Yearly Archives: 2013

Clattenburg and A Unicorn Go Forth and Win at Go Fourth 8K

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Six WRCers and two compadres gathered early on Independence Day, at the historic Vienna Town Green. Hosted by our friends of the PVTC, together we sweetly sang the lyrics of the Star Spangled Banner to the accompaniment of an MP3 file played back on a BlackBerry held up to a P.A. mic.

In fact, we sang a little too fast for the frugivorous gizmo that symbolizes this Washingtonian life. Were we perhaps nudged out of meter by some magnetic inducement flowing from the extra high voltage 230 kV transmission lines looming above us?

Whatever the case, it was marvelous to watch the B.A.A.’s Jonathan Baker zoom off in a flurry, followed brightly by newcomer Daisuke Ogata, dressed in day-glo orange hat and shirt and mistaken more than once for a distant traffic cone. Rachel Clattenburg in red paced herself wisely, climbing up the ranks throughout the race. We slapped low-fives as we passed along the out-and-back course.

Everyone left the race with some quarry of Stars and Stripes, whether in the form of a beach towel, embroidered flags (both in original and Vermont antiqued flavors), or just the shorts they wore to the race. I offered my own flag to Daisuke as a gift, and he immediately requested to have his picture taken with it in the now-standard USATF display. What a great country, that even our silliest of motifs are accessible to all.

Full results are available here; WRC (& friends) results are below.

Potomac Valley Track Club Go Fourth 8K
W&OD Trail, Vienna VA
Thursday, July 4, 2013

5K  Name               G Age Time    M  F    Award
-- --------------------- --- ------  -  -   --------
1  Jonathan Baker      M  29 27:15   1      M20-29 1 B.A.A #Unicorns
5  Rachel Clattenburg  F  29 33:16      1   F20-29 1
6  Kit Wells           M  36 33:35   5      M30-39 3
7  Daisuke Ogata       M  38 33:51   6
12 Jay Jacob Wind      M  63 36:09   9      M60-69 1
18 Jerold Paulson      M  54 38:23  14      M50-59 2
33 James Scarborough   M  55 43:34  24
41 Benjamin Stutts     M  24 45:47 28:47*  27      M20-29 2
91 finishers
* late start, due to confusing pre-race instructions

UPDATE: A race report by Maggie Lloyd was published on RunWashington.com, here.

Bon Voyage, Lucy!

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Lucy Rogers, is flanked by her teammates

Lucy Rogers (top row, center, in a white singlet and black cap) is flanked by her teammates, on the last weekend before she departs for graduate studies at the Wake Forest Schools of Business top-ranked MBA program, located at the Reynolda Campus in the twin cities of Winston-Salem, NC. Photo courtesy of Alexa Williams

An Uplifting Experience for Dan Yi in an Up Year

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Dan Yi sealing his 79th overall, first American and silver medalist finish at the 2013 Comrades Marathon.

Dan Yi sealing his 79th overall, first American and silver medalist finish at the 2013 Comrades Marathon.

Our own Dan Yi ventured to South Africa to run the Comrades Marathon on June 2nd. We know he is fit, we know he is awesome, we know he has a great attitude but did we know that ANYONE could report having kicked it in after 54 miles? Could we have imagined he would say this was “the best running experience of my life”? Continue reading →

WRC Heads to Vienna for the Fourth

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Running has become as much a part of July 4th as fireworks and parades.

The Washington Running Club used to run a 5K in Potomac, Md., then head to Tris Kruger’s place, but that wholesome tradition has passed.

In my hometown of Atlanta, they’ve raced the Peachtree Road Race 10K every year since 1970. It’s now the largest road race in the world with 60,000 runners.

This year as a club we’re throwing our support behind the Potomac Valley Track Club‘s Go Fourth 8K at Centennial Park in Vienna, Va. Get directions.

This will also be the July race for WRC’s inaugural Grand Prix. Previously, the race was “to be determined.”

Race Registration is inexpensive by today’s standards at $8 for non-members. The course is described as “park trail, entirely flat.”

The winning time last year—albeit a different course—was just under 30 minutes for men and just under 33 minutes for women, so I know several members can beat that.

What’s not to be liked?

First Sunday’s Photo

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Off to a good looking earlier start for the summer!

Off to a good looking earlier start for the summer!

The good Doctor Tris, not pictured, wires in his absence slip:

I’ll be at a lake accessible by float plane, on a remote lake, in Alaska. I’ll be trail running, as there are no roads. We’ll start at the old time.
Vb,t.

Esquire Daniel Yi, also not pictured, was caught finishing in Pietermaritzburg, RSA, as the top American at the Comrades Marathon. According to Gerry Ives, Dan ran 6:48:18, 79th overall, 76th male, 51st in his age group. That story is developing.

Rachel Clattenburg, likely recovering from her win at The North Face Endurance Challenge 50K on Saturday, is not among those pictured above. Rachel’s time of 5:05:05 gave her the win under incredibly hot conditions; Laura Jennings braved the heat as well to finish as the 68th female. More details to follow. Continue reading →

SDR Time Change, Departures and Arrivals

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Sunday Distance Run Time Change to 7:00 a.m.

The summer heat and humidity is planning to arrive later this week, so in an effort to beat the heat, we will start our Sunday Distance Run an hour earlier, effective Sunday, June 2, 2013. The 7 a.m. start time will be in effect through September 1st, as reflected on WRC’s calendar.

Good luck to Michaela Corr and Daniel Yi

Michaela is departing for her summer internship in the Olympic city of Rio de Janeiro (BRA). And Dan is destined for Durban (RSA), Pietermaritzburg, and all points in-between for the Comrades Marathon (54 miles). Good luck to them both!

Team Photo-Op this coming Sunday

With all the new members and visitors finding us, let’s mark the occasion with a club photo before kicking off the next Sunday run. We’ll have it posted and captioned online lickety-split.