Our House in Virginia Beach

Two of us from the store - Tara and Megan - are running the Virginia Beach Half on Labor Day weekend. I have nothing else to do then, so I'll be cheering them on in between partying on the beach. Which led me to thinking...

Would anyone else be interested in caravaning down to VA Beach over Labor Day and renting a house? Last chance to hit the beach before fall arrives!

I'll be booking by this time next week, so let me know by then.

GRC Happy Hour

Today is Wednesday which means we are already half-way to Friday!

Let's celebrate by grabbing some drinks and food at Lia's Restaurant by the GRC Store in Friendship Heights. After sampling alternative cuisine in the area, it was determined that Lia's remains our best and favorite option at the moment.

Happy Hour generally starts around 8:00 and members hang out for several hours.

Address:

4445 Willard Avenue
Chevy Chase‎, MD

I hope to see you all there!

Run the Marine Corps Marathon or 10K (or any other fall marathon) for Girls Gotta Run Foundation

The Marine Corps Marathon may be sold out, but Girls Gotta Run Foundation (GGRF) has spots available for charity runners for both the marathon and the 10k.

Girls Gotta Run (www.girlsgottarun.org) is an all volunteer charitable organization founded in 2006 to raise money to provide support for impoverished Ethiopian girls who are training to be professional runners. Running is more than a sport for girls and women in Ethiopia. It empowers them to stay in school, avoid early marriage and childbirth, and gain economic self-sufficiency. Besides providing funds for running shoes, GGRF also provides money for training clothes, extra food ("calorie money"), coach subsidies, and other training-related expenses.

The registration fee is $90 for the marathon and $45 for the 10K. We will happily reimburse your registration fee once you reach the goals that we have set for the marathon ($1,000) or 10K ($350). Once you sign up to run the marathon or 10K, we will provide you with lots of fundraising advice and ideas. For starters, we are encouraging our runners to use First Giving, which is a simple and effective online fundraising tool.

If you are interested in obtaining a bib for the Marine Corps Marathon or 10K and raising money for the Girls Gotta Run Foundation, please email Ashley at asgriffith@gmail.com by this Friday, July 30th, as all registration forms are due on July 31st.

If you already have your bib or are running a different fall marathon and would like to run for Girls Gotta Run and raise money for the foundation, please email Greta at grstults@gmail.com

To view an incredible video about one of the teams Girls Gotta Run funds, the Simien Runners (named for their location in the gorgeous Simien Mountains), click here.

Twilighter Results

Can be found here

Props to those who pulled off the double PR. It wasn't easy on Saturday.

Twilighter Pre-Race Plans

Just texted everyone I know who is running this. For those who have signed up very recently, we will be meeting outside the Starbucks in Rockville Town Square around 8:15.

Silver!

Say hello to your second-place overall team at this morning's Press Club 5k. Congrats, everyone!

More on Press Club 5k

Just a reminder that if you are planning to run in the Press Club 5k tomorrow, remember to enter "GRC" as your team. There is a prize for fastest team, and I think we will be strong contenders! The rules for teams were confusing, so I talked to one of the organizers this afternoon. The bottom line is that if you register at the race tomorrow morning, you can still join the team. For anyone who has already registered: if I emailed you separately, you should be all set (but double-check when you get your packet). Otherwise, just ask to be added to team GRC when you pick up your bib. See you tomorrow!

Happy Hour at Bambule tomorrow

We're once again trying out a new location for the biweekly GRC Happy Hour tomorrow. Paula suggested we all check out Bambule. It's still in Friendship Heights, just a couple blocks from the store. Click here for the location, restaurant link, and more info. We'll be there starting around 8ish. Hope to see you there!

Pancakes

As Greta mentioned, the National Press Club 5k is also on Saturday, at 8 a.m. This is a mostly flat course along Pennsylvania Avenue in downtown DC, followed by a sumptuous pancake breakfast in the press club ballroom. I plan on running both the 5k and the Rockville Twilighter 8k that evening.

(Note that you can buy a ticket for the breakfast separately, if you only want to eat and don't want to run. It's $11.24 for breakfast, which is competitive with Morty's. The proceeds presumably go to benefit literacy, or puppies, or something along those lines.)

Online registration ends Wednesday night at midnight, but if you miss that you can still sign up on the spot. If you do enter the race, put "GRC" as your team name. If you've already signed up, it should still be possible to run as part of the team if you email the organizers -- but if not we can sort it out with them on race day morning. Sorry for the late notice on the team, I have to admit I only signed up tonight myself. Hope to see you there!

Rockville Twilighter

Rockville Twilighter
8K
THIS Saturday, July 17th
Rockville Town Center
8:45 PM

Pardon my slackerness in formally announcing this race. Those of you who have done it in the past know how truly awesome it is. It is THE summer race in the DC area. The finish line turns into a giant block party that inevitably goes all night. And the prize at the end... the above photo says it all.

It is possible to sign up throughout the week, or even day-of. Those of you looking to save a few dollars should sign up TODAY (Tuesday).

It's Metro accessible, a fun time, and affordable. I will be there.

Will you?

Mentor a Young Runner

Hope everyone had a fun Independence Day!

Teens Run DC dropped off some info at the store about opportunities to mentor at-risk youth in a training program to run the National Marathon. There are several ways to help with varying levels of time commitment, from leading weekly runs to simply manning a water station.

Visit their website for more information: http://www.teensrundc.org/

We also have the direct contact information here for the director of the program.

See you soon,
Amber