Marine Corps Marathon - RunMarathon

I lost the 4:45 pacers almost immediately but kept chugging away around a 10:50 pace, even with the LONG hill at the beginning. At the first time clock, 5k, I had already overrun the course by a lot. It was also hard to stay cool with the hill and thick crowd. This was an exercise in self control.

I'd set up my Garmin to time taking gels. I had a gel at :20 and :50 of each hour and surprisingly stuck to that! I was wearing my hydration pack with plain water. This turned out to be a great idea, since the water stops were chaotic. I was able to maintain a steady pace and just keep on going.

The out and back on Rock Creek Parkway was really pretty but felt really boring. The lack of spectators was a bummer. It started to get charged up again around mile 9 and then we were "in town" for several miles. I was taking AltRed capsules every two hours, so I did this and an Aleve around the 10 mile mark (1:50) when I had a gel.

Mile 12 was the wear blue mile and very emotional. First the road is lined with pictures of those killed in action, their name, rank, and age. After the pictures were people holding american flags; I believe family members. I'm not "military" nor do I have any close friends or family who served, but it's impossible not feel for these people. Really incredible.

This takes me to the halfway point. I overran the course by approximately .25 miles at this point, so my half split of 2:26 was totally reasonable - in a world where I could use my Garmin time/distance and not the race clock. I was starting to get tired. I saw a row of portapotties that seemed to have reasonable lines, so I did blow a few minutes before mile 14. I felt like this was a gamble - but there were few potties and long lines everywhere I looked. If I could have waited until mile 20+ I would have had my pick of potties, but who knows how I would feel by then.

After my stop my Garmin's average pace was about 11:11, which I held through around mile 17. I stopped at water point 8 to fill my hydration pack. It was getting sunnier and thought I might need it, and the nice lady with a water pitcher caught my eye. This was probably a waste of time since (thankfully) the clouds rolled back in and it was overcast. After that I could have easily managed with an occasional cup of water if I emptied my pack. This is probably my only regret, small as it is. Now my average pace was around 11:18.

I knew the sub-5 math was getting tight, so I persisted in running as much as possible. Any breaks were limited to taking gels or a controlled number of steps. I heard another racer say to her friend "Let's run to the Capitol" and thought "Yeah, let's do it!" So I challenged myself to not walk until I made it that far, at least (approx 18.5). Around mile 19.5 I saw my friend who ran with me for a few seconds and then we said we would see each other at the end. My whole lower half was VERY tired and I felt hungry, but I knew this would happen. I was now far past the distance I had run in training, so was pleased that I was still moving.

The drum band before the bridge/mile 20 was SO EXCELLENT! I wish I had needed to walk here, but it was on a bit of a downhill so I didn't get to hear much of them. I gave them a little first pump/woohoo to let them know I liked them. This is the "Beat the Bridge" section, which is a time cutoff point. I was well ahead of this, but glad to have it done.

The bridge was very low point for most people, I could see. Lots of walking. I tried my best to run but it's hard when it looks like a zombie wasteland of runners. It's approximately 100 feet of climbing. I was thrilled to reach Crystal City and the huge crowds. Sadly, this is where the 5:00 pacers blew by me. I had a feeling the sub-5 wasn't going to happen, but that sealed it. I thought I would feel mad if this happened but I honestly couldn't have done better. I can see my 5k splits here gradually drifted into the 12:xx min/mile range, but my average pace remained in the 11s. More walking was sprinkled in here, but I always rallied and tried to get into the zone for as long as I could. I could feel my running pace was also slower and I was very worn out. I took a 2nd Aleve in Crystal City which helped and I think I would have been seriously screwed without them. Liver be damned, I guess.

Finally we were getting closer to the Pentagon and the crowd support is back to almost nothing. The final stretch goes through the original start line (already dismantled) and to the edge of Arlington Cemetery. I watched the Garmin closely here and my time was around 5:03 when I completed 26.2 miles - almost the goal (dammed water refill...)!

Last year we were able to watch from the side of the road by Arlington, but not this time. At the very end a bunch of spectators were actually ON the road with us, but I learned from my friend later they were being moved away. A little after mile 26 is a left-hand turn, up hill, to the finish. My friend came along with me (she had a bib, but she removed the timing chip) and I finally crossed the line.

Location Net Time Clock Time Pace Pace Between
START 00:00 9:53
5K 34:40 44:32 11:08 /mi
11:00 /mi
10K 1:08:52 1:18:44 11:05 /mi
11:13 /mi
15K 1:43:45 1:53:37 11:07 /mi
11:14 /mi
20K 2:18:39 2:28:32 11:09 /mi
11:43 /mi
13.1 2:26:39 2:36:32 11:11 /mi
12:17 /mi
25K 2:56:27 3:06:19 11:21 /mi
12:04 /mi
30K 3:33:57 3:43:49 11:28 /mi
12:20 /mi
35K 4:12:19 4:22:11 11:36 /mi
12:41 /mi
40K 4:51:44 5:01:37 11:44 /mi
12:53 /mi
FINISH 5:09:19 5:19:11 11:47 /mi

After crossing we took advantage of the photo ops. The big deal here is standing by the Marine Corps War Memorial, which depicts the famous image of planting a flag on Iwo Jima. It's really spectacular.

One thing this 2-year adventure has given me is a true appreciation of the Marines and other armed forces. I have learned a lot about their history and have benefited first hand from their organization skills and work ethic. Every single Marine I have encountered during this time, which is a LOT, has been nothing but helpful and friendly.

The line to get out of the finish area was extreme. I was glad my friend was there because at least we could talk to each other. I was getting very tight so once we left the fenced area I stretched for a few minutes, which really helped. My feet were SO sore! I stopped to buy a finisher shirt and then we walked to the bag pickup. My UPS truck was at the very end of a long downhill. I think the numbers were done by last name, so I cursed my husband and the W-name he afflicted upon me (LOL, he's great).

Then we walked back UP the friggin' hill (Rosslyn is seriously the hilliest place in the DC Metro area) and found lunch. Finally I could sit down and after some food and an adult cider I felt like an almost new person. Back on the metro and into the shower, screaming in pain when I felt water hit my chafed skin.


This is really a spectacle to behold. Don't expect your best race, but it's fun to be a part of the event. I am not sure I'd recommend it to everyone, because it's a logistical feat in addition to the marathon. But if you love DC, and/or the Marines, it's well worth the effort.