Place

DC Front Runners Memorial Grove

A large group of people in front of a grove of trees with a banner that reads — Members of the DC Front Runners at the Memorial Grove in 2018
DC Front Runners

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In 1988, several DC Front Runners (DCFR) collaborated with the National Park Service to create a memorial grove of flowering trees to commemorate members of this LGB running and walking club who had passed away from HIV/AIDS. The NPS helped choose and plant the native trees, and the club received enough donations from members and family to support the grove’s construction. The club started with five trees in memory of the five members who had recently died, including Paul Webb whose love for flowers inspired the memorial grove. The grove’s chosen location was along the club’s Saturday morning running/walking route adjacent to Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway at Shoreham Hill. By 1995, a full complement of trees and shrubs were established and thriving. Several more club members had died, some due to causes other than AIDS, and DC Front Runners expanded the original concept of the grove to memorialize all lost members. Further contributions were made again in 2008 to celebrate the grove’s 20th anniversary. The club is still running and walking through Rock Creek Park today. In 2018, the DC Front Runners and Casey Trees (a not-for-profit organization dedicated to restoring the diminishing tree canopy of DC) worked with the NPS again and planted an additional ten trees to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the DC Front Runners Memorial Grove.

Detailed location: Starting from the Taras Shevchenko statue, the DCFR Memorial Grove is located just over the second footbridge, on the right, just before the three-mile turn around, near the Calvert/Connecticut Avenue entrance to Rock Creek Parkway by the Taft Bridge.

Reflection Question

What's an activity you love to do that is a part of your identity? When's the last time you did it? Make a calendar invite to do it again soon!