10+ miles @ ~12 min/mi

We begin at 0645 near the Iwo Jima Memorial, which I snap pictures of while a cheerful crewcut leatherneck leads Ken and Co. in stretching. Katie and Jasmine play leapfrog with us, taking turns in last place during the run. I pause to photograph The Awakening, a strangely evocative sculpture emerging from the Earth, and later get a shot of a great blue heron in the Tidal Basin. Ken and I detour to see the WWII Memorial but then sync up with Katie for the final mile, which gives us a chance to chat with her and offer encouraging anecdotes; she's training for her first-ever marathon and seems slightly nervous. Back at the starting point after 110 minutes for 9+ miles we drink, and then at Ken's insistence run down to Memorial Drive and back to add a mile and make the logbook look prettier. Fastest measured split en route was 10:13 between MCM mile markers 18 and 19.