Sixteen brave souls (plus at least three stragglers) beat this heat with the early start, covering anywhere from 9 to 16 miles. Photo by el Prez, Kirk Masterson
Post Independence Day Crew
Clattenburg and A Unicorn Go Forth and Win at Go Fourth 8K
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 2445:4728:47* 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.
June Newsletter has Posted
The June edition of our club’s monthly newsletter just posted for members/subscribers to our newsletter email list. Featuring great stories by Carla Freyvogel & Christine Hackman!
Bon Voyage, Lucy!
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
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
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
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