Thank you for entering Run 4 Your Mom Mother's Day Four Miler! Our race on Sunday, May 14, at Fletcher's Cove, 4940 Canal Road NW, Washington DC, now has 54 registrants. Welcome to all of you! Parking at Fletcher's Cove is free and ample. DIRECTIONS: From Chain Bridge, turn right and take Canal Road one mile east to Reservoir Road. At the stoplight, turn left up Reservoir Road. Make a u-turn where it's safe, then return down the hill, cross Canal Road at the stoplight, and turn right down the ramp into the parking area. From Key Bridge, turn left on M Street in Georgetown to head west. Cross Foxhall Road and stay left onto Canal Road NW. Take Canal Road two miles west to the stoplight at Reservoir Road. Turn left, cross the eastbound lane, and drive down the ramp into the parking area. On-site toilets are available next to the upper parking area. The upper parking lot has room for 85 cars. Additional parking is available down the ramp at the right of the upper parking area, through a tunnel, and then around a curve near Potomac River. The lower parking lot has room for 300 cars. Secure bike racks are next to the lower parking lot. Packet pick-up opens at 9:15 AM on the picnic tables down the stairs at Fletcher's Cove. Pick up your bib number, your generic ASICS t-shirt with a removable Run 4 Your Mom Mother's Day Four Mile sticker, and your goodie bag. You can return to your car to secure your personal belongings, but if you arrive another way (Uber / Lyft, taxi, bike, on foot, helicopter, boat), we will have white plastic bags for your stuff -- please write your bib number on the outside of the bag. Pre-race, we offer Carb Boom! energy gels -- if you like it, please order on-line at http://www.boomnutrition.com -- use the secret password SHARE for a $5 discount! We play the National Anthem at 9:55 AM, provide pre-race instructions, and then start promptly at 10:00 AM. PARKING OPTIONS: We have 300 spaces on-site You may also park off-site, so that we leave some parking spaces available at Fletcher's Cove for the general public. Off-site parking options: • Palisades Library, 4901 V St NW, Washington, DC 20007 • Our Lady of Victory School, 4755 Whitehaven Pkwy NW, Washington, DC 20007 • CVS/pharmacy, 4859 MacArthur Boulevard NW, Washington, DC 20007 From westbound Canal Road, watch for the entrance to Fletcher's Cove, across from Reservoir Road Please cross Canal Road CAREFULLY to get to Fletcher's Cove Packet pick-up opens at 9:15 AM on-site IMPORTANT: Please wear your bib number securely and visibly on the front of your shirt, not on the back, not on the side, and not obscured in any way. We must be able to see your bib number when you finish. Please do NOT remove the name tag at the bottom of your bib number, and do NOT pin through it. We collect bib numbers at the end of the race to establish the order of finish. You MUST have your name tag with you when you finish, or else we can't score you in the race. COURSE: To make the race exactly four miles, we start at the west side on the bridge over C&O Canal at Fletcher's Cove and run east to C&O Canal Towpath Milestone 3. There, we turn around and return, running west past the Fletcher's bridge, under Capital Crescent Trail, over a wooden footbridge, past Milestone 4, under Chain Bridge, all the way to Milestone 5. There, we turn around and run east, under Chain Bridge, past Milestone 4, over the wooden footbridge, under Capital Crescent Trail, and back to finish exactly where we started. So it's four miles exactly. If your GPS says 3.98 miles or 4.02 miles, don't believe it! When you cross the river end of the bridge eastbound at the start of the race or westbound after the first turnaround, please be alert to other users of the bridge. Please be courteous to other users of the park. Please be safe and healthy. We have volunteers at Milestones 3 and 5, plus a aid station with water and Gatorade underneath Chain Bridge. If you must drop out, please stop at one of those points so we can accompany you safely back to the finish line. Post-race, we have refreshments at the same picnic tables where you picked up your packet. EARPHONES: Everyone asks. I answer: We are a USATF club, so we follow USATF rules. The most recent rule book, http://www.usatf.org/about/rules/2013/2013rules.pdf, Rule 144.3.b (page 59), says "The visible possession or use by athletes of video, audio, or communications devices in the competition area. The Games Committee for an LDR event may allow the use of portable listening devices not capable of receiving communication; however, those competing in championships for awards, medals, or prize money may not use such devices." Representing the Games Committee, this race director states: We do have awards. Please do NOT wear earphones during the National Anthem, during the pre-race instructions, as you approach the turnarounds, or at the finish line. We need to be able to communicate with you. In between, morality is what you do when nobody's watching. AWARDS: We have Pacers Running Stores gift certificates for the top 3 M/F and SHF glow-lights for age-group winners 19 & under, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, 70 & over M/F. We also have red roses for the mother half of every pre-registered mother-son or mother-daughter team. RESULTS: Unless weather conditions make on-site results impossible, SHF produces instantaneous results and a concurrent list of award winners. We print the results immediately after the last finisher and present awards ASAP thereafter. We publish the results on-line at www.safetyandhealthfoundation.org/20170514.html as soon as we get home on Sunday, but possibly after lunch with my kids. NET PROCEEDS: We are a small race, but nonetheless, we give to charity. Half of our net proceeds go to DC Capital Striders Running Group (http://www.dccapitalstriders.com) who provide free group runs and volunteer service all year, and half go to Melanoma Foundation of New England. You may donate to MFNE via the page https://www.crowdrise.com/MFNEBoston2017/fundraiser/jay-jacobwind Both of my parents were melanoma survivors. ENOUGH ABOUT ME, LET'S TALK ABOUT YOU You can join the discussion about DC Capital Striders and become a volunteer at https://www.facebook.com/groups/dccsvolunteers We invite you to our group runs, to our future races, to our first aid certification classes, and to our seminars. Keep your eye on http://www.safetyandhealthfoundation.org Thank you for joining us! Jay Jacob Wind, director, Safety And Health Foundation SafetyAndHealthFoundation@gmail.com