W&OD Trail End-to-end

For some reason yesterday seemed like the day to run the W&OD Trail end-to-end.  And if I don't run much next week (I'm traveling with family and long runs will be hard to fit in) I'll have a ready excuse - I'll be recovering.

The W&OD trail runs from Shirlington to Purcellville,  44.8 miles end-to-end.  Here is the map from the "Friends of the W&OD" website.

I ran the east to west direction

Mary dropped me off in Shirlington at the 0 mile mark early (on her way to work), with a little light rain and the chance of thunder showers making me wonder if this was a good idea.  The cool rain the first hour or so was actually very nice - it warmed up later in the morning, and I got some rain later in the afternoon, but all in all a beautiful day out there.

I ran with a hydration pack, and stopped at two "aid stations" on the trail.

 The Whole Foods market is literally right beside the trail in Vienna - I got a multigrain bagel and a muffin, and two Odwalla smoothie drinks

This 7-11 was also right along the trail, around Herndon I think.  I got 2 liters of cold bottled water here to refill my hydration pack.  I also drank from several water fountains along the trail.





I saw some great countryside along the trail, and a little bit of wildlife. 

 Cool bug

I passed this guy

Not pictured:  some deer, groundhogs, and rabbits.

The last 10 miles were getting to be a bit of a grind to the finish.  Mary had parked at the trail's end and come down the trail about a mile to  walk me in  - that was nice.  Here is the marker at the Purcellville end of the trail.

I am so done ...

It was a Grand Day Out.  My feet had some hot spots, but this morning it doesn't look like there will be any blisters.  I'm sore this morning, but nothing to worry about!

Now the C&O Canal end-to-end is hanging over my head like a monster ...