The DMV Distance Derby, RunWashington’s substitute for a robust road racing season, has recorded 677 times for 22 segments since May 2020. Using the Strava app, runners can run a variety of distances on courses throughout the D.C. area at a time of their choosing to earn bragging rights. Often, they are a break from the tranditional 5k, 10k, etc. distances common in road racing.
The 2.5-mile Hains Point segment, clockwise between the gates in East Potomac Park, has seen the most action with 80 men and 45 women trying. Brian Rich (12:34) and Nina Zarina (13:30) hold the leads so far. Others are ripe for more attempts, with only a few people running the WB&A Trail and the Washington’s Birthday Marathon loop in Prince George’s County, Kenwood in Montgomery County or the National Aboretum.
Even if you don’t run all out in an attempt to set a personal best, these courses are also an opportunity to try running in a new place.
We’ll be doing a full year, running through April 30, and I will write glowing profiles of the runners with the most segment leads over that time.
View overall results for the first seven months of the DMV Distance Derby here
Name: Don Laub
Self-described age group: 60s
Residence: Cabin John, Md.
Occupation: Retired for now
Volunteer roles in the running world: None in running, although I worked with The Phoenix for some of their climbing and CrossFit activities in Boulder and Denver. The Phoenix is a sober, active community that started in Boulder in 2006 and now serves recovering alcoholics and addicts in 44 cities.
How has your running changed in the last six months: It is more consistent.
Why you run: I love running. It bolsters my emotional health especially given the stresses of the pandemic.
When Gavin McElhennon decided on a college last year, he didn’t expect to spend his first semester thousands of miles away from Johns Hopkins University’s campus in Baltimore.
But with the COVID-19 pandemic forcing classes online for his first semester, Gonzaga alumnus McElhennon and 13 of his first-year classmates took their academic flexibility to Flagstaff, Ariz. The Blue Jays weren’t alone — college runners from across the country, including many in and from the D.C. area, took a consolation prize from a deferred fall season and did some altitude training.
“We started texting pretty much as soon as we found out we wouldn’t have classes in person,” McElhennon said. “Within a few days we had a house that could fit all of us.”
Though some parents voice concerns about letting 14 college freshmen — six men and eight women — spend their first significant stretch away from home without resident advisors and meal plans, before long they figured out their independent living situations.
- MoCoRunning’s Kevin Milsted, whose dedication to comprehensive record-keeping in high school cross country and track has been peerless, has begun compiling track and cross country results for Washington, D.C. schools, Inter-high Track, focusing on meets prior to the internet era.
- Anthony Brennan III, of Kensington, Md. pleaded guilty Wednesday to three counts of second-degree assault for a June 1 incident on the Capital Crescent Trail, WTOP reported.
- The Rock ‘n’ Roll D.C. marathon, half marathon and 5k, scheduled for March 27, has been postponed to Nov. 13.
- Arlington’s Oliver Leblond set an American record for the men’s age 45-49 age group for the 100 mile track run in 12:41:57.
- Montgomery County, Md. schools will not run indoor track this winter.
- Georgetown alumna Rachel Schneider was a guest on the I’ll Have Another podcast.
- Endeavorun is conducting a survey about its possible running retreats.
Name: Shannon O’Neil
Self-described age group: 25-29
Residence: NE, DC
Occupation: Attorney
Volunteer roles in the running world: I’ve previously volunteered as a coach for Girls on the Run, and when I’m not running them myself, I can often be spotted spectating my heart out at local races.
How has your running changed in the last six months: I’ve battled a couple of injuries and basically given up on running with other people, but I’m also more grateful than ever for the days that I’m able to start my morning with a run.
Why you run: To experience something bigger than myself. Sometimes that’s the thrill of a race, or the camaraderie from a group workout. But sometimes it’s just getting to see the sun rise over the Anacostia River.
- The Arlington Memorial Bridge has reopened after more than two years of rehabilitation that limited sidewalk access and prevented the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile, Army Ten-Miler and the Rock ‘n’ Roll D.C. races from using the bridge for their courses.
- Montgomery County Parks will not close Little Falls Parkway to traffic on weekends during the winter months, owing to the labor involved in setting up four roadblocks. Feedback can be sent to [email protected] or 301-495-2595.
- The DCSAA is delaying the start of sports, with indoor track now scheduled to start practices Feb. 1 and cross country scheduled to begin March 8.
- Jazmine Fray who runs for the District Track Club, was a guest on the Keeping Pace podcast.
- The District Track Club recently redesigned its website, which includes a merchandise sale through Dec. 20 to help fund the middle distance team and free educational materials for runners.
- Georgetown alumna Rachel Schneider ran 31:09.79 for 10k at the Sound Running Track Meet to meet the Olympic standard of 31:25.
- Heritage alumna Weini Kelati, the defending NCAA cross country and 5k champion, left the University of New Mexico early to run professionally for Under Armour’s Dark Sky Distance team.
- Georgetown alumnus and former coach Chris Miltenberg was a guest on the Morning Shakeout podcast.
The Dojo of Pain held a certified marathon and half marathon Dec. 5 in East Potomac Park.
When I cobbled together a few routes for the DMV Distance Derby, I arbitrarily said it would last through the end of 2020. It makes a lot more sense to have the term of the challenge last for an entire year, so as of right now, let’s go through April 30, 2021. By then, if reports are to be believed, COVID-19 vaccines should be reaching wide circulation and the road racing industry will likely have a clearer path forward for resuming operations. I may retire some underused segments at the end of the year, however, in favor of more popular or accessible routes.
View overall results for the first six months of the DMV Distance Derby here
The segment results are generally organized to fit compactly.
Josh Merlis of the Albany Running Exchange regales Farley with the story of the marathon he put on, and Farley ran, in November.
Keira D’Amato has made her own fun the last nine months, refusing to let her momentum from the Olympic Marathon Trials go to waste, even as the COVID-19 pandemic has transformed the racing landscape. This morning, she made her own race, and came out of it with an American record for the women’s-only 10 mile in 51:23. Janet Bawcom had set the previous record, 52:12, at the 2104 Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile, which she watched up close, holding the finishing tape.
A Cherry Blossom-managed race in Anacostia Park in Washington, D.C., dubbed by D’Amato the “Updawg Ten Miler,” drew Olympic Marathoner Molly Seidel of Boston, locals Susanna Sullivan and Bethany Sachtleben (now of Boulder) and Flagstaff-based Emily Durgin. But D’Amato, an Oakton High School and American University alumna who lives near Richmond, was already two seconds ahead of Seidel roughly a quarter-mile into the race and wasn’t in jeopardy the rest of the way as she ran to a 2:13 margin.
