Bethanie Brown is a senior at Waterville HS. She ran XC for the first time last fall, and had some success. Brown finished as the runner-up, she would go on to finish 5th in the New England championship. That was just the beginning of what was to come during the track season, as indoor Brown earned All-American honors in the 2 Mile, and capped off the outdoor season with a state all-time best for 1600m. follow Bethanie as she prepares for her 2012 XC season.
Blog #2
There are plenty of ways to tour Washington D.C. You can hop on the Metro, hitch a ride on a tour bus, pay for a few hours on a Segway, rent a bike, or just walk. But personally, I think I found the most efficient way to tour the capitol – run! Efficient, that is, if you know you need to get a run in, but also want to do a little sightseeing.
This week my family drove to Washington D.C. When we arrived at our hotel after dinner, we changed directly into running clothes. Unfortunately, before we got started, we heard a rumbling outside, and soon it began to rain. Since that wasn’t ideal running weather, my sister and I decided to go check out the farmer’s market near our hotel. I can’t say that was the best decision ever. We didn’t have an umbrella, so we ran to the tents. We bought white nectarines, peaches, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and a banana pepper. After we made our purchases it was pouring and thunder was still crashing, so we stood under one of the tents and ate nectarines. They were delicious! Finally, we gave up on waiting and ran back to our hotel. Of course, not long after we had safely returned to the hotel, the storm ended and my dad and I headed out for a run.
Well, for him it was actually a bike ride. That’s right – he took his bike along in the back of our van. And yes, that means I got to sit next to a bike for the eleven hour ride. We crossed Virginia Avenue and headed onto the bike path that goes along the Potomac River. That’s where the tour began. We ran past the Martin Luther King Junior Memorial, up to the Washington Monument, and through the nearby park. The tour went like this: we would run up to something like the Washington Monument, do a circle around it, and move on quickly, dodging the crowds of tourists. It was harder for my dad to dodge them. I’d hear him behind me saying, “Excuse me,” or “One more coming.” I’m sure he looked quite interesting to the spontaneous spectators, with his bright blue shirt and reflective, highlighter-yellow straps around his ankles.
When we got to the Lincoln Memorial, I left dad at the bottom, and I bounded up the steps. That’s the closest you will get to a hill on the flat streets of D.C. Then I raced back down. I did the same thing when we got to the Jefferson Memorial. When I got to the top, I dashed into the large room at the top, looked around a bit, and then ran back down the stairs. Later on, we passed the reflecting pool, and I heard my dad ask, “What’s that?” He hadn’t been to Washington D.C. since they added it.
I yelled back, “The reflecting pool!”, and since I was sympathetic to the fact that he might want a closer look, I looped around it. Nearby, I saw a really interesting statue, and just for fun, since I knew dad was following me, I did a loop around it, sending him in a small circle too. I’m not sure he appreciated that. I had a hard time stifling a laugh as a touring family stared at us.
At one point, we got to the Martin Luther King Junior Memorial, and I ran through that. Then I turned around to look for my dad, and I saw him in the distance, panting a little, and running beside his bike. Apparently, a guard had said he couldn’t ride it in that area. Eventually he caught up, and we headed down the path near the river and back to our hotel.
I got to do a few tours like this, one in which I got to visit the White House, and one in which I ran along the Canal Road Towpath. My sister and I stopped to pose for a picture outside the White House and the Washington Monument. I didn’t see the President, but, who knows, maybe he saw me this week, running around the city!
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