Lets start with the registration because that's where all the fun begins. This one is more like 'gone in 60 seconds'. Well...not so fast, but in around 10 minutes, and this year I was ready and got lucky. The 'Access Granted' feature which gives you guranteed entry to majestic Marine Corps Marathon is the USP of this race. The other one is the unique distance 17.75K which commemorates the year Marine Corps was established.
The race day morning was filled with dense clouds, however the temprature at 4:30AM was 'not cold'. Yes, I started early as Dumfries is just over an 75 minutes drive from my home and I chose to have race day packet pickup. By the time i parked at the shuttle point, it was already drizzling. The10 minute bus-ride to the Montclair church which is just outside the Prince William Park was uneventful. I picked up my race packet. I must say they have one of the better race shirts. The start was still an hour away so I sat in the church. It was crowded and warm, filled with runners and music. As the start time approached runners started moving outside. It was windy with some drizzle, so I chose to have my windcheater on for the race. From the far back I could see around 1000 runners waiting for the start call.
I wished to have this race as a 'good' practice run for rest of season, as I don't consider me as all season runner. But this run turned out to be quite different. It was dirt road on rolling hills (hills is an understatement, more like hills^2) for first couple of miles. I would call it 'narrow' for 1000 runners trying to get ahead of one another. You need to look out for rocks, roots, shoes/ feet in front, back and yes...elbows.
As we approached the wide asphalt road after the first water stop the crowd was thining out. The roads were shining after the rain. The route was perfect now, wide with gradual down slope, nice weather, light rain and fresh air. I met Patty from my training team who is always so nice and supportive of my running. The next two miles were like a breeze, then came the a hill mile which slowed me down. 5 miles done another ~6 to go. The water stops were placed every two miles and the volunteers happily cheered for all runners. With dry pre-spring trees there was not much scenery around, but lLate spring and summer months must be pretty good sight in this park.
The next three miles were flat and I paced nicely. I followed my 'time tested' strategy of following a same pace runner to focus. The lollipop route was now approaching the dirt track with rolling hills(^2) and I was already past my longest run (~8.5 miles) this season. Two more miles I thought as as I approached the hill which took most of my energy. I walked till the top of that hill before continuing my run. The last mile was flat and as I turned right at the end of park I could see finish line at some distance. I picked up the pace just to have a good finish. The 'Access Granted' sign at top of finish line banner felt good as i crossed the finish line.
The finisher medal was beautiful. One of the best I have seen. However the long line at packet pickup after 11 mile run in drizzle - not so much. I got what I came here for. The 'Access Granted' card with the access key, with which i registered for my 2nd MCM four days later.
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| The warm and music filled church |
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| Start line with crowd and clouds |
The race day morning was filled with dense clouds, however the temprature at 4:30AM was 'not cold'. Yes, I started early as Dumfries is just over an 75 minutes drive from my home and I chose to have race day packet pickup. By the time i parked at the shuttle point, it was already drizzling. The10 minute bus-ride to the Montclair church which is just outside the Prince William Park was uneventful. I picked up my race packet. I must say they have one of the better race shirts. The start was still an hour away so I sat in the church. It was crowded and warm, filled with runners and music. As the start time approached runners started moving outside. It was windy with some drizzle, so I chose to have my windcheater on for the race. From the far back I could see around 1000 runners waiting for the start call.
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| Narrow dirt road filled with runners |
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| The hill on mile 4 |
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| Bridge on mile 10 |
The finisher medal was beautiful. One of the best I have seen. However the long line at packet pickup after 11 mile run in drizzle - not so much. I got what I came here for. The 'Access Granted' card with the access key, with which i registered for my 2nd MCM four days later. |
| The finisher medal |
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| One with MCM mascots |
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