Washington runners: If you’ve been searching for a spot where you can streamline your training, exercise, and recovery all under one roof, you’re in luck. Formula Running Center in Clarendon will open November 4, where it will offer exercise classes, fitness consultations, and recovery treatments geared specifically to runners of all levels.
And it’s the only spot in the country that’s combining all these services in one space, says Chris Hoffman, who owns FRC with his business partner Nicole DonVito, both of whom are longtime runners. “This was a facility that we always thought should exist,” says Hoffman, referring to it as a “complete training experience.”
The four core tenants of FRC focus on training, physical assessments, recovery, and education, says Hoffman, ensuring that whether you’re an elite runner or a beginner, you can improve all aspects of your health and fitness in one spot.
In the lobby of the 5,000-square foot building, customers will find the Pit Stop, where they can grab a bagel, protein bar, coconut water, or electrolyte drink like LifeAid. There will also be an outdoor Pit Stop for FRC members who are on runs in the neighborhood, says Hoffman. Nearby is the assessment room, where athletes can meet with a nutritionist, have their body mass composition calculated, or hop on the treadmill for VO2 max testing or a running gait analysis.
And for folks who want to work on their conditioning, FRC’s workout studio hosts a series of classes. Inside are 24 Woodway treadmills and a floor area filled with strength training equipment. Classes will range from those focused purely on running, with 60- and 75-minute sessions where athletes will run intervals, hills, and sprints on the treadmill, to Orangetheory-like workouts that mix treadmill conditioning with strength training on the floor.
Each participant will wear a heart rate monitor, and data such as heart rate, speed, and distance will be displayed on TVs throughout the room. As of now, instructors for the FRC classes include the likes of personal trainers, District Track Club organizers, and former Ironman competitors, says Hoffman.
While conditioning is important, an equally essential part of FRC’s mission is emphasizing recovery to avoid stress and injury, says Hoffman.
And the space has plenty of options to do just that. A cryotherapy chamber, a treatment room for sport therapy massages, a cold-water soaking tub, an infrared sauna, and NormaTec compression sleeves are all available for use. There’s also a studio that’ll host yoga and stretching classes geared toward post-run recovery.
The fitness center will have both men’s and women’s locker rooms, as well, along with showers, toiletries, hair dryers, and a towel service.
Guests can either opt to purchase credits or a membership. All credits are $30 and are good for either one class or treatment (excluding cryotherapy, which requires two credits). Memberships begin at $104 for four credits a month and extend to $499 monthly for unlimited.
Athletes have already started signing up for the center’s services, says Hoffman, and he ultimately has plans to open additional FRC locations in the Washington area. “We knew the running community here was huge,” he says. “[It’s] one of the fittest areas in the country. We think this is an ideal location for a studio like ours.”
While Formula Running Center will officially open November 4, it will host a celebration the weekend of November 2-3 for its users who are already pre-registered. If that’s you, show up over the weekend for workout classes, recovery services, running shoe demos, and complimentary massages.
Formula Running Center; 3101 Wilson Blvd., Suite 100, Arlington
Mimi Montgomery joined Washingtonian in 2018. She’s written for The Washington Post, Garden & Gun, Outside Magazine, Washington City Paper, DCist, and PoPVille. Originally from North Carolina, she now lives in Del Ray.
