Marine Corps Marathon: Here's Everything You Need To Know

GEORGETOWN, DC — Thousands of runners are set to hit the streets on Sunday for the 44th Marine Corps Marathon.

As one of the largest races in the United States, the Marine Corps Marathon leads runners on a 26.2-mile course through some of Washington, D.C.'s historic landmarks and monuments.

Whether you're participating in the race, or traveling through the D.C. area, here's everything you need to know about the event.

Race Times, Route

The Marine Corps Marathon begins at 7:45 a.m. for wheelchair and hand-cycle participants. Runners start at 7:55 a.m. All participants are recommended to arrive as early as possible before their start time to go through the security checkpoint, drop off bags, and line up in their respective corrals.

There is a scarlet, gold, or green stripe across the bottom of each participant's bib. Runners will only have access to the specific section of start line corrals that match the colored stripe on their bibs, according to marathon officials. Scarlet bibs will be numbers 1 through 9,000. Gold bibs will be numbers 9,001 to 18,000. And green bibs will be numbers 18,001 and above.

The 26.2-mile course starts on Route 110 between Arlington National Cemetery and the Pentagon, and takes runners through the District. The finish line is at the Marine Corps Memorial in Arlington.

The course looks like this:

The course will remain open until 3:10 p.m., which means runners must keep a 14 minute-per-mile pace in order to finish.

At mile 17, participants will reach the "DC Gauntlet." Those who don't pass the checkpoint by 12:33 p.m. will be diverted from the course. While the participants can keep running, they will not be recognized as official finishers.

Participants who keep pace through the "DC Gauntlet" must also "Beat the Bridge" by 1:15 p.m. The checkpoint will be at the corner of 14th and D streets, just before Mile Marker 20.

Then there's the "Crystal City Gauntlet." At mile 22, participants must reach this checkpoint before 1:49 p.m.

Road Closures

Road closures start at 3 a.m. and end at 3 p.m. Why so early? Because 2019 is the first year the Marine Corps Marathon is hosting the MCM50K. The 31.07-mile run will start at the same location as the MCM. The only differences are: the race starts earlier and participants will diverge from the MCM course at Mile 4 before joining the field of MCM participants again in Georgetown.

Click here to see a list of impacted streets.

Metro Schedule

Metro will open at 6 a.m. and operate additional Yellow and Blue line trains during the day. The closest Metro station to the start line is Pentagon station (Blue/Yellow lines). Arlington Cemetery station is the only station that will remain closed until 8:30 a.m.

To avoid crowding at Pentagon Station, consider using Pentagon City instead.

Metrobus Schedule

• Pentagon Bus Terminal: Metrobus service that normally travels to and from the Pentagon will be diverted to Pentagon City on Saturday until 2 p.m. and on Sunday until 4 p.m.
• Rosslyn Bus Terminal: Service will be diverted to Oak Street from 4 a.m. until approximately 6 p.m. to accommodate the MCM Finish Festival.

Weather
From the National Weather Service: Showers likely, mainly after 8 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 70. Chance of precipitation is 60%.