Kathy Dalby, founder of the race organizing arm of Pacers Running Stores, says she’s noticing what may be an upward trend in female joggers being subject to assaults, inappropriate touching and other such attacks. Just this morning a female jogger was “mugged” in Rosslyn near Route 50, according to Dalby.
“As a running store, we are getting concerned about the number of attacks on women runners in Arlington,” she said.
Teacher Diversity Lags in Arlington — While 28 percent of Arlington public school students are Hispanic, only 7 percent of APS teachers are Hispanic. The school system has been actively working to diversify its teacher pool, however. Over the past year, 14 percent of new teachers hired have been Hispanic. [Sun Gazette]
Jury Selection for Lululemon Murder Trial — Jury selection is beginning today in Maryland in the trial of Brittany Norwood, the woman charged in the murder of Rosslyn resident Jayna Murray. Murray was found bludgeoned to death inside a Lululemon Athletica store in Bethesda in March. [WJLA]
The jogger, 37, was knocked to the ground, kicked several times and touched in a sexual manner, police say. She was taken to the hospital to treat her injuries.
The police department issued the following press release about the incident this afternoon.
Bomb Threat on DCA Flight — There were some tense moments at Reagan National Airport yesterday after a flight from Dayton, Ohio was sequestered and searched for explosives. Nothing was found, however. An individual who made a bomb threat at the Dayton airport ticket counter was taken into custody, the FBI said. [Bloomberg]
New Principals Named — Arlington Public Schools have named two new principals. Kenwyn Schaffner has been named the principal of Jamestown Elementary School and Bridget Loft has been named the principal of Swanson Middle School. “Ms. Loft was greeted by cheers and a standing ovation when she was introduced to the Swanson staff after the announcement of appointment,” an insider tells us. [Arlington Public Schools]
If not, here’s an idea: The fourth annual Dash4Dad Four Mile Run and Walk is being held Sunday morning in Pentagon City, complete with entries for daddy-daughter and father-son teams.
The four mile race and one mile walk starts and finishes on S. Joyce Street, in front of the Pentagon Row shops. Proceeds will go to support prostate cancer awareness, outreach and research.
The GORE-TEX 50 Mile race, part of the North Face Endurance Challenge series, took runners on a long, rugged trail course spanning Algonkian Regional Park, Great Falls Park and the Potomac Heritage Trail.
Ragan Petrie of Arlington was the top female finisher, with a time of 7:33:59. She was 11th overall in the field of nearly 250. Arlington resident and distance running phenom Michael Wardian (pictured) placed third overall with a time of 6:03:14. Matt Woods of Falls Church placed first with a time of 5:59:07.
One annual springtime tradition that’s quickly approaching is Crystal City’s 5K Fridays.
Every Friday in April, starting on April 1, Crystal Drive and Old Jefferson Davis Highway will be shut down between 6:15 and 7:30 p.m. to allow hundreds of runners to take a jog through the heart of Crystal City.
Police will close a number of streets in the Pentagon City area Sunday morning for the Love The Run You’re With 5K race.
The sold-out race will start and end in front of Pentagon Row. The roads affected are:
I-66 Ignored by Google Maps — If you recently tried to get directions to points west with Google Maps, and you were surprised when the directions included a long stretch on stop-light-heavy Route 50 instead of I-66, now there’s an explanation. The inside-the-Beltway portion of the highway, which is HOV-only at certain parts of the day, is no longer an option for Google Maps users. More from WTOP.
Wardian Profiled by New York Times — Prolific Arlington marathoner Michael Wardian is not running in the upcoming New York City Marathon. In fact, he hasn’t run the race in 12 years. But he was just profiled in the New York Times’ New York City Marathon blog.
Just a week later, on Sunday, Sept. 4, Wardian won the Kaua’i Marathon in Hawaii. His time of 2:30:52 just barely missed the 2:30 mark, which would have earned him a $15,000 bonus prize. Another Arlington runner, Michael Zinn, placed 17th in the race.
Finally, on Sunday, Wardian placed third in the Parks Half-Marathon in Montgomery County.
Brooks Visits Pacers — Shoemaker Brooks visited the Pacers Running Store in Clarendon yesterday. The company brought along prizes and a double-decker bus.
Arlington PD Officially Announces Project Lifesaver Program — As we first reported in June, Arlington will be joining the Project Lifesaver program, which provides electronic tracking devices to help locate individuals who tend to wander due to cognitive problems. The department made the official announcement in a press release last night. Families interested in enrolling their loved ones into the service should call 877-434-6384.
The race, which was started by two Arlington police officers in 2002, will be held Saturday in Pentagon City. Thousands of runners are expected to participate.
Team and online registration is closed, but anyone interested in participating can register in person today at Pacers Running Store in Clarendon (3100 Clarendon Blvd) between noon and 8:00 p.m.
