Marine Corps Marathon

Each year in late October, more than 30,000 people pound along the pavements of Washington, D.C. and Arlington, Virginia, up one bank of the Potomac and back down the other, for the Marine Corps Marathon. That number makes the event the fifth-largest marathon in the country and the tenth-largest in the world. Unlike the others, though, it offers no prize money and therefore attracts no or very few professional runners--so amateurs can and do win. In 2008, for example, the men's and women's titles were both taken by first-time marathoners.

Travel Information

Marine Corps Marathon

Washington, DC
800.786.8762

Hours: The starting gun is at 8 a.m. The first male runners are likely to cross the finish line at around 10:20, the first women about 25 minutes later.

Admission: Free to watch; Fee to enter.

Parking: Many roads are closed for the marathon, making driving difficult. Unless you plan to head to an area like the Georgetown Reservoir, far from any station, the Metro is a much better idea for spectators. For participants, there is free parking in Crystal City at the corner of 23rd & Crystal Drive. A free pre-race shuttle service from there to the starting area starts service at 5:30 a.m.

Metrorail: For the starting line, take the Blue Line to Arlington Cemetery or the Yellow Line to the Pentagon. For the eastern part of Georgetown and the course along Rock Creek Parkway, take the Blue and Orange Line to Foggy Bottom/George Washington University. For the National Mall, take the Blue and Orange Line to the Smithsonian.

Nearby Attractions

Lincoln Memorial

Jefferson Memorial

National Mall

If you want to run in the event, you need to plan for it early. Registration opens at the beginning of April and the race sells out in about two weeks. It’s much easier to join the 150,000 spectators: just station yourself anywhere along the way. The race starts at Route 110 in Arlington, then makes a four-mile circuit through neighboring Rosslyn before returning to the Potomac and crossing the Key Bridge into Georgetown. It follows the C&O Canal upriver, then loops back around the Georgetown Reservoir and descends with the river all the way to Hains Point in East Potomac Park. Then it’s back up to the Jefferson Memorial, around the Tidal Basin to the Lincoln Memorial, and around the National Mall, all the way to the Capitol and back as far as the Washington Monument. There the course turns south, recrosses the Potomac over the 14th Street Bridge, and finishes with a few turns through Crystal City.

All along the course you can see live music, mostly high school marching bands, with a few bluegrass and percussion acts mixed in. In the days before the race, visit the Marine Corps Marathon Health and Fitness Expo at the D.C. Armory to see over 200 vendors of running gear, food, and other merchandise—and to belly up to the Experts Bar, where sports medicine doctors and other running experts dispense advice in two-hour shifts.

Travel Tips

The best places to watch the race are those where you’ll see runners coming and going. These include Georgetown University, near mile markers 5 and 8; the Lincoln Memorial, near mile markers 10 and 16; the Jefferson Memorial, near mile markers 15 and 20; and the finish line at the Iwo Jima Memorial, just shy of mile marker 1. For a complete course map and more recommended viewing locations, visit www.marinemarathon.com.

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