Apparently finishing second at the state meet at the end of an abbreviated freshman season didn’t give Sailor Eastman much confidence.
It wasn’t until she was battling Olympic Trials 800 meter runner Juliette Whittaker in the last mile of the Oatlands Invitational that she realized she belonged in the race.
“I kept thinking they were all going to catch me and outkick me,” Eastman said. “I just decided to fake it until I make it.”
It takes a few glances to notice what’s different about this year’s Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile t-shirt.
There’s no date to be found. Just recognition that it’s the race’s 48th running.
“We were looking for ways that we could avoid waste if the race got canceled,” said race director Phil Stewart. “The medals are dateless, too, but we’re including a little plastic strip you can add that says Sept. 12, 2021.”
Up until a few weeks ago, Stewart was still a little unsure the race would happen as the Delta variant’s progress soured national optimism for the COVID-19 pandemic to wane. But with a few alterations, Cherry Blossom will serve as “opening day” for the fall road racing season this Sunday.
You may recognize Courtney Carter. Perhaps you’ve seen her running around the Anacostia Trail or the National Mall — two of her favorite local running routes; you may know her from Instagram, where her handle @eatprayrundc has more than 11,500 followers; or you may know her through her work with diversity, equity and inclusion and her posts about it on sites like Women’s Running, Oiselle’s blog or her own website.
She’s using her social media presence to show runners and people of color that they can accomplish amazing things. And Carter, who lives in D.C.’s Trinidad neighborhood, also wants the D.C.-area running community to do better when it comes to diversity, equity and inclusion.
It takes an hour to get here from Washington, D.C.
You head north on Interstate 270, pass by the main exits for Frederick and continue onto U.S. Route 15. Catoctin Mountain comes into view. And as Cactus Flats Roadhouse passes by on your left, be on the lookout for your exit: Mountaindale Road.
You wind down through fields, passing by Mountaindale Convenience Store. When you have to choose right or left, choose left, and continue on what is still Mountaindale (Putnam Road is to the right). If you start seeing log cabin-inspired homes and the Cold Deer Hunting and Fishing Club, you chose correctly, and are almost there.
In November of 2010–fewer than four months after he conquered the legendary Western States 100 mile endurance run in under 27 hours, and about a month after being diagnosed with stage four lung cancer–Mike Broderick passed away peacefully just days shy of his 54th birthday.
Those closest to Mike, knew him as an avid ultra-runner with a sharp wit, a big smile and an abundance of enthusiasm for all things running. For the rest of the running community, he was best known as a coach, a mentor and a teacher. He was a bit of an evangelist, preaching his love of running to everyone who made his acquaintance. Mike, to his running disciples, was well known for his ability to respond in deep scientific detail to very simple yes or no questions.
That legacy has kept a popular training group in his honor – Broderick to Boston, going eight years after his passing.
The D.C. area is at the heart of some of the most beautiful and dynamic running routes in the country. The DMV is surrounded by scenic paths, urban gems, woodland trails, historical parks, lakes, and sprawling fields. But despite all that the area has to offer, many runners will time and time again repeat the same set of loops from their front door.
Vivian Smith is a cybersecurity consultant in Manassas. She does not want to fit the trend of running from home or work each day. She travels somewhere to run at least four days a week, even if that means driving only a minute or so to get there. “I’ll drive half a mile to a park so that I can enjoy more of my run in the park than on the shoulder-less road on the way to the park,” she said.
Race directors, as you start to solidify plans for 2021 events, don’t forgot to add them to our free race calendar.
If you’re interested in advertising, contact Denise Farley at [email protected].
- The Virginia Sports Information Directors awarded all-state honors to several local distance runners:
- Division III: First Team – Sam Llaneza, University of Lynchburg (Brentsville District); Second Team Ryan Henderson, Christopher Newport (George Mason High School); Emily Miller, Shenandoah (Patriot); Second Team Sam Koltisko, Christopher Newport (Freedom)
- Division I: First team – Annabelle Eastman, George Mason University; First team Diego Zarate, Virginia Tech (Northwest); First team Derek Johnson, Virginia (Tusacora); First team Fitsum Seyoum, Virginia Tech (Tusacora); Second Team Lauren Berman, Virginia Tech (Robinson); Second Team Kyra Holland, William and Mary (Loudoun Valley)
- Potomac River Running plans to open a store in South Riding, Va.
- VDOT and the Commonwealth Transportation Board selected the Mt. Vernon Trail North Enhancement Trail Project for SMART Scale Funding. This award is for $28.2 million and preliminary engineering will start in 2026. This project will repair and widen approximately 6.5 miles of the Mount Vernon Trail in Arlington and Alexandria, from Roosevelt Island to Jones Point Park
- The Alexandria’s Department of Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities and the Department of Project Implementation will hold a 6:30 p.m. meeting on Wednesday, July 28 to provide an update on the Holmes Run Bike & Pedestrian Trail Restoration Project at the Patrick Henry Recreation Center at 4653 Taney Ave.
Five years after Loudoun Valley’s Drew Hunter kicked off his professional running career right out of high school, his mother Joan is making the same jump.
She will oversee training for the Boulder-based Timman Elite, an all-male collection of distance runners, including her son, who mostly represent the United States. She brings with her 18 years of high school school coaching at three different Northern Virginia high schools — with two Nike Cross Nationals titles in the last four seasons — and several intervening years coaching a youth team. Hunter served as a remote interim coach since March, before she and husband Marc retired as Loudoun Valley’s track and cross country coaches.
Montgomery County Road Runners dodged a thunderstorm on Friday to host more than 100 runners at its Midsummer Night’s Mile on the Gaithersburg High School track.
Chris Moen of Bethesda claimed the fastest time of the night, staying with the pack in the first two laps before taking the lead and crossing the line in 4:36. D.C.’s Jacqueline Kasal was the fastest woman with her 5:24 finish.
Race volunteer Stacey Geldin said she could sense participants’ excitement before the start of the four-lap race, which divided the field across eight heats according to their estimated finish time. Heavy rain passed through the area in the hours before the race, leaving behind temperatures in the mid-80’s with 75 percent relative humidity.
