Everything You Need to Know About the 2026 Marine Corps Marathon
The 51st Marine Corps Marathon, also known as “The People’s Marathon,” returns to the streets of Virginia and DC on Sunday, October 25. Runners start on Route 110 between the Pentagon and Arlington National Cemetery and finish, uphill as always, at the Marine Corps War Memorial in Rosslyn. Last year's 50th running drew around 40,000 runners, up from just over 25,000 the year before, and race organizers told WTOP earlier this year to expect that large field to continue.
A few things are different this year. Packet pickup has moved to the National Building Museum and now runs four days instead of two. The 10K and 50K are off the weekend lineup, but a new MCM 8K takes their place Saturday morning in West Potomac Park. Here's how to get your bib, get to the start, and find your runner on the course.
Race Weekend Schedule
| Event | Date and time | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Expo and packet pickup | Wed., Oct. 21 through Sat., Oct. 24, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily | National Building Museum |
| MCM 8K | Sat., Oct. 24, 7:20 a.m. | West Potomac Park |
| MCM Kids Run | Sat., Oct. 24, 9 to 10 a.m. | West Potomac Park |
| Marathon opening ceremony | Sun., Oct. 25, 7 a.m. | Route 110, Arlington |
| Wheels start | Sun., Oct. 25, 7:05 a.m. | Route 110, Arlington |
| Duos start | Sun., Oct. 25, 7:07 a.m. | Route 110, Arlington |
| Runners start | Sun., Oct. 25, 7:20 a.m. | Route 110, Arlington |
| Finish Festival | Sun., Oct. 25, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. | Downtown Rosslyn |
Packet Pickup at the Building Museum
This year's expo and packet pickup are at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day from Wednesday, October 21, through Saturday, October 24.
Packet pickup is not available on race morning. Runners who purchased Race Day Packet Pick-Up will be notified.
Runners select a packet pickup time through their bib confirmation email. MCM says the scheduling system is designed to minimize wait times and crowding. Bring the e-Card that MCM emails to participants in the weeks before the event, plus a photo ID. All runners are screened on entering the Building Museum.
Runners who can't attend can designate someone to pick up their bib and event materials. That person needs a hard or digital copy of the completed e-Card, a copy of the runner's photo ID, and their own ID. They should get the runner's preferred shirt size.
Getting to the Start
Metro opens at 5 a.m. on race day, and it will be your best bet unless you are within walking distance of the Pentagon. The Runners Village sits in the Pentagon's North Parking Lot, and organizers point runners to the Pentagon and Pentagon City stations on the Blue and Yellow lines. Every runner and spectator is screened on the way into the start and finish areas, so build in time and check the prohibited items list before you pack.
Bag check runs out of UPS trucks in Runners Village. Use the clear plastic bag you receive at packet pickup, peel the sticker off the back of your bib, and stick it on the bag. Trucks are sorted by event and bib number. Your bag will be waiting at the Finish Festival at Wilson Boulevard and North Lynn Street in Rosslyn.
The opening ceremony starts at 7 a.m. with the March on the Colors and the national anthem. Wheelchair and handcycle athletes go at 7:05, duos at 7:07, and everyone else at 7:20, sent off by howitzer fire.
The Course
Runners climb out of the start through Rosslyn and up Lee Highway, cross Key Bridge into Georgetown, and run an out-and-back on Rock Creek Parkway. From there it's West Potomac Park and a long loop of Hains Point, home to the Wear Blue Mile around mile 12, where volunteers hold flags beside photos of fallen service members. The middle miles take you past the Lincoln Memorial and down the National Mall to the Capitol before you beat the bridge. The route then passes through Crystal City and the Pentagon, and finishes uphill at the Marine Corps War Memorial. The course is USATF-certified and a Boston Marathon qualifier.
MCM requires a 14-minute-per-mile pace and enforces it with three gauntlets. Miss the DC Gauntlet near the Washington Monument at 12:33 p.m. and you'll be diverted off the certified course at Independence Avenue and 14th Street. The Beat the Bridge Gauntlet at 14th and D Streets, near mile 20, closes at 1:15 p.m. The Crystal City Gauntlet closes at 1:49 p.m. Runners diverted at the first or last gauntlet can keep running, but they won't be official finishers.
Nuun Endurance in lemon-lime is at every water point, and there's a self-serve cupless station on the 14th Street Bridge. UnTapped maple gels are handed out on Hains Point approaching mile 14, between miles 18 and 19 after the Capitol, and at Long Bridge Park approaching mile 24.
Wondering where you'll land? We crunched nearly a quarter million finishing times to find the average Marine Corps Marathon finish time.
Where to Watch
Spectators can see their runner in locations across DC and Northern Virginia. MCM's suggested plan starts with a walk across Arlington Memorial Drive to the Lincoln Memorial, where runners pass at mile 10 and again at mile 16. From there, head east on Independence Avenue, past the Washington Monument, to the National Mall for miles 17 through 19. Next, take Metro from the Smithsonian station to Crystal City. Then take Metro to Rosslyn or the MCM shuttle from 23rd Street in Crystal City to the Finish Festival. Arlington Cemetery station on the Blue Line opens at 8:30 a.m. on race morning and is a short walk to mile 25.
Stay on the curb or sidewalk and do not cross the course. Listen to law enforcement and Marines about where to stand and cheer.
You can follow a runner's progress in real time with Track-A-Runner on the MCM website or the MCM app.
Runners and supporters meet in the Family Link Up area at the Finish Festival in Rosslyn. Choose the first letter of the runner's last name as the meeting location. The areas are marked by 13-foot yellow towers with letters of the alphabet.
The Finish
Every finisher receives a banana and bottled water from Wegmans, Nuun Sport tablets, and a hospitality box with veggie sticks and a fruit cup from Wegmans.
The Finish Festival is in downtown Rosslyn from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., a short walk from the finish line at the Marine Corps War Memorial. It features beer, food, music, giveaways, and post-event services, with live music on the Arlington stage and booths and giveaways along Meade and Lynn Streets, Fort Myer and Fairfax Drives, and Wilson Boulevard. The medical information tent is at Lynn Street and Fairfax Drive.