Echoing what others have said about dogs. I run on the W&OD, and some of the trails that lead to and from it.

The dogs I've seen off-leash have been uniformly calm and have ignored me (and make me jealous, since my own dog is a freakazoid). But twice I've been jogging past a leashed dog who has suddenly barked and lunged at me before the owner could tighten his/her grip. I'm a crazy dog lover, but that shit pisses me off.

Anonymous wrote:OP, if you're going to do a lot of running on trails, you should consider getting trail shoes.

But extra dirt sort of comes with the territory, right???

+1 on this.

trail shoes are a bit more harder and durable than regular running shoes. They're a bit heavier and I don't think their traction is as nice as some running shoes. Could just be the shoes I had.

Be careful of the dogs. We've seen people get bitten by dogs even when they were on the owner's leash and the dog wasn't acting aggressive or anything.

The trail near Roosevelt island is the Potomac Heritage trail. You can do about 4 miles up and 4 miles back (I've lost the trail up by Chain Bridge), but at times, it is pretty intense trail. There are a few little areas where you have to cross a stream using rocks, and some areas where you are picking through boulders and have to slow to a walk. Not many dogs, though. There's a nice waterfall and the Potomac is visible for much of it.

Roosevelt island itself is a good intro to trail running, but it's short, maybe 1.5 miles around at most.

Burke Lake is awesome for running, but if you're not a Fairfax County resident, you'll pay $10 to get into the park April-October.

One I like is the Glover-Archbold trail. You pick it up from the Capital Crescent trail just South of Georgetown - you leave the CCT and go through a culvert and come up on Foxhall rd and run under a railroad trestle and there it is. It's about 2.5 miles from Foxhall to where the trail ends at Van Ness. From there, you can run on Van Ness to CT avenue and pick up other trails like the Melvin Hazen or another one I'm forgetting. There are also some trails that branch off the Rock Creek path near the zoo.

There's a good running trail near Roosevelt island. You can Run around Roosevelt island which is a trail then head north through the parking lot to catch it. Potomac river trail or something like that.

There's also Huntley meadows in Alexandria, lake accotink in Springfield (a lot just got paved though) and Burke lake.

OP, if you're going to do a lot of running on trails, you should consider getting trail shoes.

But extra dirt sort of comes with the territory, right???

I don't worry about the shoes. I do worry about the dogs. You'll get better at assessing potential threats from them as you run more, but there's no way to prevent the unattended dog (owner not within sight and on a phone, always, completely oblivious) from jumping you. It's a very unfortunate thing.

Trail running is a great way to beat the heat. I also live out 66 and like running on the CCT as there's a trail head near my house. I also really like the loop at Burke Lake - it's 4.5 miles.

In my experience, the dogs off lead on the trails are usually really well behaved and don't bother me. As long as this is the case, I don't characterize their owners as jerks. I have more issues with people on bikes who come flying up or around blind corners and nearly run me off the trail.

Don't worry about your shoes getting dirty or worn. I like a low profile running shoe for trails as I worry about rolling my ankles more on the uneven terrain, plus the surface is softer so I find I don't need as much cushion in my shoe - Brooks Pureflow and Pure Cadence are pretty inexpensive and I have found them great for trail running. They (Brooks) also make a trail shoe called Pure Grit but I haven't tried those yet.

Happy running!

1. I'm sorry, I don't live near you so I don't know anything that way. I live WAY far out off I 66 and enjoy trail running at the Manassas battlefields. That's probably too far for you.

2. I just accept the fact that my shoes will be dirty. I actually kind of take a little pride in it

3. I've never had those issues on the battlefields, but maybe carry pepper spray?

It's getting hotter, and I'd like to explore trails as a shady option, but would like some advice. Where would you go for a pretty shady mid-distance (3-7.5 mile) run? I live in Alexandria.

How do you take care of your shoes? Wear and tear is normal, but trail running seems to eat and dirty my shoes so much faster.

I am not a dog person, and there are a lot of jersk with their dogs off leash illegally. Any ideas how to deal with those inconsiderate people?