas into motion, please don’t hesitate to email me at lauren@washrun.org.

Thank you to everyone who attended our Annual Meeting and to those who attended in spirit. We look forward to sharing many runs, happy hours, races – and whatever else 2016 brings – with you!

Lauren
President
Washington Running Club

P.S. Check out this snapshot of the party!

All this talk about the WRC Annual Meeting and Brunch, I almost forgot to post about our Sunday Distance Run!

We’ll meet tomorrow, January 17, 2016 at 8:00 a.m. in front of the CB2 store in Georgetown. There will be three pace groups running various distances – but something for everyone! Afterwards, we’ll relax at Dean & Deluca.

Hope to see you there!!

Share a coffee or two with the club!

Happy new year, WRC!

Please join the Washington Running Club for our Annual Meeting and Brunch on Sunday, January 24, 2016 at 11:00 a.m. at Dog Tag Bakery in Georgetown. The meeting will follow our weekly Sunday Distance Run, but all are invited even if you aren’t able to run that morning or if you just want to learn more about the club.

During the meeting, we will:

• Announce 2015 award winners;
• Elect the 2016 board members;
• Discuss new ideas for making WRC even better than before!

Lunch and beverages will be served.

Friendly reminder: This is an excellent time to renew your membership with the club. Click here to learn more about all the benefits of joining WRC. We hope to see you at our Annual Meeting and for another year of running together!

RSVP
Click here to RSVP to the WRC Annual Meeting and Brunch by Wednesday, January 20, 2016. The RSVP includes a few questions that will help us prepare for the event – we hope you’ll take a few moments to fill it out!

Interested in joining the WRC Board of Directors?
During the meeting, we’ll hold elections for the 2016 Board of Directors. Board positions last for one year and are on a volunteer basis – click here for more information. Position include:

• Secretary
• Treasurer
• Membership Officer
• CIO
• Outreach and Community Events
• SDR Coordinators
• Track Coordinator
• Race Team Manager
• Newsletter Editor

Why Dog Tag Bakery?

There are tons of restaurants in Georgetown, but none have as great a mission as Dog Tag Bakery: supporting disabled veterans and their caregivers through valuable work experience and education. By providing education and work experience, Dog Tag Bakery ensures that veterans are business ready, competitive, and employable.

Dog Tag Bakery is a beautiful space just off of M Street NW in Georgetown. Their staff are friendly and wonderful to work with – we just couldn’t think of a better place to host our Annual Meeting!

Happy New Year, WRC! We had a great run last Sunday to kick off the new year. It looks like everyone is getting in gear for their spring training cycles!

Sunday Distance Run for January 10, 2016
We’ll meet at 8:00 a.m. in front of the CB2 store in Georgetown for our next Sunday Distance Run. We’ll have three paces groups – 7:00/7:30, 8:00/8:30, 10:00/10:30 – running anywhere from 8-20 miles. Afterward, we’ll meet at Dean and Deluca for coffee and carbs.

Annual Meeting and Brunch
It’s hard to believe another year has passed since our last annual meeting.  This year, we’ll hold the meeting following our Sunday Distance Run. Fear not – if you’re injured, don’t feel like running, can’t make an early run, or just want to learn more about the group, you can join us at the meeting!

Here’s the details so far:

What: Annual WRC Meeting and Brunch
When: Sunday, January 24, 11:15 a.m. (following the SDR)
Where: LOCATION TBD – stay tuned! It will be somewhere in Georgetown…
Cost: $5 – includes a full brunch at a fine Georgetown establishment
Attire: sweaty brunch is always acceptable with WRC, but regular clothes are fine, too (although we might not recognize you all dressed up!)

As a reminder, the beginning of the year is a great time to renew your membership to the club. Click here for more information about the club and here to join for the year!

Don’t forget! Tonight, Friday, December 18, we’re hosting a book signing/meet and greet with local runner Dana Ayers, author of Confessions of an Unlikely Runner! The event starts at 5:30 at the Pacers Navy Yard where you’ll find 20% off apparel (some restrictions apply) and snacks and drinks! Click here for more details.

Sunday Long Run

We’re meeting this Sunday, December 20 at 8:00 a.m. in front of the CB2 store in Georgetown. There will be three pace groups – 7:00/7:30, 8:00/8:30, and 10:00/10:30 (and maybe even at 9:00/9:30) – with runs starting at 8 miles and up. After, we’ll meet at Dean & Deluca for coffee and carbs. Everyone is welcome – hope to see you there!

Hey runners!

We’ll be meeting on Sunday, December 13 at 8:00 a.m. for our regular Sunday long run. The run will start in front of the CB2 store in Georgetown. Most runners will be run 8-20 miles (probably on the lower end in the off-season) in three pace groups, including 7/7:30, 8/8:30, and 10/10:30. Everyone is welcome.

Afterwards, we’ll meet for coffee and carbs at Dean & Deluca.

Don’t Forget!
On Friday, December 18, WRC will join Pacers and local author/runner Dana Ayers for a book signing/meet and greet of her first book, Confessions of an Unlikely Runner. Click here for more information and click here to RSVP to the Facebook invite!

On Friday, December 18, the Washington Running Club will join Pacers Running Stores for an evening with local author and runner, Dana Ayers. Dana recently published her first book, Confessions of an Unlikely Runner, and this event is a great opportunity to meet her and get a signed copy of the book!

I read Confessions of an Unlikely Runner and absolutely loved it. The book captures the spirit of running – the ups and downs, the mishaps, and the heartwarming memories that you make along the way – and is perfect for new runners and seasoned veterans alike. I’m writing a much longer review of the book, but I can assure you that you’ll find yourself laughing out loud at Dana’s honest account of the sport as well as relating to her love for running and adventure.

We hope you can attend this awesome event! Dana only has a few hard copies of the book on hand, so please consider pre-purchasing the book prior to the event to ensure an autographed copy! Click here to purchase the book.

For more information and to RSVP, click here to view the Facebook invitation or send an email to me at lauren@washrun.org. To learn more about Dana, visit her website here.