Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Eagle Run 2009

Sunday I had the privilege of attending the premiere VHTRC event of the year. No, not the MMT 100. And no, not the Bull Run Run 50. VHTRC members from far and wide gathered at the residence of the always entertaining Gary Knipling on Sunday for the annual Eagle Run.

Roughly 90 runners gathered in the early morning with hopes of getting in some miles through Mason Neck, the site of George Mason's former plantation, and seeing a few eagles at the same time. Gary planned things out perfectly so three groups of runners (short, middle and long distances) took different routes along the course and wound up at the same eagle lookout points at roughly the same time. I personally saw 3 bald eagles, not too shabby. Our "long" group ended up getting in an official ultra, a tad over 28 miles, most of which felt like tempo miles due to the fact that we were following in the footsteps of the only person who knew where to go with the unexpected trail closures, Keith Knipling.


Seems pretty straightforward, right? View Larger Map

Once we arrived back at the Knipling residence, we found a few cold slices of pizza left untouched by the short and mid-runners (thank you, even cold pizza is delicious after an ultra). Then the party began. I think the phrase I overheard was "what goes at the Eagle Run stays at the Eagle Run", but it would be a shame to not share the pictures. I'm feeling a bit too lazy to embed every image, so here's a slideshow instead. Enjoy!



(If the slideshow above doesn't work on your computer, click here to see the album.)

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