We're a non-competitive, run-for-fun winter running group that meets 8am Saturday mornings in the Columbia Island Marina parking lot, just off the GW Parkway in Northern Virginia. We welcome drop-ins at any time, follow the Galloway run-walk method, aren't particularly fast, and tend to enjoy ourselves by following these tenets:

1) Informality: Nobody's obligated to show up. Come run if you want, sleep in if you don't;

2) Spontaneity: We decide on the day, where and how far to go. Previous running / sightseeing destinations: Panda House at the National Zoo, holiday decorations by the White House and Capitol, Hirshorn outdoor sculpture gallery, heated hummingbird feeder at the side of the Smithsonian Castle;

3) Attitude: The 'run-for-fun' attitude is a nice change from the goal-oriented, week-by-week ramping of the regular season. It's not that our winter runners don't have goals (mostly winter and spring races), but they incorporate them into the group run, sometimes adding extra miles before or afterwards;

4) Accommodation: To welcome runners of all abilities, both regulars and occasional drop-ins, we decide on routes and paces that are comfortable for all. For example, if a runner wants to do four slow miles, we plan a four-mile loop, then others can go farther if they wish.