Don’t be fooled by the sunny weather. Fall is coming, and it’s coming fast. Come November, you’ll either stop exercising (yeah, you know I’m talking about you) or you’ll be regulated to the likes of a lab rat, helplessly treadmilling within the musky environs of Yates Fieldhouse.
So why don’t you multi task while you still can? Get some exercise and explore the area a bit. Whether you are power walking, running or biking, here are my two favorite exercise routes.
The Georgetown Power Run
You’re living in one of the most powerful neighborhoods in the world. You might as well get to know it.
Start at Healy Gates, run up to P street, and follow it to Wisconsin Ave. On the way, you’ll pass 3271 P St., JFK’s first Georgetown home. Once you hit Wisconsin, cross the street and turn left. Run up the hill and turn right onto R and you’ll quickly hit Dumbarton Oaks, the estate upon which the United Nations Charter was written and where South Carolina senator and vice president John C. Calhoun once lived. Head down R and you’ll pass 2920 R St., where Washington Post publisher and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Katherine Graham once lived. Turn right onto 29th St. and run down to N St. Turn right. On the way back to Healy Gates, you’ll pass 3017 N St., the house Jackie Kennedy moved into after her husband’s assassination; and 3307 N St., the house in front of which JFK announced his first presidential campaign.
The Gentrification Shuffle
The neighborhoods of Washington D.C. have developed in much the same way: Hip white bohemians move into areas once filled with predominately middle-and lower-class African Americans. Once the cool cats have settled in and opened smokey cafes, indie rock music venues and collective spaces, other groups (mainly yuppies) feel comfortable moving in. Soon, industrial chic apartment buildings, yoga centers and furniture stores with exotic names pop up. The price of living rises and all the old residents are forced to relocate. If you’ve seen the musical RENT, you know what I’m talking about.
What’s amazing is that you can actually trace the path of gentrification throughout the city. Start at 37th and P- an area that was gentrified before the term gentrification even existed-and run all the way down to 14th. You’ll have passed through Dupont Circle, which is already in the “yuppie” stage. Once you hit 14th you’ll be at the heart of it: a Whole Foods sits next to an old-time mom and pop fish market. A Starbucks and a TCBY are moving in next to the old blues club. Turn left on 14th and run to U Street, and you’ll hit what used to be called “Black Broadway.” Turn left on U Street, merge onto California and gallop back to Q Street. You’ll be back on the oak-lined streets of the Towne of Gorge in no time. (If you’re out of breath too soon, you can always stop at the Dupont GUTS stop and take the bus home.)
Whether you exercise with these routes or not, start exercising now, or forever hold your big fat ass.
