Mike Ricci set the stage for his 2020 by running the New Year’s Day 5k in Gaithersburg. As it turns out, by mid-May, he’s been spending more time working with the Manna Food Center, the race beneficiary, than he has been running outside.
As communications director for Gov. Larry Hogan, Ricci’s been cut off from the leisurely runs out in the Old Line State while he manages the outreach for one of the country’s most active governors during the coronavirus pandemic, which ranges from state-wide communications down to relationship building to tackle consequences of the pandemic, including food insecurity.
“I pretty much stick to the treadmill,” he said, quick to add, “not just because of the stay-at-home order, but because of my hours.”
Name: Katie McHugh. Or Dinterbeast. I’ll answer to both.
Self-described age group: I’m timeless.
Residence: The Hill is Home.
Occupation: Pediatric oncology research nurse
Volunteer roles in the running world: I am an expert cowbell ringer and very proficient in vuvuzela blowing. I am also an exceptional relay van driver, and I will get the team to the next exchange on time no matter what ill directions I have been given.
How has your running changed in the last few weeks: I’ve whittled down to only one running partner: my one-year-old daughter, Molly.
Why you run: Because it’s fun, duh!
LetsRun staff writer and Olympic Trials party companion to Farley Jonathan Gault talks about his career writing features for the site.
Name: Laurence J Clark MD FACP
Self-described age group: Masters Senior
Residence: Mount Vernon, Va.
Occupation: Physician, Medicare Medical Director, Noridian Healthcare Solutions (13 states including West Coast), Volunteer Medical Director, Carpenters Shelter Clinic
Volunteer roles in the running world: Organizer for the Run for Shelter to support local homelessness initiatives
How has your running changed in the last few weeks: I have been running by myself around the Chinquapin Park oval to maintain social distancing at the usual time I would be running with NOVA
Maryland Track alumna Kelley Marchiano talks about her work in a Maryland urgent care clinic, where she administers COVID-19 screening tests.
- The 14th Street Washington, D.C. Pacers store was burglarized the morning of April 25.
- Oakton/American alumna Keira Carlstrom D’Amato was a guest on the I’ll Have Another podcast.
- Georgetown alumna Kate Landau’s work as a physician’s assistant was featured in Dyestat.
- Former George Mason Head Track Coach Dalton Ebanks died April 25 from complications from Covid-19.
- Dustin Whitlow, a RunWashington contributing photographer, will be featured on an Potomac River Running Instagram live session Wednesday, April 29 from 8 p.m. – 9 p.m.
- Conroy Zien, the 2015 Best of Washington Running coach of the year and subject of a recent RunWashington story, was a guest on the Run Farther and Faster podcast.
Name: Rebecca Middleton
Self-described age group: 40-49
Residence: Arlington
Occupation: Anti-hunger leader – executive director of Alliance to End Hunger
How has your running changed in the last four weeks: I was signed up for a number of spring races that were cancelled/postponed so it’s been a big mindshift. I’m most disciplined when I have a race on the calendar, so not knowing when the next in-person race will be is a challenge. A friend in Boulder sent me information about the Un-Cancelled Project virtual race series by Run the Edge – it has been a fun way to stay motivated. Another big change has been planning routes to maximize social distancing. For me this means avoiding trails and hitting quieter streets. The upside has been having a bit more flexibility with my schedule overall so easier to stick to a running routine. I’m grateful to still be able to run and try to be mindful of what a gift it is.
Volunteer roles in the running world: I’d signed up to volunteer for the first time at this year’s Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile. I was really looking forward to it, but clearly it wasn’t meant to be. I look forward to volunteering just as soon as races start back up.
Tysons’s Chris Gellene, 58, spent his Easter Sunday differently than most. While families around the country were asleep in bed, Gellene was finishing up a 100-mile run sometime between 3:30 and 4 in the morning. But after some rest and a good night’s sleep, he says, “I got up the next day, it was Easter morning. I got and went about my Sunday.”
Originally signed up to run the Pistol 100-Miler in Tennessee, Gellene was worried when he learned that he would not be able to run the race. Gellene is no stranger to the 100-mile distance. The Pistol 100-Miler would have been his 12th.
“I trained for it and I was in shape and I’d run a lot of mileage,” he said.
Former host Joanna Russo, fresh off some “me time” during a three-month furlough, updates her colleagues on life in Syracuse.
A Walt Whitman runner is getting a bone marrow transplant, but will need help from blood and platlet transfusions.
Ben Lesser got a major boost in his fight acute myeloid leukemia when the National Marrow Donor Program yielded a partial match.
Try this again! The power of athletics! #WeRaise #wwtf4life @WWHSAthletics @mcpsAD @MCPSAthletics pic.twitter.com/CATLMlSDBw
— Stephen Hays (@WWXCCoach) April 15, 2020
Help Ben
Donate blood
You can donate whole blood every 56 days. Lesser can accept A negative, B negative, AB negative and O negative.
Donate platlets
You can donate platelets every 7 or 14 days. In D.C., at the Donor Center at Children’s National Hospital, you can donate platelets every 14 days. Around the country, you can donate platelets every 7 days at the Red Cross (see the Red Cross website). If you have ever been pregnant, you may need to have an HLA test first.
Send Ben a card or note:
Ben Lesser
6106 Harvard Ave. PO Box 607
Glen Echo, MD 20812
If you’d like to organize a group of people to donate blood, or if you simply prefer to speak to someone, please call the Donor Center at Children’s National Hospital at 202-476-5437.
