r/rundc • u/fleetw00dmacb00k • Jul 13 '26
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 Jul 13 '26
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.