Happy New Year! It’s not to late to register for the 2025 unofficial winter 10-mile training program (“unofficial” means that it’s free!).  Coaches D and Dave will be coaching the program, with the goal of running the RRCA10-mile Club Challenge in Columbia, MD on February 23, 2025. 

The RRCA Club Challenge is an annual race between all RRCA running clubs in Maryland and Washington DC. For those who run the 10-mile Club Challenge, PGRC will pay the $40 running fee for your participation. If you chose not to run the Club Challenge, you can still participate in the training for free! 

We will begin training on Saturday, January 4 at Greenbelt Park at 8:00 am. There will be four training days per week (Saturday and Sunday mornings, and Tuesday and Thursday evenings). Detailed training locations and times are listed below.

If you are interested in participating, you can register by emailing Dave Roeder at: roeder3909@yahoo.com or Coach D at: ndegwakamau@comcast.net. Please include your cell phone number, as we will be communicating by text. All running and walking levels are welcomed!

Additional information about the RRCA Club Challenge can be found at: https://www.striders.net/rrca-club-challenge.

Training Locations and Times:

Day               Time                  Location                Link
Sunday          8:00 am            Mission BBQ         https://goo.gl/maps/x6s83ktWxbn
Tuesday        6:30 pm             Ludwig Field         https://goo.gl/maps/Rp957wYP8822
Thursday       6:30 pm             Herbert Wells       https://goo.gl/maps/co8oVKLg7wn
Saturday        8:00 am             Greenbelt Park    https://www.nps.gov/gree/planyourvisit/maps.htm

We look forward to a fun and successful training program for everyone. 

Season’s greetings Runners!

This New Year’s Day,  join us at one of our favorite running events in the area!

College Park parkrun will, once again, host a NYD special, so come out on Monday, January 1, 2024 at 9:00 AM for a FREE 5K!

If you haven’t been to parkrun before, you’ll be in for a treat! This fantastic community event gathers runners and walkers (and barkers) of all ages for a 5K along the beautiful Paint Branch Trail. Kids, strollers, and dogs are welcome. Just make sure you register on their website beforehand to receive a barcode (and your results). Normally this event takes place every Saturday (come out for a teaser on December 30), but every once in a while we get an extra parkrun during the week.

Not ready to run the course yet, there are volunteer opportunities available! You can see which positions are still open by going to this link: www.parkrun.us/collegepark/futureroster Send an email to collegepark@parkrun.com to volunteer.

If you New Year’s resolution is to get more active or more involved with the community, this a great way to get started. Head to their website, Facebook Page, or Instagram page to get more information. 

Hope to see you there!

What: Free 5K! 
When: Monday, January 1, 2024 at 9:00 AM (but also every Saturday at 9:00AM)
Where: Paint Branch Trail, 4289 Metzerott Road, College Park, MD 20740
How: Register on their website. Bring your barcode (provided after you register; either print or have it saved to your phone). Bring friends, family, dogs, and strollers. Or just yourself!
Why: Because it’s a fantastic event full of great people and good cheer!

See you there!

We would love to see lots of our PGRC friends at 9AM on Thanksgiving Day for College Park Parkrun‘s annual Turkey Trot! It’s free, it’s friendly, it’s fresh, and it might even be frosty! One more perk: the city of College Park is sponsoring some coffee and hot chocolate. We have a history of large attendance on Thanksgiving–in fact our attendance record for College Park parkrun was set on Thanksgiving 2022 (309 finishers). We think we could easily top that record next week!

We would love for you to join us.

Even if you can’t run or walk right now, for any reason–come along and join the camaraderie, cheer in the finishers, have some hot chocolate, or heck, throw on a yellow vest and do some barcode scanning at the finish. Hope to see you there!

Join us for our next federal holiday run on Indigenous Peoples’ Day (aka Columbus Day), Monday October 9th at 8:30 AM. This time, PGRC heads to Oxon Hill for an easy run/walk across Woodrow Wilson Bridge. We will meet in the Tanger Outlets parking lot in Oxon Hill and run across the bridge to the DC Boundary Stone. There will be two distance options, 3-miles and 7.5-miles (or shorter by turning around sooner). Both are out-and-back. Afterwards there is an option to hang around and get coffee at Starbucks.

All paces and abilities are welcome! We encourage you to invite friends and family. Of course, wear your PGRC gear if you have it!

Route details:
Short run – https://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/5759922424/
Long run – https://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/5759919238/

About 1.5 miles runners will reach Potomac Waterfront Park on Rosalie Island. That is the turnaround point for the short distance.

For those interested in the longer distance, the bridge crossing is ~3-miles, but going a little further along the connecting Mt. Vernon Trail will lead runners to Jones Point Park where the South DC Boundary Stone resides. This is America’s first federal monument and marks the southern boundary of DC-Virginia-Maryland. How cool!?

Reviews of the trail highlight the stunning views; however, please note that there is very minimal shade (so wear sunscreen and your PGRC hats 😉) and it can get quite noisy from the cars on the bridge.

Parking Location and instructions:
6800 Oxon Hill Rd, Oxon Hill, MD 20745
https://goo.gl/maps/4vzeNSPeQE5G16Yu6

Park in the northwest corner of the Tanger Outlets parking lot (on the corner of Oxon Hill Rd and Tanger Blvd). We will meet at the Woodrow Wilson Bridge Trail Parking sign.

There will be yellow-fluorescent caps available for purchase ($15).

For questions or RSVP, please email membership@pgrc.org

Hope to see you there!

Track resurfacing work at UMD’s Kehoe Track has been completed, so PGRC is back on campus Tuesday evenings!

When: Tuesday evenings @ 6:30 pm

Where: 7898 Championship Ln, College Park, MD 20742

Once again PGRC will be partnering with the Greenbelt Recreation Department to host the Buddy Attick Summer Fun Run series. The series is part of Get Active Greenbelt and provides an excellent opportunity for all levels of runners and walkers to exercise in a friendly and welcoming environment throughout the summer months. Best of all…it’s FREE!!!!

Races will take place EVERY Thursday @ 7pm (registration 6:15pm-6:45pm) from July 6 to August 10.

The course will take runners and walkers around the scenic and shaded Buddy Attick Park lake path for their choice of either 1.75 miles (1 lap) or 3 miles (2 laps). Meet at Greenbelt Youth Center parking lot (99 Centerway Greenbelt, MD 20770 – behind the library).

There are two steps to registering (please do both):
1. register on RunSignup here: https://runsignup.com/Race/MD/Greenbelt/SummerSeries2016

2. Download + print the City of Greenbelt activity registration form here, and bring it with you to your first race: https://www.greenbeltmd.gov/home/showdocument?id=17704

Weather Cancellation Policy:
Races will be cancelled if there is lightning in the area after 6:30pm. Cancellations will be announced on PGRC’s website.

Volunteers: We need your help to put on these free races. Volunteer positions include registration, course marshal, water stop, popsicle and ice supplier, set up and cleanup. Sign up to volunteer: https://runsignup.com/…/MD/Greenbelt/SummerSeries2016