what is going on in DC? GRC the new best club in the USA?

It's a long story. As a guy whose been around the DC area and not having joined GRC, they created a program (after merging with Pacers running several years back) that attracts ALL of the young professional post-D1 running crowd.

For years the vast majority coming right out of college hung on for 2-3 years, got injured or burnt out, and moved on. GRC tended to to be the conduit for this type of runner. However, their training and approach/culture has changed and they are attracting some great post-collegians and they have experienced guys as well.

Their training has also changed, larger volumes of threshold and some crazy workout volumes I wouldn't have ever attempted to regularly complete myself. Instead of high injury and burnout, it seems to be working for some of them.

don't forget about Charlie Ban. He's GRC Emeritus and has nice khaki pants

Yeah, they pretty much have a monopoly on faster runners that come to DC, and in a city this large, having a lot of fast people isn't super surprising. I think they're respectable, but somewhat overrated given the sheer number of runners that the coach, who also coaches the up-and-coming NOVA running club, is managing (or trying to manage) single-handedly; no matter what the system is, some in a group that large are bound to succeed. Alas, a few people (myself included) have run into problems with the current system but essentially have to choose between GRC and just running without a club.

Agree but still very respectable. GRC is by far the only competitive running group in the DMV area. Unlike other large cities like NY, Chicago, Denver, Boulder, Flagstaff that all have many many groups with quality runners in each