The Wirefly National Marathon kicks off at 7 a.m. Saturday, taking nearly 5,000 runners on a 26.2-mile tour of the District and temporarily shuttering most major commuter entrances and exits around the city .
The race is scheduled to start and finish at RFK Stadium. It takes runners onto about 50 District roads, covering much of downtown and the National Mall, and venturing into every city quadrant before returning to East Capitol Street and the D.C. Armory.
During the race, parking and vehicular traffic will be restricted across a large swath of the city. Only five streets will be accessible to get into and out of the heart of Northwest D.C. during the race: the E Street Expressway, K Street, Massachusetts Avenue, Rhode Island Avenue and New York Avenue.
Officials strongly recommend using Metrorail to travel into Washington Saturday. Spectators can take Metro to the Stadium-Armory, Archives-Navy Memorial-Penn Quarter, Federal Triangle, Smithsonian, Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan and Union Station stops to watch the race.
The marathon, however, will reroute 37 Metrobus routes in the District.
All roads should reopen by 2 p.m., according to the Metropolitan Police Department.
Unlike the Marine Corps Marathon, which is open to anyone, runners in the National Marathon were required to qualify.
