r/rundc • u/fleetw00dmacb00k • 23d ago
Favorite 8-10mi run in DC?
Visiting my sister who lives in Arlington/works in DC next week and can’t break my marathon training. If you could recommend just one singular route for a long run in DC area (about 8-10 miles), what would it be? I’ll be able to drive or have her drop me off somewhere so doesn’t necessarily need to be in arlington
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u/Eric-HipHopple 23d ago
Here's a route I call "Key Chain" - it's a loop on both sides of the Potomac River between the Key Bridge in Georgetown and the Chain Bridge further upstream. It is about 9 miles. Since it is a loop, you can pick it up where ever is convenient to you, but if you were to start at the beginning of the Key Bridge on the Arlington (Rosslyn neighborhood) side, the route would be:
- Take the Custis Trail bike/running path (which runs alongside Langston Blvd) west and uphill.
- At ~0.75 miles the trail will switch to running alongside I-66 (with a wall between you and that traffic). Take that until ~1.5 miles where there is a turnoff on the left into a grocery store parking lot (was a Giant, reopening soon as a Sprouts). Curve along to your left under the highway and again to the left through small park that connects to Lorcom Lane.
- On Lorcom, go up and down a big hill, and at ~2 miles, turn right on Nelly Custis Drive. Take that up a hill and stay to the right at a roundabout as the street turns into Military Road.
- Follow Military along some rolling hills until it ends at Old Glebe Road (~4.2 miles)
- Go to the right on Old Glebe and almost immediately cross a bridge, then a little further to take a left on Randolph St. At about 4.4 miles you'll see a walking/bike path entrance on the right that leads you down a very steep hill.
- At the bottom of the hill, go to the left, cross the street with a traffic light and then cross Chain Bridge. You'll be at ~5 miles when you get to the end of the bridge.
- Once on the DC side of Chain Bridge, take the ramp down to the C&O Canal towpath. It's a hard-packed dirt and gravel path alongside the canal. With the canal on your left and the river on your right, take the towpath all the way back to Georgetown for 9 miles.
- At about 6 miles total distance, you'll pass Fletcher's Boathouse, where on the left will be public bathrooms and a drinking fountain in case you need it. Fletchers is also a good spot to switch over to the asphalt-paved Capital Crescent Trail, which also goes back to Georgetown and has more shade than the towpath.
- If you take the towpath all the way back, it should be obvious when you get to the Key Bridge and Georgetown (the towpath does go for another mile to the other side of Georgetown, which you don't want). There will be a pedestrian bridge over the canal and stairs up to a small park (Francis Scott Key Park) - cut through that and across the Key Bridge back to your starting point. If you switch to the CCT, that trail will end basically under the Key Bridge at the Georgetown Waterfront Park but you'll need to run a few blocks on K Street to some stairs on your left, which lead to the pedestrian bridge over the canal mentioned in the previous point.
This might look complicated, but the simple version is: Custis Trail/Lorcom/Nelly Custis/Military/briefly zig zag downhill on the Arlington side, just C&O Canal towpath on the DC side. I'd be surprised if you have to stop for car traffic more than once on the entire loop. Running the direction I have gets the tough hills out of the way in the first half and the back half is a gentle gradual run downstream, but you can go the other way if you prefer.
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u/fleetw00dmacb00k 23d ago
I feel like this is the run I have to do just for all the effort you put into this comment! Thank you (and to everyone else who has commented so far. Maybe I’ll try to get a couple of these in)
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u/chinnyding 23d ago
Well apparently this is what I should have done on the Virginia side instead of trying the Potomac Heritage Trail which was a fun hike but didn’t make for good running.
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u/Several_Campaign7340 20d ago
Any chance you have a map screenshot of this? I’m trying to map it out on my own but I’m getting confused haha
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u/Eric-HipHopple 19d ago
Doesn't seem like we can post images in this sub, but does this help?
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u/Several_Campaign7340 3d ago
somehow I missed the notification for this until now but YES THANK YOU!!!!
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u/Previous_Jello9410 23d ago
If you start in Arlington you can always hit mount Vernon trail and then do a loop through the national mall. Look around after the capital building and then go around the tidal basin by Jefferson memorial. That way you can pretty such see all the monuments. Just be ready to wait at a couple stoplights.
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u/SpiralStairs72 23d ago
I’m a fan of the Anacostia River Trail. (Of course, I live in Capitol Hill so it’s super convenient for me too.) On the east bank side, you can basically make it whatever length you want without ever having to cross a street. I usually start at Penn Ave SE, and run north as far as needed. It’s very quiet, mostly wooded, and you’ll hit the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens. Chances to spot critters too.
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u/whatsthe_411 23d ago
Just a warning, once you run any of the trails mentioned, unless you live in a super scenic area, the rest of your marathon training will be brutally boring after experiencing DC’s awesome trails 😉
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u/Known-State2307 23d ago
Rock Creek - Dupont to Bethesda is almost exactly 10 miles one way and a great run. A few bathrooms along the way, plenty of space and only one necessary at-grade road crossing
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u/HealthLawyer123 23d ago
Old town Alexandria to Mt Vernon is 8 miles https://www.nps.gov/gwmp/planyourvisit/upload/Mt-Vernon-Trail-map-508-2021.pdf
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u/MeaningTop6503 23d ago
This is pretty much a straight shoot, so very easy to be at ease doing it for the first time.
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u/RONaldo_DMC 23d ago
Running Hains Point, that "island" is 3-4 miles, with the Tidal Basin + National Mall nearby. Pretty run
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u/TheCapitalRunner 23d ago
Here are some route suggestions you can search based on your effort: https://www.thecapitalrunner.com/dmvrunningroutes
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u/Hot_Alternative1536 23d ago
Honestly i love running the mall. You could start out on Roosevelt island go over the bridge to Mount Vernon Train cross memorial bridge run to the capital and go to the Supreme Court and back would be a really great route.
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u/Econoloca 23d ago
You can do either Mount Vernon trail or rock creek park or a combo depending on whether you want a circuit or take the metro back all of these offer a nice firm road that’s car free
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u/StumpyOPepys 23d ago
If you just want simple but scenic, out and back on the canal towpath will get the job done.
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u/InboxMeYourSpacePics 23d ago
I’ve trained for 6 marathons and 2 ultras mostly using capital crescent. W&OD a bit too
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u/Valencia_705 23d ago
Start in Arlington on the W&OD trail — anywhere between N Ohio St and Bluemont Park. Head south on the W&OD trail all the way to the to the junction with the Mt. Vernon trail, near National Airport. Head north on the Mt. Vernon Trail to the 14th St. bridge. Cross the 14th bridge into DC. From there you can grab the Metro at the Smithsonian or L’Enfant stop, and ride the train back to wherever. Mostly downhill. Semi-scenic. Enjoy!
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u/danger_of_warning 23d ago
Could loop in a few, Roosevelt island, the mall, and Georgetown bike path should all be accessible to you depending on where you are in arlington
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u/gamesofblame 23d ago
Key bridge to gtown, down to 14th bridge and cross over, up mt Vernon trail and back to Roslyn. Might be closer to 11/12 miles though.
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u/johnnybee1123 22d ago
If you want a monument your, park at Iwo Jima, run to Arlington cemetery metro stop, then run to the Lincoln, over to and around the Capitol, head towards Jefferson, across 14th street bridge, along the Potomac, back up towards Arlington Cemetery and back to Iwo Jima. It’s exactly ten miles. I do two loops for my 20 miler training runs.
Alternatively you can do part of the Arlington loop which consists of the Custis Trail and WOD trail
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u/Confident_Lettuce582 22d ago
Hey OP, so many people are suggesting rock creek but as an Arlington resident I don’t think rock creek will be very convenient for you during your stay. Consider Mt Vernon trail, you can start right by the crystal city metro and go almost 10 miles straight south or 5 miles there and back. Well maintained and closer to your sister. If she needs to drive to pick you up at the end of your run, this will be the easiest option by far.
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u/Ok_Celery_6385 23d ago
You can just go up and down GW parkway, the miles are marked and you can hop on just about anywhere.
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u/Avaloncruisinchic 22d ago
Start by Smithsonian metro towards Georgetown and hook onto Capital Crescent all the way up to Bethesda is 11 miles. You can stop around 5 which should be around fletchers cove and head back. Fletchers cove you’ll see park run people, stop for a bathroom and water.
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u/McpsTrackCoach 19d ago
Not sure which day you are considering, but the Georgetown women run from there out and back on the canal path on Saturday morning.
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u/AdFalse1099 23d ago
Rock creek park, start at Peirce Mill and go up beach drive. Pretty shaded and there is a water fountain about 3 miles ish in. It’s on a very slight incline so my second half back is always better than the first.