• Clarksburg’s Conroy Zien, who has been the go-to voice on Boston Marathon frustrations and triumphs, opined on falling short of the 7:47 margin needed to make this year’s race on the Run Farther and Faster podcast.
• Chantilly alumnus Sean McGorty’s met the 8:22.00 Olympic standard with his 8:20.77 3000m steeplechase at the 2021 USATF Golden Games.

• RunWashington publisher Kathy Dalby was a guest on The Chrono Show podcast in her capacity as CEO of Pacers Running
• Quentin Adams has launched a GoFundMe to raise money to pay for his brother Waldon Adams’ funeral expenses following Waldon’s death in a hit-and-run on Hains Point.
• Georgetown alumna Rachel Schneider won the USATF Road Mile in 4:30.3 in Des Moines, Iowa.
• Ashburn’s Lisa Romanzo shared her experiences returning to run after pregnancy on the Breaking 5 podcast.
• Arlington’s Jake Tuber discussed his comeback from labrum repair surgery on the Strength Running podcast.

• Two walkers reported being attacked April a person on a black electric bike on Beach Drive near Wise Road in Rock Creek Park.
• Work to extend the Powerline Trail in Montomery County by 7.6 miles will begin in 2022 and eventually connect South Germantown Park to Cabin John Regional Park, thanks to $10 million from the state of Maryland.
• Loudoun Valley coaches Joan and Marc Hunter will be guests on the Out of the Blocks show tonight at 8:30 – the show will be archived, too.
• Work to widen the W&OD at Columbia Pike and Four Mile Run Drive may briefly affect trail access until Apirl 19.
• The Capital Crescent Trail will be closed north of River Road at times for a few days starting Monday, April 19 to allow for tree removal.
• Milesplit featured an interview with Heritage alumna Weini Kelati.

• • • If vaccination rates continue on pace in Washington, D.C., outdoor races will be allowed to resume at 50 percent capacity, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced April 5.
    • The City of Rockville is collecting input about the future of RedGate Park via a survey that you can take here.
    • I have updated the DMV Distance Derby, you can see the standings through March here.
    • The United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association announced its Division I All-Academic individual and team honors for the 2020-2021 cross country season. Local runners include:
      

      Alyssa Aldridge	Georgetown
      Margaret Coogan	George Washington
      Sami Corman	Georgetown
      Katie Dammer	Georgetown
      Maggie Donahue	Georgetown
      Annabelle Eastman	George Mason
      Camden Gilmore	Georgetown
      Bethany Graham	Furman	John Champe
      Mary Hennelly	Georgetown
      Kyra Holland	William & Mary	Loudoun Valley
      Caroline Howley	Duke	McLean
      Baylee Jones	Georgetown
      Rachel McArthur	Colorado	Patriot
      Harry Monroe	Virginia	Gonzaga
      Peter Morris	Virginia	Loudoun Valley
      Matthew Payamps	Georgetown
      Jack Salisbury	Georgetown
      Parker Stokes	Georgetown
      Women’s Teams	GPA
      American University	3.8
      George Washington University	3.67
      Georgetown University	3.668
      George Mason University	3.5
      Men’s Teams	GPA
      George Mason University	3.52
      George Washington University	3.41
      Georgetown University	3.41
      American University	3.36

• Part of the Western Ridge Trail will be closed for up to seven months for rebuilding starting March 31 between Porter Street NW to Bluffs Footbridge along Beach Drive NW. It’s the paved path that runs under the Porter Street Bridge, and the detour will follow the paved path on the other side of Rock Creek.
• The National Park Service has rolled back the pedestrian closure of East Potomac Park.
• Georgetown alumnus Andrew Bumbalough was a guest on the Morning Shakeout podcast.

• East Potomac Park and West Potomac Park will be closed to pedestrians during peak cherry blossom bloom, which is a variable but generally forecast to be March 26 – April 12, so Hains Point will be inaccessible in an effort to reduce crowding during the pandemic.
• Montgomery County is closing Little Falls Parkway, between River Road and Arlington Road.
• Marine Corps Marathon men’s course record holder Jeff Scuffins (2:14:01) died at 58.
• Thomas Jefferson alumna and Springfield resident Shauneen Werlinger was a guest on the D3 Glory Days podcast.
• Georgetown sophomore Maggie Donahue and women’s cross country coach Mitchell Baker were honored by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association as athlete of the year and coach of the year for the Mid-Atlantic cross country region.

• The W&OD Trail bridge spanning Lee Highway in Arlington opened March 12.
• Montgomery County will resume closing two sections of Little Falls Parkway to motorists on weekends starting March 27.
• Loudoun County’s Office of Mapping and Geographic Information has launched a new mobile-friendly online map of the county’s unpaved roads.
• The Montgomery County Council will be discussing budget amendments March 23 at 9 a.m., including the includsion of the Capital Crescent Trail Tunnel. View the meeting here
• The People’s Alliance for Rock Creek is organizing a campaign to ask the National Park Service to permanently close upper Beach Drive to through traffic.
• The College of William and Mary announced that its men’s track and field team, previously retained for a season after initially being cut last September, will remain an NCAA sport.
• Georgetown’s women team finished 18th and its men’s team finished 22nd at the NCAA Cross Country Championships March 15 in Stillwater, Okla. Georgetown alumnus and former coach Mike Smith coached Northern Arizona to the men’s title and Walt Whitman alumnus and former Georgetown coach Will Palmer, an assistant at Alabama, helepd coach women’s winner Mercy Chelangat and third place finisher Amaris Tyynismaa. Individual finishers with D.C.-area connections included:

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• Plans to repave and add a pedestrian bridge to the Rock Creek Park path will go forward starting in late February, after DDOT awarded a construction contract. Details include:
  • A pedestrian bridge to the south of the tunnel
  • Reconstruction of the “zoo loop” that had eroded into the creek several years ago
  • Repair of the retaining wall along Piney Branch Parkway
  • Various trail closures
• Laurel resident Juliette Whittaker, who is a junior at Mount de Sales Academy, qualified for the Olympic Marathon Trials in the 800 meters, running 2:02.7 at the Virginia Showcase last weekend, the third fastest time for a woman under 20 and a junior class record. She was also a member of the 4×800 meter relay team that set an under-20 world record 8:37.20 the next day.
• The Prince George’s County Department of Public Works and Transportation is putting together a Bike and Pedestrian Network Plan to prioritize resources for bike and pedestrian improvements over the next five years. Comments, which you can make on the map, will be accepted until Jan. 22.
• You know the drill about Keira D’Amato by now, she was a guest on the Six Minute Mile podcast.
• Georgetown alumna Rachel Schneider and Heritage High School alumna Weini Kelati were guests on the 2 Black Runners podcast.

• The Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile has been postponed until Sept. 11-12, with the lottery running June 1-13.
• The Prince George’s County Department of Public Works and Transportation is putting together a Bike and Pedestrian Network Plan to prioritize resources for bike and pedestrian improvements over the next five years. Comments, which you can make on the map, will be accepted until Jan. 22.
• Oakton and American alumna Keira D’Amato’s 2:22:56 at the Marathon Project was the seventh fastest American women’s marathon time. She was a guest on the I’ll Have Another podcast.
• Heritage alumna Weini Kelati was a guest on the Citius and Keeping Track podcasts.
• Georgetown alumna Rachel Schneider was a guest on the C Tolle Run podcast.
• Montgomery County Department of Transportation is repairing a culvert that will close a section of the Matthew Henson Trail for several months at Turkey Branch Parkway and Grenoble Drive. MCDOT will install an ADA compliant detour for trail users. See more information here