Welcome to the NoMa Run Club Newsletter

Hi runners! Welcome to our first edition of the NoMa Run Club (NRC) newsletter. We hope to publish these monthly moving forward with the goal of providing you with reminders for upcoming events, spotlighting members each month, sharing running updates, and keeping you in the loop with all things running related. 

February was a very eventful and long month with its full 29 days (huge birthday shoutout to our Leapers!). During this month: groundhog Punxsutawney Phil predicted an early spring for 2024, Taylor and Travis celebrated a Super Bowl win (with President Biden aptly responding to the Chiefs’ victory), and NRC held the annual MLK day run and our inaugural Singles Run. 

Thank you all for participating and taking part, while also respecting each other. Remember, if you end up marrying someone from Run Club, you must invite Liz to your wedding.

Newsletter Contributions

Do you have a running related story you would like to share with us? Did you participate in a race and want to send in a race report? Do you want to nominate someone as the member of the month? Did you find success (whatever that means to you) at the Singles Run?

NoMa MoMA: Monthly Member Awareness

NoMa Run Club would not exist if it were not for Liz and August. So let’s get to know these two a little better!

1. How did the idea of NoMa Run Club come about?
   Liz & August: The idea for NoMa Run Club came about in the fall of 2021 when we moved in together in the NoMa area. We wanted to make friends and knew running clubs were a great way to do that, but we were having trouble making it to clubs in other neighborhoods after we got off work. NoMa seemed to be full of runners, and even had a running store (REI) so it was a surprise that it had no neighborhood club! Big shoutout to our third founding member, Micah, who helped us a ton in the early months with his running expertise and REI connections.
   

2. What did you expect when you originally started it? 

   Liz: It’s hard to remember what I expected, because looking back, I’m baffled by my own confidence. I’d only started running, very casually, in 2020, and I’d only been to other running clubs a handful of times. I definitely didn’t expect to learn so much or to receive so much kindness from so many people.

   August: I was hoping to meet a few cool people in the neighborhood who I could run with. I never thought it would become the go-to running club for the neighborhood.

3. Favorite running route in DC?

   Liz: My favorite running route is a 22 mile route that loops around the entire city with lots of hills and some off-roading mixed in.

   August: My favorite running route is a 15 mile route that takes a hilly route up to Takoma before cutting through Rock Creek Park to Petworth and then back down to Bloomingdale.
   

4. Current running goal?

   Liz: My short term goal is to run the Philadelphia Trail Marathon on April 13th! My long term goals include running every Washington, DC race and the Marathon du Médoc, a costumed race through French vineyards interspersed with wine tastings and oyster stops.

   August: I’m signed up to run the Philadelphia Trail Marathon in a couple months and later this year I’ll be doing the Hood to Coast relay race in Oregon. In the next couple of years I want to run the entire length of the GR-20 trail in Corsica.
   

5. What is your favorite run club route / event?

   Liz: Honestly, any regular Monday or Thursday that brings out new runners is my favorite. I like thinking back on my very first conversations over beers with run club newbies who would become my good friends 🙂

   August: I’m all about the Monday runs. That was the OG run when we started the club and still the best way to meet new people and socialize.
   

6. What do you do when you’re not running?

   Liz: When I’m not running, I’m listening to NPR’s smash-hit podcast Planet Money, annoying my house cats, and reading the COMMENTS on news articles to make myself sad. (See August’s answer for my actual hobbies — I thought it would be boring to make you read them twice)

   August: I maybe like cycling a bit more than running and spend a lot of time covering distance on my bike. In my downtime I like reading and watching movies.
   

7. Anything else you want to share? 

   Liz: I’m so grateful to all the volunteers who have made this club sustainable and able to try out cool new ideas over the last couple years!

   August: Beyond the runs, NoMa Run Club builds a great community. Can’t wait to see how it grows over the next year!

Weekly NRC Runs Calendar

Upcoming Running Events in the DMV

DC Rock ‘n’ Roll Half-Marathon — Saturday, March 16
Get ready for the annual DC Rock ‘n’ Roll half marathon happening on March 16th. Anthony Singer has had this date circled in his calendar for months now as he targets a sub 1:25 hr time. We had a great participant turnout and cheer squad last year. Registration is still open until March 10th at 11:59pm PT.

If you’re planning on racing or if you prefer to cheer on with your run club friends at a specific spot along the course, let us know via the race form here. Also, keep an eye out on our Discord as a specific half marathon channel will be set up where we will discuss meet up logistics, share links to our bib numbers, and share photos. 

Come join us for a pre-race carbo load at our Rock ‘n’ Roll Pasta and Sign-Making Party Friday, March 15th at 7:30pm at 44 Banner Lane NW, Washington, DC 20001. Please RSVP by March 11.

HUGE SHOUTOUT to our NRC Runners getting ready to race the DC Rock ‘N’ Roll Half! If you see them, wish them luck :) 

• Anthony Singer

• Mary Andrews

• Jennifer Truong

• Laurel Lichty

• Ann Lewandowski

• Taylor Maggiacomo

• Surya Murty

• Sofia Kamali

• Kayleigh Hasson

• Andrea Ramirez

• Nick Guerin

REI Running Festival — Saturday March 23
The DC REI is holding their Every Mile Together Festival. We will be tabling at this event so we are looking for a few people to volunteer an hour of their time. Stay tuned for more details, including a signup sheet. As part of the festivities, Hoka will be adding some excitement to our regular 8:30AM run with:

• Demo shoes available for NRC runners to try out on the 5k or 7-mile routes — arrive 15 minutes early, if you want to participate in the shoe demo

• Coffee and breakfast treats after the run — this means we’ll end our run at REI 

• Runners can then head into the store for the festival when it opens at 10AM

DC Area Running Trails Updates

For those adventurers who cross the river on occasion, you may have seen huge trail improvements on the Mt. Vernon Trail. The Friends of the Mount Vernon Trail removed the remaining trail bumps on February 11th. That trail was known for being extremely bumpy but it should be smooth riding and running now! Check out their video.

Thanks for reading! Don’t forget to stretch 🙂