Army, Open, Paul, Peru, Post

Here are the rare G-rated four letter words which leap to mind, following this 16 day stretch of paralysis, fear, and loathing:

Army—The Army Ten-Miler is actually happening this Sunday, and el Prez Kirk is registered to race it. General registration sold out in just 9 hours; you may or may not consider this to be a good thing. Update: Julia Taylor is also entered!

Open—The National Parks are finally open. So while we do have some hardened backup routes, the oldies-but-goodies are so back in circulation. Maybe this week for the MCM marathoners: Brookmont – MacArthur Blvd Loop (9.3 miles), plus some extra 100m strides down by the Georgetown Waterfront Park. Non-marathoners might do the above, plus a Dumbarton Oaks – Georgetown Loop (3.9 miles), then the strides. As usual, we’ll figure things out on the fly.

Paul—Mr. Karlsen will be granting autographs and telling apocryphal stories from last weekend’s triumph in Chicago. We can also settle the matter of who came closest to predicting Paul’s finishing time; winner takes a coffee and a cronut (breakfast of champions).

Peru—We’re expecting a special guest from Lima, who will sneak away from some coursework to join us on Sunday morning. Welcome, Jenny!

Post—Wear your Sunday’s finest, because a certain daily newspaper is going to have a photographer come out and take some shots of us training. Once was not enough!

Karlsen, Kennedy Cleared for Chicago Competition

WRCers Paul Karlsen and Rick Kennedy are ready to rumble tomorrow morning (Sunday) at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, one of the World Marathon Majors (i.e. most prestigious marathon races on the planet). Paul will be hyper-visible throughout this Second City in his 2013 Series Singlet.

The Wave 1 Start is set for 7:30 a.m. CDT (UTC−05:00). We’ll be updating their splits and results below, immediately following the unstoppable Sunday Distance Run.

UPDATE: Paul finished 555th overall, shaving over 3 minutes off of his previous personal best!

Splits

Paul Karlsen, bib #1050, profile

Checkpoint Time Pace
10K 0:40:51 6:33/mi, 4:04/Km
Half (21.1K) 1:26:21 6:35/mi, 4:05/Km
30K 2:03:14 6:36/mi, 4:06/Km
Marathon (42.2K) 2:54:56 PR 6:40/mi, 4:08/Km

Full splits (unofficial), 555th place overall

Running on the Edge of the Shutdown

Shutdown Safe Running Routes: in 10, 15, and 20 mile flavors.

Shutdown Safe Running Routes: in 10, 15, and 20 mile flavors.

Lauren Gabler suggests some constructive alternatives to our staple Sunday Distance Run training options, which are being denied to us by wanton, dangerous Congressional budget shenanigans with bafflingly arbitrary repercussions. She sez:

The government shutdown has closed some of our favorite running routes, including the Capital Crescent Trail and Rock Creek Park, but that won’t stop us from getting in our Sunday long run!

We’ve mapped out 10, 15, and 20 mile running routes that avoid all National Park areas but still go through some of the most beautiful parts of our city:

It’s supposed to be unseasonably warm on Sunday, so you might want to bring your own water as these routes do not have as many fountains as the ones in the parks. We hope to see you there!


Updated: Enjoy our interactive “Shutdown Safe” map, including running-specific amenities (i.e. drinking fountains, toilets, and tracks). Continue reading

Imminent, Impromptu Birthday Fest

Christine Hackman rallies the troops with this invitation:

Join Emily and Christine’s really-early, last-minute impromptu birthday fest!

Did you know that former WRC Runner-of-the-Year Emily “Let’s run faster” Cupito and Christine “Hell, I’m still vertical” Hackman share the same October 17th birthday exactly 20 years apart?

They’re heading to the Dupont Circle Pizzaria Paradiso at 6 PM on Saturday nite for celebratory drinks/dinner and welcome all who wish to join! No cards, no gifts, no buying them dinner – just show up.

FWIW: both hostesses have long runs on Sunday AM, so dinner ordering will likely start pretty early! (Plus, they’re turning 30/50, so they need that beauty sleep.) Hope to see you there.

SO, to recap:

What: Pizza! Drinks! Your clubmates!
When: Saturday, October 5th, starting at 6:00 pm.
Where: Pizzeria Paradiso Dupont Circle
2003 P Street NW, Washington DC. Get directions.
Point of Contact: Hackman cell phone = (303) 775-5004 if you have q’s.

MCM Team Entry

Lauren Gabler, who is stepping up as captain of the squad preparing for this course, sez:

The Marine Corps Marathon (MCM) is just around the corner and WRC is going to be well represented, both by our talented runners and our awesome new racing singlets. We’d like to enter the team competition, which consists of 3-5 runners for either a men’s, women’s, or co-ed team.

If you’re registered for the MCM and want to represent our club on October 27th, please contact Lauren at lauren.gabler@gmail.com. She’ll figure out the team logistics and make sure we’re registered by the cut-off date!

Best of luck with the rest of your fall marathon training!

Historic MCM Team Results

Absolutely Fabulous

This morning, we began distributing pre-ordered 2013 Series singlets and they look terrific! Several club members slipped into these slices of awesome on-the-spot. So much for modesty.

The custom singlets (and their owners) got lots of attention, fetching compliments along the various training routes followed by the dozens of runners convening on this perfect morning.

Our thanks go to Rachel Clattenburg for designing and ordering everything, and also to Pactimo for all their good work.

Pending enough demonstrated interest, we can place another round of orders with relatively quick turnaround. If this interests you, please petition el Prez, Kirk Masterson, and let him know.

Trailing None

Dear world: get used to this!

Hillary Tipton atop the podium at the EX2 Off-Road Half Marathon. Photo courtesy of Bill Tipton

Writing about the previously mentioned EX2 Off-Road Half Marathon and 10k, Hillary Tipton sez:

WRC was well-represented at yesterday’s EX2 trail races at Prince William Forest Park. Ben won the 10K outright and I the half marathon among the women. We also managed to chat up two potential 2014/15 recruits.

Both courses were hilly, single-loop and almost entirely on the park’s hiking trails (map). The half included a very-much-hands-on rock scramble and waterfall. Though my finishing time was nothing to brag about, (here’s hoping I’ll have a road half to my name soon), I would highly recommend the race to anyone thinking of trying out trail racing. The field was small at about 100 in the 10k and 200 in the half, but I’d say most were seasoned trail runners.

The race organization could be described as “small but but well-heeled”—we each took home a $99 Patagonia duffel bag, two pint glasses and a couple of t-shirts. Lots of friendly sponsor reps too, the best being The Bike Lane for letting me test-ride a Trek Speed Concept.

My dad was all-too-happy to capture my first-ever podium experience on camera. I’ve attached a few of the better shots.

Continue reading