The Mayor Just Keeps Putting One Foot in Front of the Other

The Wirefly National Marathon, which he ran Saturday, wasn't the only race on Mayor Adrian Fenty's to-do list. He plans to tackle two half-Ironmans this year. (Toni L. Sandys - The Washington Post)

No wonder Mayor Adrian Fenty went into politics -- the man just loves to run. Early last week, he breezed through the St. Patrick's Day 8K. Then on Saturday he lined up for the Wirefly National Marathon, planning to run just half -- but went ahead and completed the entire 26-mile race, clocking in at a respectable 4 hours 8 minutes. (Which is quicker than it took a lot of traffic-jammed motorists to get across town.) This weekend, he'll race in the Cherry Blossom 10-miler.

Must be exhausted, right? "I ran this morning, and I feel pretty good," a chipper Fenty told us yesterday. Following a routine he started while on the D.C. Council, Fenty gets up at 5:20 a.m. and alternates a run of six to 10 miles (wisely wearing those safety lights in the pre-dawn gloom) with a swim or bike ride. "I would really be off balance without it," he said. "It keeps everything in focus."

Carrie Brooks, the mayor's communications director, says Fenty's presence in the marathon -- and his security detail's -- can't be blamed for the dreadful traffic snarls: "He only has a couple guys with him."

Saturday was the 36-year-old mayor's eighth marathon, and just 12 minutes off his high school best of 3 hours 56 minutes. And he's not slowing down. Fenty started training for triathlons three years ago and has his eye on the half-Ironman -- a 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike ride and 13-mile run -- which he estimates will take about five hours with no break. He'll tackle one April 21 in Lake Anna, Va., and another June 10 in Cambridge, Md.

How, exactly, does all this makes him a better public servant? "Endurance," he said. "You have to have a lot of it to be mayor."

HEY, ISN'T THAT . . . ?

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Anthony Williams showing up for jury duty at Superior Court yesterday all earth-tony in a camel-colored sport coat, dark olive pants, sporty loafers and trademark bow tie. Everyone stopped to say hi to the former mayor as he sat in the waiting room, meticulously reading a New York Times (hmph!) folded subway-style. He even made it into the jury box for a murder trial before the defense booted him. Turns out Judge Erik Christian used to be one of his deputy mayors.

And Don't Forget the Lincoln Memorial

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Another big movie shoot has come to town, just in time for the cherry blossoms and thunderstorms -- and unlike most recent Hollywood visitors, this team plans to stick around for a while.

"National Treasure: Book of Secrets" -- a sequel to Nicolas Cage's 2004 blockbuster Archives thriller -- set up shop yesterday and will be here until April 16, shooting at classic postcard-Washington vistas including the Mall, the Library of Congress and Georgetown. The plot has something to with missing pages from John Wilkes Booth's diary. If you see the Oscar-winning "Ghost Rider" around town, send the deets to reliablesource@washpost.com.

It's unclear which of Cage's co-stars (Diane Kruger, Jon Voight, Harvey Keitel) will also be here, but District officials are thrilled with the length of the shoot -- the longest D.C. stay for a major movie since Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig descended for an epic six weeks in the fall of '05. That flick, "The Invasion" (originally titled "The Visiting"), is due out this summer.

THIS JUST IN . . .

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Tony Snow was resting last night after surgery to remove a small growth in his lower abdomen, White House officials said. The presidential spokesman, who was treated for colon cancer two years ago, said the growth is noncancerous but was removed to be on the safe side.

Here's a new take on the "two-party" system in Virginia! Tonight's fundraiser for Sen. Barack Obama starts with a private party for $2,300 donors at the Old Town home of former lieutenant governor Don Beyer and wife Megan, followed by a general reception at the Majestic for hoi polloi who ponied up only $1,000. (Hope they get something to eat.) John McCain's supporters (both the $2,300 and $1,000) get to mingle together at Thursday's party hosted by Bobbie and Bill Kilberg -- then again, they can all fit into Kilberg's McLean house.