Parks Half-Marathon, September 12th

For those of you running Chicago or Marine Corps, the Parks Half Marathon falls at the perfect time to get your race legs ready (and still have time to taper of course), and for those of you looking for a half-marathon this fall, this one's right in our backyard! What's better- it's the cheapest half around this season at only $45.

The course is point-to-point, starting near the Rockville Metro Stop, through Rock Creek Park, and finishing in downtown Bethesda. For more information, take a look at the website:
http://www.parkshalfmarathon.com/

Let me know if you plan on running it so we can all meet up as a group before/after the race :)

And if you're looking for a half over labor day weekend (week before Parks), complete with beach and weekend vacay~ Tara & Meghan are running Virginia Beach, with Mike looking to get a group together for a beach house that weekend. Take a look at Mike's post about their plans at his post here

10 miles, maybe more for Thursday's Run

Excuse the tardiness of this post. For those willing souls to pound out the extra miles during this evening's run I will be heading out to do 10 maybe more miles. Pace is predicated on when we leave as a group...the later you show the faster we have to go… 6:30 is an ideal time to start but I’ll wait for anyone wanting to do the full gamut, just let me know if you are interested. Either way I'll be hitting the Whole Foods for a cold treat afterwards. See you there.

Nine miles tomorrow (Tuesday) anyone?

So my training plan for Chicago tells me I need to get a 9 mile mid-week run in this week. I'd much rather run this with friends than alone... So who's up for running 9 tomorrow rather than the usual 6?

Let's plan on meeting at 6:40 to finish around the same time as everyone else. Leave a comment below if you plan on joining me! Thanks :)

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

Happy Hour Location Change: Clyde's!

Due to two very special requests, the bi-weekly GRC happy hour (today, Wednesday) will be at Clyde's in Friendship Heights. The exact address and further information can be found here but if there's any confusion or you need more information please email me (Greta) or leave a comment and I'll be sure to respond. Clyde's is easily accessible by metro (red line) and is less than half a block north of the Friendship Heights stop on the north-east corner of the Wisconsin/Western intersection, next to Tiffany's.

Sorry for the last-minute change, but hope to see you there.

Local Ultrarunner Champ at the Store - This Saturday, June 19

Meet legendary local ultrarunner Michael Wardian this Saturday at CCRC!

We will begin the day by meeting Mike and his family at the store at 830am. From there we will go on a nice and easy 45 minute run with Mike and the kids. Upon the conclusion of the run, Mike will entertain questions about his life and running.

The run is free and open to all. There will be post run refreshments served.

Among Mike's recent accomplishments:

4- time National Marathon winner (Washington, DC)

1st at 2010 USATF 50K National Championship

2nd at 2010 The North Face 50 Mile Endurance Challenge-Washington, DC

3rd at 2010 Marathon Des Sables-250K (150 Miles) Stage Race, Sahara Desert-Morocco (Highest finish ever by USA Male at event)

26th at 2010 Comrades Marathon (89K, 56 Miles)-Durban, South Africa (1st USA Runner)

Accolades:
USATF Ultra Runner of the Year-2008 & 2009New York Road Runners Ultra Runner of the Year: 2009

Why You Should Come to the Thursday Run

Special Guests for the Thursday Night Run

This Thursday Chevy chase Running Company will be hosting a local certified trainer and a technical representative from Garmin.

On Thursday, June 17, certified trainer Gillian Mounsey will be on hand to lead a pre-run warm-up exercise and stretch routine. Mounsey has been a personal trainer for 13 years, and her physical accomplishments include holding the world record for push-ups, and being the United States Marine Corps National Physical Fitness Champion in 1995.

Visit her website for pictures and more information about her: http://www.gillianmounsey.com/index.html


Gary Rosenberg from Garmin will be here and available to answer any and all of your technical questions regarding Garmin products as well as the use of GPS enabled watches as a valuable training tool.

Happy Hour Wednesday!

Just a reminder that we'll be having our usual bi-weekly GRC Happy Hour at Lia's this week. Should be a good night for the patio! Come out any time from 8 pm on~ we'll be there.

Swimming Sunday

Back by popular demand, some of us are going swimming Sunday afternoon at Hains Point. The pool is located at 972 Ohio Dr. SW, opens at noon, and is free for DC residents. The sooner we get there, the more likely we are to get deck chairs, so I'm going to shoot to be there right at noon. Hope you can make it!

Run Like a Mother

RUN LIKE A MOTHER~ WHY MOTHERS RUN

Thursday at 7 pm!

Come run with co-author of Run Like a Mother, then hear her read on Wednesday, June 3rd at 7pm. Marathoner and magazine writer Sarah Bowen Shea is the co-author of Run Like a Mother: How to Get Moving and Not Lose Your Family, Job, or Sanity. Following the run, Sarah will read some excerpts from the book and talk with folks about her motivation behind the writing and answer any questions from the attendees. The post run talk will be from 8-9pm. Light refreshments will be served. The event will be held at the Chevy Chase store.
(from the GRC newsletter)