Run Washington

The fall high school cross-country season got an early and busy start in recent days, with meets held throughout the metro area. Contests were held from Leesburg to Alexandria from Aug. 26-29. Now that the 2026-27 school year has begun for all area jurisdictions around the Beltway, there will be many different meets each week, especially on Saturdays. One of the biggest early-season meets was run was the Aug. 29 Dave Davis Invitational on the 5,000-meter Great Meadow course in The Plains.

Course: A scenic out-and-back fall 5K route along Beach Drive. The Experience: Join us for a premier morning of racing featuring chipped timing, custom finisher medals, high-quality tech tees, and hassle-free packet pickup at Potomac River Running's Ballston store.

Having won six straight conference championships, the Georgetown University Hoyas are regarded as the top college women’s cross-country team in the D.C. area, as well as one of the best in the country. The Hoyas are projected to be ranked nationally among the top 25 in an upcoming Division I preseason NCAA poll.

As consecutive conference champions, the past two seasons were the most successful in the 16-year history of the Marymount University Saints women’s cross-country team. Marymount comfortably won back-to-back Atlantic East Conference crowns in 2025 and 2024 by margins of 30 and 21 points, respectively. The league titles were the first in history for the Division III program. Prior to that, the Saints’ best finishes in conference championship meets had been runner-ups in both 2022 and 2023.

It used to be the shoes worn by college and high school cross country and track-and-field runners were mainly either black or white, sometimes blue. That’s not the case as much anymore. As a matter of fact, it’s not as easy to find those runners these days wearing a black, white and blue competition shoe. Instead, they prefer solid or multicolored bright shoes — frequently sporting vivid neon designs.

Event September 27, 2026 8:00 am -12:00 pm Carderock Recreation Center (GPS: 38.9725215, -77.2001899) Potomac-Bethesda, Maryland 20817 Jog and Jam at Carderock Recreation Center starts with 8 a.m. check-in, yoga, and a 9 a.m. start. Walk/run a 10K, 5K, or 2.5K Music, dancing, family fun, and mental health information/resouorces. This is not a race.

After making a significant life change, Bob Mathew achieved a rare worldwide running milestone. By finishing the 2025 New York City Marathon, the 61-year-old Arlington native became one of roughly 40,000 people worldwide who have completed the six Abbott World Marathon Majors. Those 26.2-mile races are the Berlin, London, Tokyo, Boston, Chicago and New York events. Mathew received a medal and plaque of recognition for his accomplishment, completing the six races over a three-year span.

A considerable number of former high-school cross-country runners from throughout the metro area will be competing for multiple local college teams during the upcoming men’s and women’s fall season. One of those collegiate squads with the most local runners is the Division II Bowie State University program in Maryland. There are a total of eight local runners for the Bulldogs, equally divided between men and women.

The date remains in flux, but local athletes already are gearing up for the Monroe Parker Invitational, one of the oldest high-school cross-country meets across the metro area. Originally named the Northern Region Athletic Director’s meet, the event began in 1974 with the opening of Burke Lake Park and continues to be held there on the 2.98-mile course. It was renamed the Monroe Parker Invitational in 1994.

Just because it’s the summer and school isn’t in session doesn’t mean the defending Virginia state cross-country team champion Bishop O’Connell Knights have remained idle in regard to defending their high-school titles this upcoming fall season. The official schedules begin in late August or early September at various meets for all metro-area high-school teams.