This is a good race if you live locally in the northern VA area of Fairfax County. The race helps support the high school's cross country and track programs. Very … MORE
This is a good race if you live locally in the northern VA area of Fairfax County. The race helps support the high school’s cross country and track programs. Very no frills race, but it has a pretty good medal and this year they gave out a nice wind breaker. Start is at a high school, you can use the bathrooms inside. Smallish race, running all on open local roads. There was not much traffic, so not a big issue. There are lots of slow incline hills on this course, they just keep coming. There are a couple good down hills, but not many. Finish on the HS track and then go into the cafeteria for regular snacks. If you live in the area definitely worth doing.
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Good Local Race for Training
This is a good race if you live locally in the northern VA area of Fairfax County. The race helps support the high school's cross country and track programs. Very … MORE
This is a good race if you live locally in the northern VA area of Fairfax County. The race helps support the high school’s cross country and track programs. Very no frills race, but it has a pretty good medal and this year they gave out a nice wind breaker. Start is at a high school, you can use the bathrooms inside. Smallish race, running all on open local roads. There was not much traffic, so not a big issue. There are lots of slow incline hills on this course, they just keep coming. There are a couple good down hills, but not many. Finish on the HS track and then go into the cafeteria for regular snacks. If you live in the area definitely worth doing.
A nice local 10 Milers
So this was my first year running the Reston 10 Miler which starts and finishes at South Lakes High School. It's put on by PRRaces so affiliated with Potomac River … MORE
So this was my first year running the Reston 10 Miler which starts and finishes at South Lakes High School. It’s put on by PRRaces so affiliated with Potomac River Running. That means free photos, bib pickup before the race if you need to, some decent swag (this year was a nice windbreaker) and just a nice low pressure race you can register for up to the day beforehand if you wish. Being at South Lakes HS means that you have access to real bathrooms before/after as needed and it’s heated which can be nice. I ran a 10K here in February where I was freezing in tights but for this 10 Miler I was in shorts and tshirt. The temperature returned to winter later that week. I would say by Northern VA standards this course is hilly. There are no massive hills to climb but you are usually going up or down as you loop around. So it’s not as flat or fast as the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler a month later, but there’s no lottery for this and no corrals (you just line up at the start time and wait for the horn). I believe there is a Fall version of this race where you can do a 10K or 10M so I may be back for that as well.
Easy, Flat Course near Dulles Airport
I had run a half marathon in NY City the day before. I had dinner with an old friend in Philadelphia, then visited my father in Washington, D.C. I lost … MORE
I had run a half marathon in NY City the day before. I had dinner with an old friend in Philadelphia, then visited my father in Washington, D.C. I lost an hour because of daylight savings. I spent another hour renting a car at the BWI airport, so I could store my lugage in it during the race, rather than take the train from Philly to DC and uber out to the venue. That is more detail than most would want to know. I’m just excusing myself for the lackluster performance, chasing the cutoff of 2:15.
This was a good race on a flat course (mostly so; by San Francisco standards, it was about as flat as possible; by other standards, there were gentle rises that nobody would object to). For those unfamiliar with the area, it is near the Dulles airport. That is why I signed up. I had a flight that afternoon. It was perfect. I’m glad I spent the morning doing this.
The race started at the local high school. I believe it somehow benefits that institution or another charity. The field was friendly, medium sized (no corrals or waves), and included walkers. The route was easy and easygoing. It wound on pavement through suburbs.
This is a good race for locals, or, if like me, you happen to be passing through.