Triple Double (two marathons each weekend, three consecutive weekends) completed at the Marine Corps Marathon in Arlington, Virginia. The worst of the six. I’ll do the math on them later and lick my wounds, but suffice to say I did not meet my time goal, and I spent most of the race telling myself all sorts of terrible things about my performance. Oh well, that’s over. I got some good advice and an attaboy from a friend I respect and who’s not one to hand out false praise. It made me feel, not so much better, but hopeful. I did however get to see oodles of friends, some longer than others, and it reminded me that I do this because I like it. It was a nice race. I want to do it again. Fun fact: The Pentagon is one of the largest office buildings in the world. It has six zip codes and an open courtyard in the center known colloquially as “Ground Zero.” People I saw but didn’t have the presence of mind to get a photo with: Jeff Laughead, Amanda Soldal Laughead, Natalie Youtsey, Emily Daycock, Denise Wilkins, Maria Fletcher, Jim Fisher, Andrew Wetterer, JM Gabriel, Connie Ulep,
Pascal Radley was wearing a costume I hear. I don’t see it. 😉
Who let the dogs out? Who? Who? Who?
Georgetown view
Isn’t it bad enough we have to run a marathon? Do we have to listen to accordion music? Only kidding. That reminds me of a joke, what’s the difference between an onion and an accordion? Nobody cries when you cut up an accordion. I’ll be here all afternoon, tip your waiters and waitresses, folks.
Cade, on post race beer 14.
A rare flamingoless Barco. Also I think the first time I took a picture of him, instead of him taking the group photo.
Donald Trump impersonator on the course.
Kevin Brosi and Dave Bell 70 bajillion marathons between these two. I think I overheard this is Kevin’s 410th. Dave’s finished the states at least 5 times.
A fresh spin on the “Worst Parade Ever”
The start line. Can you tell?
The mighty, mighty Melissa Wood.
Elena. Last time I saw her I was pinning a tail on her at Grandma’s in Duluth.
Maniacs, outstanding in their field…
Someone will take the oath of office as the 45th President of the United States here in 82 days.
Arlington National Cemetery at the finish.
So I’m standing there minding my own business and Donna Dullys shouts over at me. So I got to start with this crew. Ben decided to do MCM as his first marathon. A splendid choice.
DC Frontrunners. Nice gams fellas… 😉
Chase that unicorn…
Todd, the sub4 machine
Elle and Greg Burress chat pre-prerace photo.
Oyauma Garrison is ready to crush it.
wear blue: run to remember mile. Probably the most moving part of the course for me.
The unstoppably happy V. Guy is a robot I swear it.
Marine Corp Memorial Monument
Karen Murray totes Old Glory for Team RWB. Go Eagle!
People clearly forgetting the classing Star Wars admonition: Let the wookie win.
My second sexual assault perp.
Weird to see confetti and celebrations in front of the Holocaust Museum.
The Bulldog is the symbol of the Marines, they were founded in 1775.
JC Santa Teresa slapped my ass, not long before Sabrina Seher did the same. WTH? Second week in a row I’ve seen him. Like a bad penny, he keeps turning up.
another view of the Washington monument.
The Jefferson Monument
Apparently Dave Bell’s reputation precedes him.
At the time of its construction the Washington Monument, at 555 feet was the tallest structure in the world. It would quickly be eclipsed by the Gustave Eiffel’s tower, and a whole panoply of things since.
The George Mason memorial. It’s one of my favorites, and often overlooked. A beautiful garden, and a founding father with a penchant for not compromising. He refused to sign the Constitution because it didn’t ban slave trade, and he insisted on protections of individual freedom that would eventually become what we now know as the Bill of Rights. Yeah, that was a stealth fun fact.
