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.
Bob Scharff did run for the BOC, Lou Catagnola ran for Hugh Jascourt's club, the National Capitol All Stars. Gar Williams ran for the Empire Harriers, but that was after I was gone to LA.
We did not run metric distances as a general thing other than championships.
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?
DC Metro has a higher concentration of egocentric neoliberal dbags that anywhere else in our egocentric neoliberal country. Proceed with caution. You will be gobsmacked by the inner beltway narcissism of the post-collegiate Ivy League crowd for a long time to come. Try the Hash House Harriers if you seek actual humans with personality.
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.
Maybe we did! I was pretty active locally from mid 70’s to early 80’s. I was known as Bruce Robinson’s doppelgänger. LOL I ran out of Northern Virginia. Ran at Mason too. there was a thread about DC running on here some years ago and people were speculating I had died. I guess that’s what happens when you spend most of the last 40 years in Asia
I definitely feel like COVID killed off the DC running scene permanently. A lot of races simply don't exist or are shells of their former selves and most clubs have dwindled down too, as evidenced when you show up to races like Cherry Blossom and what used to be 40-50 singlets of DC clubs at the front is no more.
Or maybe this is a get off my lawn post now that I'm in my 40s with kids.
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.
Maybe we did! I was pretty active locally from mid 70’s to early 80’s. I was known as Bruce Robinson’s doppelgänger. LOL I ran out of Northern Virginia. Ran at Mason too. there was a thread about DC running on here some years ago and people were speculating I had died. I guess that’s what happens when you spend most of the last 40 years in Asia
Okay. We knew each other then and are Faceook friends now.
Help us build the best running shoe review site for a chance to win a LetsRun t-shirt.Help us build the best running shoe review site for a chance to win one of 10 LetsRun t-shirts.
