DC sucks. Full of people that think they are running the country despite the fact that CA, FL, TX, and NY are. Move before the summer is hot and humid and the mosquitoes are pestering you on your runs. Want a good running culture? Move to the West Coast.
DC sucks. Full of people that think they are running the country despite the fact that CA, FL, TX, and NY are. Move before the summer is hot and humid and the mosquitoes are pestering you on your runs. Want a good running culture? Move to the West Coast.
you should see the shirts everyone wears every day in DC: "we RUN this country!" written all over the back (because they're obviously in front of you on runs! how else would you be able to read it?)
DC sucks. Full of people that think they are running the country despite the fact that CA, FL, TX, and NY are. Move before the summer is hot and humid and the mosquitoes are pestering you on your runs. Want a good running culture? Move to the West Coast.
you should see the shirts everyone wears every day in DC: "we RUN this country!" written all over the back (because they're obviously in front of you on runs! how else would you be able to read it?)
DC sucks. Full of people that think they are running the country despite the fact that CA, FL, TX, and NY are. Move before the summer is hot and humid and the mosquitoes are pestering you on your runs. Want a good running culture? Move to the West Coast.
DC is fine once you're away from Hill culture. You're not so chill, West Coaster.
New to DC (and post-collegiate running) and am trying to get a handle on running competitively here.
Everyone seems to love the running culture here but to me it seems like there's a ton of ego compared to what I saw in school. People bragging about getting wasted on Strava (and I don't mean "oh yeah I'm recovering from last night lol" posts, I mean bragging), coaches (or at least one coach) that don't want clubs they coach to be associated with slower people for the sake of their reputation, etc.
The racing scene seems pretty weak/strange compared to other cities in the northeast, too. XC/track is practically non-existent, the one big marathon in the city hasn't had any Olympic Trials qualifiers recently, and there is a strange fixation on the 10-mile distance.
So, am I missing something really good about running in DC? Are these all recent developments? Is all this oddly enough the reason why people like running here?
I feel like Covid killed the running scene here, but I also moved to a suburb and moved on from running like in 2019 so I don't know much since then.
I think there are still plenty of running clubs, but again, since Covid I haven't heard much about them. Potomac Valley Track Club I think still has track races. There's absolutely stopping a genius like yourself from starting a track-specific club or series. I think your type of people would like that.
People make Baltimore jokes, but they have some good races up there too and the people there are more down to earth. They also have the District Track Club for elites or "subelites" if people want to be snotty about it.
I'm not on Strava, but lots of Type As and posturing around these parts. That said, it's a big metro area, and you can always find "your people" once you settle in. I mostly avoid the Hill types, who by chance tend to be very serious about running.
New to DC (and post-collegiate running) and am trying to get a handle on running competitively here.
Everyone seems to love the running culture here but to me it seems like there's a ton of ego compared to what I saw in school. People bragging about getting wasted on Strava (and I don't mean "oh yeah I'm recovering from last night lol" posts, I mean bragging), coaches (or at least one coach) that don't want clubs they coach to be associated with slower people for the sake of their reputation, etc.
The racing scene seems pretty weak/strange compared to other cities in the northeast, too. XC/track is practically non-existent, the one big marathon in the city hasn't had any Olympic Trials qualifiers recently, and there is a strange fixation on the 10-mile distance.
So, am I missing something really good about running in DC? Are these all recent developments? Is all this oddly enough the reason why people like running here?
New to DC (and post-collegiate running) and am trying to get a handle on running competitively here.
Everyone seems to love the running culture here but to me it seems like there's a ton of ego compared to what I saw in school. People bragging about getting wasted on Strava (and I don't mean "oh yeah I'm recovering from last night lol" posts, I mean bragging), coaches (or at least one coach) that don't want clubs they coach to be associated with slower people for the sake of their reputation, etc.
The racing scene seems pretty weak/strange compared to other cities in the northeast, too. XC/track is practically non-existent, the one big marathon in the city hasn't had any Olympic Trials qualifiers recently, and there is a strange fixation on the 10-mile distance.
So, am I missing something really good about running in DC? Are these all recent developments? Is all this oddly enough the reason why people like running here?
Tell me you got rejected from GRC without telling me you got rejected from GRC.
Hugh Jascourt got the DC area running program started in 1961.
I founded the first club (Empire Harriers).
There was a race every weekend and every holiday except for Christmas.
There was a summer series of mid-week road races called the Bunion Derby and a winter series called Operation Snowman (I think that was the name.
We ran a 10 mile track race in the summer as part of the National Postal competition.
The road race schedule ran races of 4 miles - marathon for senior runners and 2-4 miles for juniors.
Additional track races were 10 mile relays of alternate 440s and alternate 880s and also one mile, as well a one and two hour runs.
The DC Rec Dept ran a series of summer track races.
There were no coaches or organized training sessions.
I trained with Dick Haines and we wore out Lee Hwy between Cherrydale and Falls Church. We had 3 turnaround points that we referred to as 5, 7 and 9 miles for the out and back. I recently geomapped our course and found our 5 miles was actually 6.3, our 7 was 8.6 and our 9 was 11 miles even. So, what were those 85-110 mile weeks we ran? As much as 125, perhaps more. :)
What happened to all this?
I'm pretty sure the winter series was called the Snowball Series. It was supposed to a build up for the Washington's Birthday Marathon. There was a 20 km at Haines Point, a 25 km at American U on that five lap course at the end of each lap, a 20 mile in Reston, can't think if there were others. There was a 30 km in Arlington but it was in March and not part of the Snowball Series..
I think most of the older guys in the Washington Sports Club with me, Lou Castagnola, Bob Scharf, Gar Williams, had run for the Empire Harriers. As far as I knew that club was gone when I got there in 1974. Do you know what happened? Then the runners from the Sports Club separated and became the Washington Running Club. We had a cheer we did before going to the starting line which decades later I learnt was the same one U-boat crews did when they sailed out for their missions.
The WRC went all over the country trying to win the team title at AAU National Road Championships. After I left the area the WRC seemed to get even better. If you look at their web page there's a list of the club's all time fastest marathoners. It's impressive as all get out. But the top times there are decades old. Only one of their fastest thirty nine times came after 1990. I think a big thing that happened is that shoe companies started signing the best runners to run for their club. If the sport in the 70s was like it is now there's no way guys like Jack Fultz or Bernie Allen would have been members. Beyond guys like that there were a ton of guys between 2:20 and 2:45 who would not have been snarfed up by shoe companies but from what I can tell the club has no one in that range now. I think the Pacers have some. They seem to be the most competitive club in the area now but from what I can tell not nearly as many as were in the area before 1990.
That post of yours sure brought up some great memories.
Definitely good memories. DC had a pretty vibrant running scene in the 70’s/80’s while I was there. Ran for that WRC squad and we were fairly competitive up and down the eastern seaboard. managed to win the Bunion Derby a couple of times. most of those races were brutal in the hot humid DC Summer. that GW birthday marathon was first I ever ran. froze my ass off! LOL
New to DC (and post-collegiate running) and am trying to get a handle on running competitively here.
Everyone seems to love the running culture here but to me it seems like there's a ton of ego compared to what I saw in school. People bragging about getting wasted on Strava (and I don't mean "oh yeah I'm recovering from last night lol" posts, I mean bragging), coaches (or at least one coach) that don't want clubs they coach to be associated with slower people for the sake of their reputation, etc.
The racing scene seems pretty weak/strange compared to other cities in the northeast, too. XC/track is practically non-existent, the one big marathon in the city hasn't had any Olympic Trials qualifiers recently, and there is a strange fixation on the 10-mile distance.
So, am I missing something really good about running in DC? Are these all recent developments? Is all this oddly enough the reason why people like running here?
Tell me you got rejected from GRC without telling me you got rejected from GRC.
I don’t get the whole “culture” thing. I spend all day working with people. Running is my time to be alone. You can race anywhere in the world. It’s odd that people need these cults.
I don’t get the whole “culture” thing. I spend all day working with people. Running is my time to be alone. You can race anywhere in the world. It’s odd that people need these cults.
This. I know there are running clubs all over of various levels, but most clearly run way too fast on their group easy runs. Who needs that nonsense. Also, then I have to show up at a certain time and all that jazz. The clubs are more helpful if I need some motivation to get my 7 a.m. long run done in the summer, or can't do track workouts alone.
Yes, what's OP is "missing" is that they're not as good as they think they are. Sorry you have to run with the plebes now.
Also, newly graduated collegiate runners tend to not understand how much slower roads are vs track, as well as the normal grind of working full time . So they see winning times that are slower than their track times and think they could easily win, but when they actually start training and racing they realize it's not as easy as they thought it was.
New to DC (and post-collegiate running) and am trying to get a handle on running competitively here.
Everyone seems to love the running culture here but to me it seems like there's a ton of ego compared to what I saw in school. People bragging about getting wasted on Strava (and I don't mean "oh yeah I'm recovering from last night lol" posts, I mean bragging), coaches (or at least one coach) that don't want clubs they coach to be associated with slower people for the sake of their reputation, etc.
The racing scene seems pretty weak/strange compared to other cities in the northeast, too. XC/track is practically non-existent, the one big marathon in the city hasn't had any Olympic Trials qualifiers recently, and there is a strange fixation on the 10-mile distance.
So, am I missing something really good about running in DC? Are these all recent developments? Is all this oddly enough the reason why people like running here?
I don’t get the whole “culture” thing. I spend all day working with people. Running is my time to be alone. You can race anywhere in the world. It’s odd that people need these cults.
This. I know there are running clubs all over of various levels, but most clearly run way too fast on their group easy runs. Who needs that nonsense. Also, then I have to show up at a certain time and all that jazz. The clubs are more helpful if I need some motivation to get my 7 a.m. long run done in the summer, or can't do track workouts alone.
So within one paragraph, you say clubs are useless yet actually also serve a very important purpose.
Definitely good memories. DC had a pretty vibrant running scene in the 70’s/80’s while I was there. Ran for that WRC squad and we were fairly competitive up and down the eastern seaboard. managed to win the Bunion Derby a couple of times. most of those races were brutal in the hot humid DC Summer. that GW birthday marathon was first I ever ran. froze my ass off! LOL
It's hard to think we don't know each other. I was there when you were. Looking at my first post, I'm not sure Bob Scharf ran for the Empire Harriet's before running for WSC. I think he ran for the Baltimore Olympic Club.
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