Major commuter entrances and exits to the District of Columbia are set to be closed until early afternoon today as nearly 5,000 runners participate in the Wirefly National Marathon. The event kicks off at 7 a.m., with the start and finish at RFK Stadium. Runners cover much of downtown and the National Mall, 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 today. 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 will also reroute 37 Metrobus routes in the District.
All roads should reopen by 2 p.m., according to the Metropolitan Police Department.
– Michael Neibauer
