Marine Corps Marathon Advice, Analysis, Pace Charts, and more

Detailed Race Data Analysis
Course Description: The course showcases the best of Arlington, VA and the nation’s capital. The USATF certified route starts in Arlington, VA, and winds its way through Rosslyn along Lee Highway before turning on Spout Run and the George Washington Memorial Parkway. Runners will experience a climb on Lee Highway in the first few miles of the course, but are rewarded with a descent along Spout Run and the Parkway.

After crossing Key Bridge into Georgetown, runners turn toward the Palisades Com- munity when the course follows Canal Road, up to the reservoir and down MacArthur Boulevard. The course guides runners down popular M Street in Georgetown.

Runners will turn on Wisconsin Avenue and then K Street. The course passes the Kennedy Center and takes runners into Hains Point at the halfway point of the race.

Outside Potomac Park, runners pass the Jefferson Memorial before entering the National Mall and running by landmarks like the Lincoln, FDR, Korean War and Vietnam Veteran’s memorials, Washington Monument, and the U.S. Capitol. Runners continue along Jefferson Drive and turn onto 14th Street to “Beat the Bridge” at Mile 20 before returning to Virginia.

For the last 10K runners will venture through the color and energy of Crystal City, pass the Pentagon and charge the hill to the finish at the Marine Corps War Memorial. It is truly a beautiful course and aptly nicknamed “The Marathon of the Monuments.”