Reston Runners never cease to amaze me. It’s 90 degrees by about 6:30 in the morning and at 8am the parking lot at Buzz Aldrin Elementary School is double parked with runners and walkers determined to get their hour of exercise in. Fortunately for us, while the Council of Governments judged today’s air quality as “unhealthy for sensitive groups,” no one ever accused the Reston Runners of being a sensitive group. Loud, maybe. Unwieldy, perhaps. Sweaty for sure, but certainly not sensitive. Apparently sensitive groups are more likely to experience those pesky side effects of ground-level ozone, which “reduces lung function and makes it more difficult to breathe deeply and vigorously.” From my highly scientific observation during the run today, few runners were having difficulty breathing vigorously, and if breathing deeply is related to talking loudly, many of my running partners weren’t struggling with that either.

Take the announcements, for instance. You might consider our fearless leader, Joe S - a tireless champion of all good causes on behalf of Restonians - to be a pretty sensitive guy, and therefore likely to be subdued by today’s Code Yellow Air Quality Index (AQI). But if you were one of the 75 of us awaiting the cue to start our run/walk, you would have witnessed his prolonged and vigorous discussion about our breakfast location with John N - another sensitive man extraordinaire. I think we can all rest assured that this weekend’s AQI is no match for our group.

Joining us for the first time today was Shannon B , who gets megapoints from Moshe and all the rest of us for asking to be included on the elite Gungadin team even before she ran her first 5 miles with us. You, too, can enhance your Karma through the simple and selfless act of mixing Gatorade and putting it out for your fellow Reston Runners by emailing Moshe . You really must check out Moshe’s Gungadin webpage at  water page  to behold the inner-workings of this water support process. Ten volunteers are choreographed into the save-the-runners-from-themselves dance for July alone - a far cry from the years in which then-RR president Tom V purchased, mixed and hauled all the Gatorade for the club runs throughout the year. My how we’ve progressed.

The run was hilly, as you would expect from a Dennis H designer course, but blissfully shady as well. Runners were dismissed without instructions from Joe, who recognized that runners actually only remember the first 2 or 3 turns, then simply follow the directionally savvy among us. Run conversation included tales of Kishan’s recent travels to Korea and Boston, Young’s advice-seeking on parenting sensitive young girls (who were safely tucked in their air conditioned homes during the run), and Ultra-Dave’s recent adventures crewing for the Badwater Ultramarathon in California. Arthur and I ran with Hazel who, despite her long sweats and heavy cotton shirt, seemed only to exude a dainty glow, in sharp contrast to the streams of sweat engulfing my “wicking” outfit. Hazel attempted to explain something about her only pair of shorts being dirty from her run yesterday (a code red day, I might add), but Arthur and I thought she was just showing off, being so young and impervious to the heat.

The post-run party moved from the parking lot to Reston Town Center’s fountain where we refueled with Potbelly’s oatmeal, Panera’s bagels, Cosi’s breakfast sandwiches and Starbucks’ coffee. Stories ranged from childhood memories of playing with and inadvertently squishing baby chicks to Doug’s quiet search for work compelling enough to draw him out of his comfortable retirement.

In anticipation of the brutal summer heat, a sizeable crowd started their run at 6am and returned to the start at Sunrise Valley Elementary School to watch Dave B wave his arms around in his apparent efforts to organize the group for directions and announcements. Focusing on those announcements was more than some of us could muster, given the scenery of runners in their skimpy summerwear, meagerly covering their tanned skin and athletic builds. At some point I noticed walkers being dismissed and runners gathering near Jim A, eager to start the fun.

Jim A has been diligently organizing trail runs nearly every weekend, and the crowd has come to look forward to the opportunity to hop rocks, duck under trees and enjoy the cookies and bananas at the aid stations. About 35 runners exercised their sense of playfulness and appreciation for nature by choosing this option over the flat out-and-back out-in-the-open-sun W&OD run. This mob included such regular trail runners as Jims A&B, Dave Y, Bruce O, Todd W, and Bill T, but also attracted new trail talent such as Principal Jill, Heather and Tamara, Marcie F, and even Moshe F.

Within moments the entire field had dashed off down the trail, leaving me wondering how and when I became a solid back-of-the-packer in this club. I put in my miles. I cross train. I do the interval training on Wednesdays. I eat my Wheaties. I eat Emmett’s Wheaties. I eat Ellen’s Wheaties. It’s a total mystery to me.

Nevertheless, I blissfully enjoyed my sweeper position with my nephew Benjamin who is training for his first MCM this fall. It seemed like the perfect excuse to me- Benjamin needed to be “held back” so he wouldn’t get injured during his longest training run to date. I helped him understand that hills were for walking and water stops were for lingering. I showed him how to eat fig newtons, bananas, and Gatorade at the aid station, but as he is new to this sport I had to show him a couple of times. At the end of the run I encouraged him to take the last mile at a pace more comfortable to him, rather than chasing me down, in case he was feeling a little tired. He seemed to have misunderstood my instructions because he immediately took off toward the finish, leaving me wondering if I had actually stopped running. Ah, youth. They have so much to learn.

Benjamin and I did have company at the back. Moshe, Bill H, Boston Mike, and Mark M - all historical speedsters - had their own reasons for keeping me company. Moshe says his knees only allow weekend running, Bill H claimed that in his 75th year he’s noticing his pace tempering a bit, Mark hasn’t run in nearly a month due to an overseas trip celebrating his 25th wedding anniversary, and Boston Mike was just, well, tired today.  

Enjoying the post-run water cooler chat was even more rewarding today for Jeannie J, Maria N, and Leslie S, who found good reason to linger and welcome new runner (let’s call him “Nick”) to the club. Nick is a friend of Todd K, and somehow caught our eyes as he glided effortlessly (and shirtless) into the finish. While Bill C, Dennis H, Gary A and Dave B&Y chided the women for their shameless ogling, I did notice a slight puffing of chest and sucking of abs as we headed off to eat our pastries at breakfast.