Dusk Run on the Mall

It had been years since I ran after work on the Mall, the last time I had done so was years ago when I ran the bridges one day at dusk, 13 miles over the Key Bridge, back to the District on the Roosevelt Bridge, out again on the Memorial Bridge and the final return to work over the 14th Street Bridge.  Yesterday evening I ran with H from the office who wanted to get in a long run while she ramps up to get ready for a 10-Miler trail run next month and rain and a busy schedule had prevented a run earlier in the day.

We took off from our office near Union Station at 6:30 pm and ran east and south to get onto the Mall, and immediately I regretted not wearing a bill cap as the setting sun was blindingly in our eyes.  The weather was good though, dry, cool, a little windy.

We ran over the little man-made hill in front of the Department of Labor leading up to its steps as we achieved the Mall and ran due east.  Talking easily, we loped past the Carousel, the Washington Monument, World War II, World War I and the Lincoln Memorial, icons all, and started back.

H is interesting to talk with, she's smart, considerate and works hard to keep up.  We pounded over the little Labor Hill a second time and then ran up Capital Hill at the end to complete our idyllic run (all those monuments in the deepening twilight!), about six miles in about an hour, a perfect end to a busy workday.