Dear Participant,

Thank you for entering the 10th Annual Potomac River Run Marathon

One last e-mail message before you leave for Washington DC ...

We look forward to welcoming you this weekend. Packet pick-up opens Thursday, May 2, from 6:00 to 8:00 PM, at Road Runner Sports, 1120 West Broad Street, Falls Church VA (703-237-3636). We'll set up tables to assemble bib numbers and goodie bags. We welcome your help! Road Runner Sports offers a 10% store discount with your bib number.

Packet pick-up continues on Saturday, May 4, from 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM, at Georgetown Running Company, 3401 M Street NW, Washington DC (202-337-8626). Georgetown Running Company offers a 15% store discount with your bib number. If the weather is nice, we set up outside on 34th Street. If rainy or cold, we are upstairs in the apartment above the store, accessible from the 34th Street side. Parking is scarce in Georgetown, but the cupcakes are good, and C&O Canal Towpath is just a block away so you can see the terrain.

Then we move across Key Bridge to Cosi Restaurant, 1801 Lynn Street, Arlington VA, for dinner at 6:30 PM. Our guest speaker is Michael Proulx, account executive at Competitor Group, author and frequent contirbutor to Competitor Magazine. His topic: How marathons have changed and grown over the past decade.

We've certainly seen changes and growth in our little marathon. We welcome participants from 34 states + DC, Canada, and Mexico. We thank our sponsors, Clean Air Partners in celebration of Air Quality Awareness Week ( www.cleanairpartners.net); Mr. Nick Ruffin of RBC Wealth Management (703-556-9490); Katie Woloshin of ING Financial Partners (703-677-9240); Dr. Myles Schneider of Annandale Foot and Ankle Center (703-750-1124); Big Wheel Bikes, Dan Kain Trophies, Falls Road Running Store, Glory Days Grill, Great American Restaurants, Honest Tea, Mario's Pizza House, Metro 29 Diner, PowerBar, RedStar WorldWear, Red Top Cab, Spira Footwear, SportScience, and Whole Foods Market.

We also thank BuyaBrickFoundation TeamAfrica.com, Capital Area Runners, Clean Air Partners, DC Capital Striders, and ING Financial Partners for serving at the aid stations at the start / midpoint / finish and at Locks 5, 7, and 10.

Today, I ran much of the course in the rain, picking up trash left over from last weekend. Now the course is cleaner. Let's be sure to dispose of our paper cups and other trash in the boxes near each aid station.

The rainfall left some serious puddles around the start / finish area at Fletcher's Cove, 4940 Canal Road, Washington DC. The low-lying areas end about 200 meters west of Fletcher's, but beware of wet shoes early and late in the race. Fortunately, the forecast is fair to partly cloudy, and puddles recede quickly into the hard-packed soil on the Towpath.

After the rain, both Potomac River and C&O Canal are high, so you see some spectacular waterfalls between Towpath Milestones 6 and 7. On the high water in C&O Canal, I saw many geese today, including some newborn goslings just learning to swim. Beware -- if you get between a mother goose and her babies, she will hiss at you. Feel free to hiss back.

Bib numbers: Our 25 Maryland starters (all at 7:00 AM) get the lowest bib numbers. Our 7:00 AM starters at Fletcher's get the next set of bib numbers, and our 8:00 AM starters at Fletcher's get the higher bib numbers. Within each set, we assign the bib numbers alphabetically by last name and first name. My associate race director takes any Maryland numbers not picked up on Thursday or Saturday out to Lock 5 for pick-up 6:30-6:45 AM.

Please wear your bib number visibly on the front of your shirt, and please leave the tag at the bottom intact so we can pull it after you finish to score the race.

We try to present awards immediately as people finish. Listen for your name after you finish. We page you on the PA system if you win an award. SURPRISE! We have RedStar WorldWear sunglasses and watches for the top M/F finisher in each of the 7:00 AM and 8:00 AM half marathon and the 7:00 AM full marathon. The rest of the awards are for 8:00 AM marathoners.

My current count of Red Top Cabs is 8. Each cab takes 4 passengers. The first 2 cabs take 8 Maryland starters to Lock 5, departing around 6:00 AM from in front of Key Bridge Marriott, 1401 Lee Highway, Arlington VA. The drive takes about 15 minutes. The next 6 cabs take 4 passengers each to Fletcher's Cove, about a 7-minute drive, departing as each cab fills up starting at 6:00 AM. The cabs will drop off their passengers at Fletcher's Cove, then return to Key Bridge Marriott for another group of 4. The last cab will depart around 6:30 AM. If you have any problems, Red Top's phone number is 703-522-3333. We also encourage you to use Red Top from Washington Reagan National Airport to your destination.

For the return trip, we have signs "I need a ride to Key Bridge" and "I offer a ride to Key Bridge."

If you're driving, please share a ride via our Facebook page.

Mark Keats offers a ride from Columbia MD. Use the Facebook page to contact him.

Today, we opened registration for Abebe Bikila Day International Peace Marathon and Half Marathon, September 14, 2013. See www.safetyandhealthfoundation.org/bikila

We plan also this week to open registration for the 10 1/2th annual Potomac River Run Marathon in memory of SHF founder Dean Shulman, at Carderock Recreation Area MD on Sunday, November 17. When we open it soon, the web page is www.safetyandhealthfoundation.org/runfordean

As an incentive to be a crazy multi-marathoner like me, we offer a $100 grand prix award to anyone who finishes all 3 marathons conducted by Safety And Health Foundation this year.

We are grateful to everyone for their participation, and we look forward to having some fun this weekend!

-- Jay Jacob Wind, director
-- Safety And Health Foundation