After the race, I learned that a spectator had fallen to the ground with a heart attack and died, and they were getting medical help to him, thus the delay of the race. Over twenty minutes slipped by before they finally started us. The time for the race came and went and they didn’t start the race.
Being a marathon novice, it didn’t dawn on me to step outside the pack and walk forward and get closer to the pace I wanted to run. My goal time was 3:45 and I quickly realized that I was hanging out with five hour people. We walked to the start of the race and I slipped into an open spot near the very back of the pack of runners. I remember pulling the MCM program out and reading it to kill time when another runner walked up to me and said very sarcastically, “It’s a little late to be looking at that and planning your race strategy.” I noted his bib number and checked later for his time, and you know what? I beat him soundly! We arrived super early and found an open McDonald’s to hang out in until it was time to walk to the start. The morning of my first Marine Corps Marathon (MCM) in 1997, I caught a ride to Arlington with two very good work friends who were also running their first marathons. I had not started carrying my camera along with me back when I ran this race, so my photos are limited mostly to before and after the race. I’ve run this race ten times over the years and it holds a special place in my heart as my very first marathon.Įven though this race starts and ends in Arlington and is considered a Virginia race, most of the course travels through DC and along the many beautiful monuments of our nation’s capital. Today is the 38th running of the Marine Corps Marathon, and I’d like to take this opportunity to wish all of my friends running in this terrific race a fun and successful day.
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