It's a short, furious sprint around the small body of water that is the Tidal Basin, with the FDR Memorial on one side and the Jefferson Memorial on the other. Soon a small park in memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. will be added to it. (Right: The "hill" on the 3K course.) 
The run is very scenic. Best of all is when this horde of dashing men and women suddenly descends upon strolling tourists, especially in the beginning when the pack of runners is still tight. Their eyes tend to get big and they invariably freeze in place, usually with their arms wrapped protectively around their torsos, until the mad pack is past.
I have run this race in 72 of the last 81 months. This month I ran a 12:59 (6:58) for the 1.86 mile distance, which is pleasing since breaking 13 minutes is my benchmark of a good race. I hadn't done that in a year. My co-worker M was complaining about feeling sick and saying he might have to drop out but he threw down an 11:48 (6:20). I should be so sick.
This is the 3-mile race we're getting ready for later this month.
13 comments:
Sounds like a great 5K tradition.
You are speedy!
That's funny how the tourists react :)
Thanks for coverage of interesting running opportunities in your city... the monuments, historic bldgs, cherry blossoms, the weekly/ monthly/ yearly events.
And cheers to you for your gift of time to the running community and your impressive timely running!!
That sounds like a blast! I'm not sure what would make a better photo though, photos of the racers - or the tourists as the racers bear down on them.
Haha! Amazing time for being sick. That is incredible - how long that race has been held.
Ha ha... poor tourists... strolling along in their innocence when this horde of mad people comes... kind of reminds me of Lion King and the horde of Buffalos (or a related animal) :)
Ooooh the Cherry trees are in bloom. Our first flowers just opened this week (see http://www.borealisyarn.com/new.html.) It was neat to see you as the 'featured runner', but just goes to show that when you have a blog site anyone can 'quote' you
I would love to see this race from both sides. As a tourist/ogler/spectator and as a runner...
Congrats on breaking 13!
nice race peter
Oh Peter! What a fabulous comment!
Thanks for stopping by.
So glad you're doing the ACLI Challenge. Totally fun race.
Like I said - you are one swift dude - lots of fast-twitching muscles in those legs!
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