A record number of more than 31,000 runners are expected to participate in the Marine Corps Marathon Sunday morning when the 105 mm howitzer fires off the starting signal.
The 31st annual run has become a staple of Washington-area runners and has earned several nicknames, including the “People’s Marathon” because of the absence of prize money, and “The Marathon of Monuments” because the course travels through the most majestic memorials of the national capital.
The course starts in Arlington, crosses Key Bridge into Georgetown and through Rock Creek Park before entering the Mall area and passing numerous monuments and memorials before crossing the Potomac back into Virginia, past the Pentagon and finishing at the Marine Corps War Memorial.
Streets along the route will be closed throughout the day.
Featured runners this year include: Dean Karnazes, “the fittest man in the world,” who is running 50 marathons in 50 days; five Marine Corps generals; Marien Bossaller, 34, of Maryland, who is legally blind; and Arlington native Dane Rauschenberg, 30, who is running a marathon a weekend for 52 weeks. This will be Rauschenberg’s 43rd consecutive.
Meanwhile, more than 6,000 miles from the Arlington start line, 150 deployed members of the U.S. military will compete in the first Marine Corps Marathon in the Al Anbar province of Iraq. Temperatures there will run in the 80s.
Spectators can reach the start area by Metro at the Arlington Cemetery or Rosslyn stations. After the start, spectators should have time to cross Memorial Bridge to watch runners pass by Lincoln’s left at mile 10. Spectators can cheer again at the right side of Lincoln for mile 14.5, then return to Virginia to catch view of runners at miles 22 and 23. A Metro or shuttle ride to Rosslyn returns fans to the finish line.
