Marine Corps Marathon 50th Anniversary. My slowest marathon to date. I remember hearing on a training run in Fleet Feet about the Marine Corps Marathon for the first time. It was described to me in actual words “You run up a hill the last .20 miles with a bunch of marines yelling at you.” That was my initial inclination to sign up eventually.
Being the 50th anniversary of the race, there was no better year to sign up. Also, running through your nation’s capital is such an experience that I could not pass up.
Before my race date approached, I was filled with anxiety over the logistics of the race which almost caused me to back out. The race this year was maxed out at almost 40,000 people as opposed to the normal 16-18,000. It starts and ends in Arlington VA and this year the finish line was closed off to spectators. I knew I was going to have to take the metro in at some point to reach the start. Being a country girl, city public transportation by myself was incredibly overwhelming. I had done it in Chicago, but I was with my husband. The thought of also trying to find my family after the race in a crowd of 40,000+ was haunting me as well. Finally, I pulled up my big girl pants and told myself that if 40,000 other runners were all navigating the city and finish area, there was no reason why I could not do it as well. After finally convincing myself I was capable of public transport, there was also the threat of the event being cancelled due to the government shutdown. However, the organization finally gave us the official go two weeks before.
With two marathons back-to-back in the same month, I wanted to make this trip as inexpensive as possible. With that in mind, I made the decision to drive and stay with my aunt in Virginia. I invited my mother, my sister and 2- and 4-year-old nieces along, making this a girl’s weekend!
We packed up the car Friday morning and hit the road at 5:30 AM. Our plan was to head straight to the expo, grab my bib and head out to my aunt’s.
Expo: The expo was located in the National Harbor at Gaylord Convention in Maryland. There was little traffic getting there, we pulled in and self-parked in the parking lot and headed towards the convention center. If you did not drive, there was also the option of taking a free shuttle. Walking towards the convention center and throughout the building, I have to say there was little direction and few signs as to where runners were supposed to go. When we finally figured out where we were supposed to be, I headed in by myself.
Bib pick up was super quick and efficient. I grabbed my bib, grabbed my shirt (which were so nice, I love mine!) and headed through security to check out the merchandise. This is where the expo became extremely chaotic. There was no rhyme or reason to lines, and all the merchandise was picked over and bare. I overheard someone saying that the line to check out was an hour wait. It sure looked like it. I texted my mom and sister to let them know I was ready to go and did not want anything. That was when we realized we had to walk through the entire expo to exit. We quickly got out and hit the road.
After weeks of stressing out over navigating the metro and finally gaining my confidence, my mother and aunt insisted that they drive me into Arlington and drop me off at the Kiss and Run. I agreed and started to plan my navigation to Runner’s Village in the North Pentagon Lot. That was when Jeanne, a Fleet Feet coach and friend texted me telling me to get dropped off at her hotel and we would take the 10-minute metro ride together and walk to Runner’s Village.
Race Day: Sunday morning came with a 3:30 AM wake up call. I woke up with instant stomach cramping. I tried to brush it off to being just nerves but as the morning went on, I knew what kind of race this was going to be.
We headed off at 5AM as my aunt navigated the roads to Arlington. After some slight confusion as to which hotel I was going to, I found my way and met Jeanne and her husband Kim, another Fleet Feet coach. It was a short walk and a short metro ride to Pentagon station. We followed the crowd to Runner’s Village in the dark, and I said to Jeanne, “I’m glad someone knows which way we are going because I sure don’t.”
We got to Runner’s Village around 6:30 and waited in line for the porta johns. Rookie me, threw a roll of toilet paper in my gear check but never put any in my pockets for the race. A lesson I soon learned I will never make again. We dropped off our bags and headed towards the start line with only minutes to spare.
The race started at 7:20 AM and I quickly found myself crossing the start line at 7:30. I said goodbye to Jeanne and Kim as they took off and I hung back. After running Cape Cod 2 weeks prior, I was not out for any time in this race. I knew I wanted to take it slow and enjoy the experience. I was also dealing with a slight pain in my left leg from the hip flexor down to the knee. I did not want to risk hurting it even more by pushing myself.
The first 2 miles of hills flew by. The crowds were an absolute vibe and so easy to get caught up into. I saw someone with their 2 golden retrievers with a sign asking for pets. Of course, I did not hesitate to stop and sneak in pet! I soon realized that the roads on the course were very narrow and spent a lot of my time bobbing and weaving other runners to find a good pace for myself.
Around mile 8.5 I could feel my stomach starting to turn on me. I stopped at the first bathroom I saw, to be safe. After waiting about 5 minutes for my turn, I saw there was already no toilet paper. No way was I going this early in the race not wiping. I kept going. Mile 12 I stopped again. I texted my mom and sister to let them know I felt fine, but my body was slow, and I was going to finish later than I thought. I told them I was having stomach issues and waiting in line. When I opened the door and saw the mess inside, I said absolutely not and kept going. I finally stopped for the final time and found a porta-potty that looked clean and had TP in stock. I parked myself in that line and waited 15 minutes. My stomach was finally feeling better.
Mile 13 is called the blue mile. This is where they have photos of fallen soldiers lined up along the entire mile with their ranking, date of death and age. There is no crowd, and the entire mile is silent. It is hard not to get emotional when you see how young the majority of the soldiers were. MCMO will match you up with a hero match so you can wear a fallen soldier’s name on your back to honor them through this race. My hero was Marine Lance Cpl. Carlos A. Aragon. He was 19 years old; he died from injuries sustained during combat action in Afghanistan.
Mile 14 is what we will call ‘The Sticky Mile’. The aid stations were handing out maple syrup gels that everyone had thrown onto the ground. The only sound you could hear was everyone’s running sneakers sticking to the pavement as they ran.
Mile 18 was when my playlist worked in my favor. This is usually when runner’s start hitting what they call “the wall”. As I started coming up around The Capitol building, The Rocky theme song came on. What a better time and a better sight. I felt so strong. This is also when I heard someone calling my name. I looked back and saw Kim waving to me. I ran back so I could talk to him quick. This was his redemption race, after having to DNF the previous year due to an injury. I was so happy to see he had made it past the gauntlets and was going to finish. I saw in my photos, there was a shot of us walking together and we both had smiles on our faces. We chatted for a minute and then both took back off.
After reading all the Facebook posts for weeks about this race, I knew there was no water stations from miles 18-22. There were however refill stations for people with handheld hydration. I hung onto my cup until mile 20. I don’t know if the set-up of these hydration stations are a joke from the marines or just the logistics of the course, but you literally have to climb over a concrete barrier to get to the water. Talk about hip cramping.
Mile 23, people were handing out shots of some alcohol. I grabbed one and threw it back. It was sweet and went down easy. As mile 24 approached, I knew I was feeling good still (maybe it was the shot!) and knew I was going to finish this. Again, my playlist came in handy and ‘Break My Stride’ by Matthew Wilder came on. I bopped along with a smile on my face.
I reached mile 26 and the famous hill appeared at the last .20 miles. There were marines on either side encouraging all the runners right to the finish line. You make your way to the famous Marine Corps War Memorial, and a marine is there telling you “Thank you” and putting a medal around your neck. In that moment, nothing could top that experience.
After getting my picture taken in front of Iwo Jima, I made my way to Runner’s Village to find Jeanne at the baggage trucks. We hugged and this woman who has run 100+ marathons back-to-back told me I was her hero. Are you kidding me Jeanne? You are literal wonder woman. We watched Kim finish his race on the tracking app and I left to go find my family in the crowd.
After a frantic 45 minute search in Rosslyn, we finally reunited and we made our 1.5 mile climb to the metro to head home. I ended this race with an official time of 4:40. My slowest time, but I will always be grateful that I get to do this. This sport is a privilege and I will never forget that.
This was the Marine Corps Marathon first year hosting this many runners. My overall opinion is that the city and infrastructure is not equipped to handle that many spectators and runners. I found the course to be narrow to allow so many runners. Hopefully going forward if they choose to host that many people again, they can work with the city to allow a smoother process. However, at the initial risk of not even being able to host this event, this race was a success. I will absolutely run this event again. Thank you to all the marines and all the volunteers and spectators who made this possible. Next up, Big Sur 2026.
Some of my favorite signs from spectators included:
“I don’t do marathons, I do a marathon runner.”
“Only 26,7 more miles.”
“Run if you’re in Epstein’s files.”
“Is that a gel in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?”
Pre-race dinner: Creamy chicken alfredo & pasta made by my aunt!
Pre-race breakfast: Whole bagel with cream cheese & coffee.
Course nutrition: Huma gel every 4 miles alternating caffeine and non-caffeine. SaltStick tablets every hour.
Official time: 4:40 flat.
The hydration station and barrier at Mile 20! (I found this picture from someone that had posted it in the Marine Corps Marathon 2025 Facebook group.)
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