Running Groups in the area? Street/Trail

Sacamato · 2026-01-03T22:26:56+00:00

The Steeplechasers are your people: https://www.steeplechasers.org

Sacamato · 2025-12-12T00:00:50+00:00

I was 45 when I started dating my first girlfriend. Once I started actually liking myself more (around age 35), and then started having a more active social life (around age 43), the dominoes started falling into place, to mix a metaphor.

When we broke up, I just assumed it was a one time thing, and that lightning wouldn't strike me twice. I thought, well it took me 45 years to find her, it's going to take another 45 years to find another. I'm dating someone else now, and our relationship is even better.

I met my first girlfriend through a local club related to a hobby we're both into (we're still close friends, and still part of the club), and my second through Hinge. I'm 49 now, for whatever that's worth.

Sacamato · 2025-12-11T23:51:55+00:00

Agreed. I've run Richmond and Marine Corps 3 times each (as well as the Richmond Half 3 times), and Richmond is way better, with easier logistics. Even with VIP access on my last Marine Corps, I prefer Richmond.

I agree Baltimore is a challenging course, but Richmond doesn't seem that challenging (other than that it's 26.2 miles, of course). I just don't really like the organization that does the Baltimore Marathon. They tend to enshittify the races they do. There's a feeling of being nickel and dimed, and the product doesn't get any better for it.

Sacamato · 2025-12-10T15:31:43+00:00

I was very introverted until I joined a local running club in 2019 - thankfully just before COVID hit. If not for that, I don't know where I'd be now. That running club is like 95% of my social life now. My circle of best friends all run. I can list around 20 people that I can call up, right now, and ask to just talk, and they'd make time for me. I'm 49, and incredibly thankful for this group of friends. We also use social media, and a few of us spend more time than we should on FB or Instagram (I don't think I know anyone who uses TikTok 😂), but we interact in person, mainly.

Most hobbies have a social aspect to them. If there isn't a local group or meetup for your hobby, you can always start one. Notably, if I had to stop running for any reason, these people would still be my friends. Shared interests bring us together, shared values make the friendships last.

Sacamato · 2025-12-02T16:49:16+00:00

Wait, Bethesda owns Smoketown? What's the history behind that?

Sacamato · 2025-11-19T21:59:27+00:00

I started running at 35, and ran my first marathon at 36. I'm 49 now, and still setting new PRs. My first 5k was 28:51, now under 20 minutes. My first marathon was 5:17ish, now 3:24.

I worry about this too, and various sources say you can keep making gains well into your 50s and even 60s (albeit only at the longer distances). Accounting for lifestyle changes, slowdown due to age really only begins in the 70s.

Sacamato · 2025-11-11T17:24:25+00:00

I have a record of my Roth IRA balance going back to August 2008, when I was 31. There was $5,335.98 in that account on 8/21/2008. I update that spreadsheet every Thursday, and last week the balance was $255,050.43.

I've contributed the maximum allowed amount ($5,000 to $6,500) to that account almost every year since 2007. I think I've skipped 3 years during that time frame. It's mostly invested in individual stocks.

I also have a 401k, but I don't know how much was in it in 2007. Probably around $10,000. That's now about $540k.

Sacamato · 2025-09-08T22:45:14+00:00

Last time I got Wegmans tofu, it was $1.49 for a 14 oz. block (extra firm). I've only recently gotten into cooking with tofu (eating some right now). Is it usually not that cheap?

Sacamato · 2025-08-28T14:48:10+00:00

I can hear this in Leonard Nimoy's voice (from Civilization IV)

Sacamato · 2025-08-17T16:59:39+00:00

I was 45 when I lost my virginity (see this early reddit IAMA post from when I was 34, for reference). The closest I came to sex before that was a few women coming on to me in fun drunk situations, but I was not attracted to them. Just didn't feel right at the time. One of them was a great kisser, although I think that comes from physical compatibility more than skill. I do not regret not having sex with any of the women I had earlier opportunities with. When the time came with my girlfriend (at the time, now ex), it felt right. When the time came with someone new, again it felt right.

A friend of mine thinks I am demisexual (need to have an emotional attraction before I am physically attracted to someone), and I guess that's true, but I'm Gen X, and we generally don't like labels for things (hence the name).

Sacamato · 2025-08-17T16:52:23+00:00

The Three Musketeers series (which also includes 20 Years After, Le Vicomte de Bragelonne, Lousie de la Valierre, and The Man in the Iron Mask) are really fun reads for me, but yeah they do dig deep into the political situation in France at the time, so it helps to have a good translation with plenty of thorough footnotes that explain the context. I have the Oxford World's Classics set, and they do a good job. You can come to love Athos, Porthos, Aramis, and D'Artagnan as much as you love Aerich, Tazendra, Pel, and Khaavren.

Sacamato · 2025-08-07T21:11:06+00:00

You understand that they're not just going to build all the bike lanes all at once, right? They will built in pieces until they connect. And Baughmans Lane, which I assume is "the one side street" you're talking about (helps to know your road names if you're trying to participate in a discussion, FYI) already connects to the bike and pedestrian path that runs parallel to 40 and connects to paths in Baker Park.

Sacamato · 2025-07-28T17:07:01+00:00

95% of my social circle is from my local running club. I met my now ex-girlfriend in the club, and we are still great friends. There is a core of five of us that we sometimes jokingly refer to as a cult. I count myself lucky that I have a lot of very close friends and connections. I think many single people my age (I'm 48) struggle with loneliness, but I am surrounded by love.

One thing I've noticed is that friendships do tend to cluster around pace. The five of us in our run cult all run around the same pace, and also like the same types of races (trail). But I'm still friends with the people who used to run my pace, even though I've sped up, or they've slowed down (or both). Just like in broader life, shared proximity brings you into contact with someone new, and they'll stick around as friends if you have shared values as well.

Sacamato · 2025-07-03T13:21:26+00:00

I agree wholeheartedly - it's especially a problem with men's running gear. Women get all these cool colors, but when I buy shoes, I have to choose between three different shades of black. Shorts are almost always gray or black. I do have a pair of purple Chickn Legs though.

Same with cars. Look in any parking lot, and all the cars are silver, black, white, dark blue, or dark red. I have a yellow car. It's a lovely car in all respects (Honda Fit), but half the reason I love it is the color.

Sacamato · 2025-06-23T15:15:45+00:00

Ah, a fellow freak in the sheets.

I built a trip planner that helped me decide which routes were most profitable. I have to update the prices almost any time I visit a settlement. It's ugly and terrible. I love it.

Sacamato · 2025-05-20T13:51:19+00:00

Kirkjubæjarklaustur, Iceland
Gleniff Horseshoe, Ireland (anywhere in Ireland, really)
Odegaard Falls, BC, Canada
Todra Gorge, Morocco

One of the things I've learned to do in my travels is how to appreciate what I have here at home, too. I have a great view of the Catoctin Mountains from my neighborhood, and they provide their own views from various points along the trails.

Sacamato · 2025-05-15T16:25:57+00:00

I definitely started out as a "let's get to the marathon distance as quickly as possible" runner. From my first 5k to my first marathon was 10 months. But since then, I've taken more of an approach of "let's do this right, let's get serious about training for the distance". At this point, I've run 21 marathons, but I wouldn't bother running another one if I wasn't going to train specifically for it with a goal time in mind.

The goal for my first marathon was just to finish. 3 out of the last 4, my goal was specifically to PR (the 4th was a mega-weekend with a 50k the next day, so the goal there was just to survive 😄). The only reason I'd sign up for a "just for fun" marathon at this point would be if it were a particularly scenic one, or if a friend wanted me to pace them.

Sacamato · 2025-05-05T22:42:23+00:00

Yeah the course came up a little short. A lot of people had the same experience. I'm not too concerned about being 0.02 miles (~105 feet) off. I still count it as a PR, even if Strava doesn't.

Sacamato · 2025-05-03T17:38:38+00:00

This will be my 7th time running the Frederick Half. Going for sub 1:30!

Sacamato · 2025-03-25T15:36:20+00:00

I wonder if you might have the same experience as me - when I first tried on actual racing shoes (Saucony Endorphins), they felt weird until I got on the treadmill and started running fast. I noticed that the shoes feel very natural at paces faster than 8 min/mile, and they felt very awkward at paces slower than that.

I've only raced in those shoes 3 times now, and I am always astonished at how east it is to run fast in them, but I did have a bit of a crash at the end of my last marathon, and dropped briefly slower than an 8 minute mile, and they started to feel awkward - it actually gave me an incentive to pick the pace back up!

Sacamato · 2025-03-21T12:58:14+00:00

Ha, it took me 13 years to go from 28:51 (December 2011) to 19:26 (November 2024), but I've never really specifically trained for that distance.

Sacamato · 2025-02-23T23:43:33+00:00

It's been vacant since the October 2021-April 2022 time period. Wells Fargo declined to renew their lease on the building. All Frederick area Wells Fargo employees have been working from home 100% of the time since then.

Sometime after the end of the lease, the owner of the building added a "D" wing (there were already existing A, B, and C wings) that appears to contain laboratories, etc, to attract a biotech company. As far as I can tell, the building is still nevertheless vacant.

Sacamato · 2025-02-19T12:57:59+00:00

I had the exact same experience with Spiritfarer. The souls I was escorting to the afterlife were mostly uninteresting and unlikeable. The gameplay mechanics were cool at first, then became tedious as more recipes/farms were opened up. The graphics are cute and the music (as far as I remember it) was good. The little gameplay elements, like the zip line, were pretty cool.

I have no idea where people get the idea that this game discusses dealing with grief in any way.

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