Andres Doernberg

​About Andres

 

 

I was born in Santiago de Chile, so long ago that I remember the big 1960 earthquake now in the news, fortunately barely felt in Santiago. In my 20s, I bounced between my parent's Manhattan apartment and eastern Long Island, where I went to school, started my career and where I ended up owning my first home. I always wondered how I got that exactly backwards, duh.  I also was in a seven-year relationship. Immediately before moving to DC in 1988 and buying the Dupont Circle apartment where I still live, I spent two terrific years in Indonesia. The last ten years of my career were spent at the US Agency for International Development, where frequent travel took me to Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. After more than two years I am still trying to get used to being an idler, with competitive bridge and the fabulous 15th St Vida gym structuring the week. And of course, the DCFR fun run/walk on Saturday mornings.         

 

 

 

​Questions

 

 

Why do you like to walk?  You can't beat the camaraderie and socializing while at the same time getting (some) exercise. Plus I can skip the gym on Saturdays, yeah!

 

Who was the first person you talked to in Front Runners and what did you talk about? I honestly do not remember. I may have learned about DCFR during a "hash" while overseas. Don't know any longer.

  

What is your favorite part about the club? Getting me out of bed on Saturdays, and its corollary (look it up), having to cut the partying on Friday nights early.  

  

What is your favorite club walking route?  Rock Creek park, cool in the summer and sheltered from cold winds in the winter. I’ve been around long enough to have walked in large groups on Tuesdays, winters and summers.  I no longer walk on Tuesdays, but I remember fondly the walk over to the Memorial Bridge. 

  

Are you a fair weather Front Walker or a hail, rain, and snow hardy soul?  Frankly, I never got the hang of a fun walk while holding an umbrella, so the answer would be fair-ish weather walker.

  

Is there a certain vibe among the walkers that sets them apart from the runners? You want to get me in trouble, eh? With a few exceptions we are just once-a-week wonders. The dedicated runners are a whole 'nother thing entirely, bless you all. 

  

Bagels Etc. or Starbucks and why? After all this time, I never realized it was called Bagels Etc. If they only had real bagels. But an old traditionalist like me is oddly fond of the place and its charming shared toilets. Never better than when panting runners fog up the windows. And what’s not to like about the Starbucks social, I just wonder when we will wear out our welcome.       

  

Which is your most favorite Happy Hour location? Having Larry's Lounge [18th and T St. NW] all to ourselves made for a terrific location, whereas the 18th & U Diner, well, the contrast could not be more obvious. The deck at Nellie’s ties for top location. 

 

Which Golden Girl are you? I always thought of "Golden Girls" as the "Bea Arthur Show", so the answer should be obvious.

  

Have you ever dated a Front Runner and is it a good idea?  You mean a mixed marriage between a runner and a walker?  Mother would never approve.  

  

Now that same-sex marriage has come to DC, have you anyone in mind?  Yeah, I can start a second career as a yenta, and do my "Hello Dolly" routine for same-sex couples. Joking aside, it is an overwhelming event and this is a historical week in this city that I consider my permanent home. And I’m somehow saddened that our community seems to be so ho-hum about it. I thought strangers would be hugging each other at the Wholefoods’ check-out lines. 

 

What’s your favorite place to go in Washington?  I have no absolutes in life. It is the Capricorn in me. And you don't want an essay for an answer.

 

Which Front Runner inspires you most? Those (and there are more than one) who I only see at the Annual Party because they are off in races every Saturday!

  

What is your most cherished memory of the club?  Introducing an old friend to a DCFR we ran into. They are now married for many years.

  

What advice would you give to new people joining?  Leave the $300 track suits in New York. And shower and shave after the walk/run.

  

What is your motto in life? Control, control, control. Leave nothing to chance. My undoing. I am a Capricorn, after all.

 

 

 

Interview by Brian Beary, Design by Marcel Acosta

March 2010