Run, Lobbyist, Run!

Let me tell you something about the District. The runners here are crazy.

You may remember that one of the first observations we made here at the Expat about Washington is the propensity of the residents to run-EVERYWHERE. Now, I come from health-conscious Southern California where visitors see nicely tan, nicely toned Cali boys and girls running up and down the sandy beaches of Malibu. It seemed normal to me. Here, though, walking home from work is like playing a video game where I'm supposed to dodge runners coming at me from the left, the right and behind! One of the biggest gay social groups in town is DC Frontrunners.

But last night is when DC pulled out it's crazy. We had a pretty nasty ice storm here a few nights ago, although some of the ice has thawed (thanks to good ol' Dow Chemical), there are still some nasty patches of ice all over the sidewalks. I was on my way out to cocktails with friends and there were runners everywhere! Nevermind the fact that many of them had shorts on in 20 degree weather. The real crux is that I saw two of them nearly slip and kill themselves within a window of my 15 minute walk. I'm not sure whether one of the side effects of Potomac Fever is an animal need to run, but it's dangerous, DC!

I'm sure some of the Expat's readers are thinking, "wow, this sure sounds like a bitter rant from someone who hasn't hit the gym in a while." Well, those readers would be right. BUT, I'm also concerned for the health and safety of my fellow District residents. Be careful out there.


Oh....and eat a cookie every once and a while already.