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Potomac River Run Marathon & Half Marathon Sunday, May 2, 2004 "Run From Belle Haven to Boston" http://www.pvtc.org/marathon.html

These warm letters of congratulations are a testament to both your altruism and tenacity. I know you faced seemingly insurmountable obstacles, but you never gave up and as a consequence, you have galvanized a base of committed people to lay a foundation for successful events in the future with the potential to change many lives for the better.

I am sure I speak for the entire Board of Directors of the Arlington Cooperation Foundation in saying we are so proud of your efforts and the resulting historic marathon last weekend.

Thank you for putting on such a quality race. This was the most fun I have ever had a half-marathon or marathon. Thank you to the Arlington Cooperation Foundation, to Bob Sweeney and the Greater Washington Sports Alliance, and to Liza Recto and the very nice people of the Chesapeake Bay Running Club who travelled here for the race and who got up at such an ungodly hour to set up and staff the finish line. Thank you to the numerous volunteers who staffed the water stops, turnaround, aid stations, and who cheered for the runners at various points. Thank you to Dr. Al and Valerie for watching out for our safety. Thank you to the National Park Service for providing all of us who ran with such a beautiful course - one that I personally liked better than the original proposed course over in Arlington. Thank you to the sponsors - it was so very cool to receive a wicking SportScience t-shirt, a Dan Kain finisher medal, food and drink from Mario's and El Mexicano, well-stocked goodie bags, random prizes, and a festive atmosphere. Thank you to all the sponsors and folks who made this race happen. And a big thank you to the running clubs (two of which I do belong to) that wrote letters to support the concept of this race when it was first proposed.

I look forward to running this race and/or volunteering for it next year.

Dear Mr. Wind and staff of the Potomac River Run,

I also want to express my thanks to the volutneers along the course. They were some of the most enthusiastic volunteers I've encountered and made the race very enjoyable with their smiles and cheers. Giving up a Sunday morning to hand out water for five-plus hours sounds like a daunting job, but the volunteers on the course made me look forward to each mile.

I was also very impressed with the course that we ran on. A double out-and-back sounds boring on initial consideration, but this course had enough visual interest that I would have had to run it at least once more to be able to see everything.

There were no comflicts between people in the race and the other trail users that I could see. I also never felt like I was alone in the race as can happen in point-to-point races.

Unfortunately, my time does not do justice to the true nature of the course. That is much faster than a 3:15 course. There is enough mild elevation gain to give the legs a break from the level ground. I honestly think that this course could support at least a 2:45 given the right weather. I hope when the wondow opens for the 2008 Olympic Trials that runners will not overlook this gem of a race because of its small size. I know I won't, when considering my options for qualifying.

Speaking of which, I did run a marathon yesterday and yes it was quite humid.

Thankfully the course/race I ran was generally flat.

On a side note which relates back to a conversation of a month or so ago, there was a near absence of noticeable mile markers and the course was a 2x out and back course so I only took four splits going 54, 51, 53 and 56 minutes in each quarter for a 3:35 finish.

Actually the first 2 splits should have been more even as I took my first split just after the water stop which was 100 yards along the return route.

I ran how I felt not really paying much attention to my watch and only seeing the time (which was off for me due to a staggered start). Passed lots of folks in the last quarter.

BTW- a hearty thanks to all, as well as many others of which I am unaware, for their outstanding work in putting on the anti-Boston marathon, no crowds, essentially flat course with an exactly even first half/second half in terms of difficulty and a chance once the race was well underway to run almost by myself.

nothing like Wellesley or Boylston St but that's OK, nothing like Heartbreak Hill either :)

good to see listers Dave Wild and Ed C out on the course and afterwards, also met Luis Amaya

nice post race massage

I don't know how this is possible but I am walking around normally today in spite of the 26 yesterday. I don't think I've ever felt this"normal" the day after running a marathon.

BTW- I snuck in there for an age-group award in the small field (3rd).

Thanks for all your hard work. I had a good time this morning and your small but nicely done marathon provided me the perfect opportunity to sneak in and grab an age-group award even though I don't really feel like I ran that well or hard (3:35), not even a qualifying time for me.

My hat is off to you first and foremost and to all the other fine voluteers who donated their time and efforts to what ended up being a well done race.

I hope this is the start of a tradition.

BTW- this race for me was kinda the opposte of Boston, but even though Boston is a great race, maybe the best, your race was interesting by contrast all the same. No Wellesley girls but if it was like that in every race, it wouldn't be special.  I enjoyed just pacing myself without really having to concern myself with 100 other runners who were within 30 seconds of me.

If you need people to yell at you in order to run.....

Good job!

Jim, I didn't see you, too bad! I should have known to look for you as my 7 year old daughter and I sealed your envelope from last race mailing...

I was the first aid volunteer at the Tulane Drive water stop (mile 1 and 25, and two other points in between.) We had music there, Springsteen blasting for a while.

Glad you enjoyed it.

We planned mile markers and the Park Service said no can do. Don't know why.

I was a first aid volunteer at Tulane Drive (mile 1 and 25) and organized the other first aid folks along the course. I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed this race, and to thank you for coming up with this idea in the first place, and persevering after the obstacles with Arlington.

I never staffed a race before, usually run. I really loved being there to help runners and hand out water. The runners were so friendly; there was just such a "community" feel to the race. I really enjoyed getting to know the other volunteers at my water stop, too.

A couple of comments to two of the runners:

To Lynda Roades, glad you liked the wildlife and I apologize, I guess, for removing the box turtle from the Tulane Drive section of the bikepath. He was awfully cute, but awfully slow, and being the first aid person, I felt he just had to go! I also removed a caterpillar hanging down at face level in the middle of the path.

To the woman runner who felt very bad at Tulane Drive (mile 25) but after walking with her for a while told me she could  continue to the finish, I was so glad to hear that indeed you were fine at the end! Great job!

Hi all:

Congratulations to the race directors on a successful inaugural Potomac River Run! And thank you for making CFF a benefactor of the race. I hope the race will grow so that the CFF and the running community look forward to and benefit from an exciting annual event.

I have to admit that handing out the water was just right for me yesterday. It was impressive to see the runners beat the humidity and complete the race. We know what it feels like to be where they were!

Thanks to Liz, Ed, Ron, Holly, Mike, Adrienne and Paul for making the pre-dawn trek to Alexandria and for helping to set-up, hand-out and clean-up. Also, Wendy, thanks for coming out with Alexander and filling in the "between times" when the runners were few and far between.

I've posted pictures to our Groups Photos link. My regret is I managed to get everyone except Liz in a shot. Sorry Liz!

I want to thank you for letting me be apart of the special event on Sunday!

Hopefully most of the runners realize how much effort that you put forth in getting this race together. It was first class in all regards and I was most appreciative have the chance to run in it. Many established races often don't go as well as the Potomac Marathon and Half did.

Thanks for listening to my sob story and letting me in at the last minute. Next time that I run a half-marathon, I promise to be closer to 2 hours. (If I remember, I will let you know when that happens.)

To all the great volunteers:

Thanks so much for helping me run from Belle Haven to Boston!  I had a great race, it couldn't have gone better.  I was lucky enough to start in the 6:30 flight, so I missed the rain and the late morning heat.  As a marathoner, I got to see lots of runners a few times going back and forth along the Potomac, and of course I got to know several water station volunteers personally; > ).  They were all really supportive and helpful.  My previous marathons have been big time affairs (Marine Corps, the one and only DC Marathon), so it was a pleasant experience to do a real small scale, "up close and personal" marathon.  Although I had a target time and pace, I soon realized the lack of KM/mile markers pegged to the course was not going to be a problem.  I would pace myself using the trail mile markers, and checked my overall progress at the turnarounds.  The biggest thrill for me was being able to enjoy a post race massage without having to wait an hour or so, and being able to meet up with my family right after finishing.

I would definitely like to do this race again next spring.  I like doing spring marathons because they give me a reason to keep training in the winter; next year hopefully I won't be trying for a "time" and can relax and enjoy training for and running in the second annual Potomac River Run!

This was a fun event, and a scenic part of the trail that I had not had the chance to run on before. I really liked the low key nature of it, and it was well supported. The only confusing part was knowing how hard to run considering that there were (3) flights, and you did not know who was a halfer or full runner. I would certainly do this again if the opportunity presented itself.

Thanks, Rob

It was a fun race and a good day. I appreciate all you went thru to pull this off; particularly all the sponsor support you amassed. There are a zillion details that most of us will never know about. I hope there is a chance for another local race next year. Best regards and see ya on the trails,

Monique

You and every other helper put on a great race and are to be commended. Thank you.

Thank you!  I thoroughly enjoyed the race Sunday morning.  The Mount Vernon trail is always beautiful and I saw a red fox and a mother Mallard with two fuzzy ducklings along the trail.  If only that eagle that hangs out in Alexandria near the power plant had moved to Riverside----  There is only so much a race director can do and arranging for a bald eagle is a stretch.  I hope to see this race on the calendar again next year.

Just a quick note to thank you and everyone else that clearly worked hard to put together this race. Thanks!

Thanks for putting this together. I wasn't thrilled with my time, but was pleased to see I came in first in my age group [40-44], despite my being at the "oldest" age in the group. It was a blast.  Thanks again.

Thanks for all the hard work you put into this.

Please convey my congratulations to everyone who was involved with the race. It was well organized and the volunteer support team did an outstanding job. I am far from a marathon veteran but I sincerely appreciate this event and the group that struggled to make it happen.

My running partner had a terrible day (a combination of asthma, recent training lapses and fatigue) so we ended up settling for a half-marathon finish (instead of a full) at a really awful time but even with those challenges the quality of the race came through.

I hope you are able to carry forward and make this an annual event. It is a definite plus for the running community.

Hello,
Thank you for putting on such a wonderful race! You and all the volunteers really put so much effort into this event and it showed.

Thank you also for putting our flyers into the goodie bags!

I was really in a world of pain after that race.  I don't run well in humidity! Anyway, I had a great time and thanks for everything.

I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed the race yesterday. Everyone was so nice and helpful. I run with a running a group every Saturday and I am going to encourage all of them to run this race next year. The scenery was beautiful and there were plenty of aid stations. My best friend ran her first 1/2 marathon at your race yesterday and it was a great experience for her-I think she may be hooked on running now. Again thanks for putting on a great race.

It was a great race and I enjoyed it very much. The organization was phenomenal. You could not have done any better.

Congratulations!

Please pass on my thanks to you and all of your staff. Though my time does not reflect it, I have ran a significant number of races, Marathons, 1/2 Mara, 10 Milers, 10Ks, 5Ks, etc.

I thought yours was extremely well organized, all of the volunteers were helpful "and a pure joy to be around", the aid stations, facilities and energy supplements were perfect, and you could not have chose a better course. The part I enjoyed most about the race was it had that feel of "a community gettin gtogether for a morning social". Overall I would rate it as one of the best running experiences I have had.

I will look forward to participating in future events you hold.

Thank you.

Thanks again for putting on a great race. How you stopped the rain we'l lnever know. I look forward to next year's race!!!

Thank you for such a great event !  And please pass along my thanks to all the volunteers who came out and made the marathon such a great experience.  I'm definitely running next year !

Just a fantastic job.  You deserve a lot of credit for this race.  I'll post a glowing review at marathonguide.com.

What a wonderful, wonderful event!  You guys did so well!!  The officials, the volunteers, the course, what a great race.  Thank you so much for your hard work! We very much look forward to running it again next year - this time we're bringing a group of friends and clients to the nicest half-marathon/ marathon I could possibly imagine !  Again, thank - you!

Overall, a wonderful experience.

Please consider submitting results (with or without story) to the Running Journal (rj@xtn.net).

Also, for 2005 event (hopefully there is one), please post in Running Journal publication.  Many southern runners use this monthly pub to plan race participation.

I competed in 1/2 marathon and my time was about 6-8 minutes slower than average.  It would be helpful to have mile markers to judge pacing rather than kilometers.

Again, thanks for your efforts to stage race.
Best Regards,

Very impressed with the positive nature that you all dealt with everybody. Even with occasional unhappiness from a few non-runners.

Kudos for pulling it off, even after the problem with Arlington.

Every first time marathon event I've been involved with has had some kind of minor or minor/major problem. You all pulled it off without any glaring problems.

The only thing I would request is to have the course marked in miles.

Thank you (all) so much for your tireless devotion, integrity, and your positive and upbeat way of handling the entire event.

Many many thanks for a very friendly and enjoyable race. There was a terrific spirit of camaraderie along the course--both runners and volunteers--such as I've never seen before at a race! Thanks especially for including Lily and Ava, who had a great time helping out.

I can only imagine how much hard work went into organizing this, and we do so appreciate it. I hope you'll be doing it again!

Just a quick thank you for organizing the marathon!  It was a great experience – my first marathon… I hope you have it again next year!

Well done, man! Well organized, good atmosphere and ambience, marvelous marshals (everywhere where bad boy scouts like me would get lost), and I salute your perserverence and love for our sport.

Thanks so much for all the time and energy you put into making the marathon a reality. All the runners really appreciate your efforts!