Marine Corps Marathon To Return As In-Person Event In 2021

WASHINGTON, DC/VIRGINIA — The Marine Corps Marathon will be returning in 2021 as a live and in-person race on the last Sunday in October after the COVID-19 pandemic forced marathon organizers to hold a virtual race in 2020, race organizers said Tuesday.

The marathon will be held on Halloween — Oct. 31 — with runners starting in Arlington, crossing Key Bridge into D.C. and then returning to Arlington on the 14th Street Bridge.

“Throughout my many years heading the MCM Organization, we have faced various challenges and hurdled them all, often repeating the Marine Corps mantra to ‘adapt and overcome.’ This year will be no different,” Rick Nealis, MCM director, said Tuesday in a statement. “The MCM’s mission is to highlight the high standards and organizational excellence of the United States Marine Corps and we are excited to showcase that as we plan to safely gather and celebrate the 46th MCM in person.”

For safety reasons, MCM organizers will be reducing the size of the field and dividing runners into scaled, socially distanced start times beginning at 7 a.m.

The Marine Corps Marathon Organization, the entity behind the race, said it will continue to review event operations and protocols in conjunction with Marine Corps leadership, local government and public health officials. The organization will announce any other changes or updates to the race in the coming months.

The 2021 MCM weekend includes the live 46th MCM, MCM50K and MCM10K on Oct. 31. The organizers are offering all three events as virtual options as well between Oct. 1 and Nov. 11.

Runners currently registered for the virtual MCM events or those who deferred from the 2020 events will have the first opportunity to transition to the live version in October. Further instructions will be sent to the email address provided by participants during registration within the next 24 hours.

General entries to the live event will be made available to the public on Wednesday, May 26 at noon ET.