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More than 40,000 runners will take over the streets of D.C. and Arlington for the 50th Marine Corps Marathon. Joining many first-time participants on the course will be thousands of veterans.
More than 40,000 runners will take over the streets of D.C. and Arlington, Virginia, on Sunday for the 50th Marine Corps Marathon. Joining many first-time participants on the course will be thousands of veterans.
It will start at 7:20 a.m. on Virginia State Route 110. Wheeled athletes start five minutes earlier.
The race is nicknamed the “People’s Marathon” because no prize money is awarded to the top runner. It has attracted numerous newcomers for its flat racecourse, abundant crowd support, and beautiful route with some of the D.C. area’s most stunning views.
Racers like Keith Padget are very familiar with the views across Crystal City, Georgetown and Haynes Point. The Marine Corps veteran will be running it for the 40th time this year.
“It’s the best organized,” Padget told WTOP. “I don’t only say that because I’m a former Marine, but it is. The Marines don’t do anything halfway. If they’re putting an event on, it’s going to be done right,”
Padget turns 79 years old next week. At this point in his running career, Padget says he’s not looking for personal records or fast finishes.
“I tell people, ‘You don’t have to get faster. You just have to get older,’” Padget said jokingly. “There’s two or three people up front actually racing. Everybody else is just trying to finish.”
Another veteran of the race, like Padget, is George Banker. He has authored a recent running memoir, “Marine Corps Marathon Honor And Pride.” Banker ran 39 previous races but is sidelined this year because of injury.
Yet, he plans to still be on the course, cheering on other competitors. Banker told WTOP that he loves connecting with other runners.
“I’m talking to them and understanding their ‘why’ for being here,” Banker said. “Everybody that’s going to be on their starting line, everybody has a reason of why they’re here, why they’re doing it … Could be for a fallen relative, or somebody who’s in the military, or for a neighbor, or for just for the love of the sport.”
For people like Banker and Padget, there is a reason why they keep coming back to run the grueling 26.2-mile race.
“Well, if you talk to a psychiatrist, you’ll probably find out there’s one screw loose,” Banker said. “And the thing is, we all have a love of the sport. We enjoy putting those shoes on, and we enjoy getting out there.”
Elizabeth Square saw both her parents cross the finish line in years past, and that has been a motivator for her to get out on the course and run with the Marines.
“I’ve heard it’s just so special, crossing the line and having one of the Marines put the medal on you. It’s very motivating and inspiring,” she told WTOP.
Julie Evanston traveled all the way from New Hampshire to run this year’s race.
“My husband’s a Marine, and I read that it was the best first marathon to run. So, sounds like a good one,” Evanston told WTOP.
Banker, with dozens and dozens of races under his belt, offered some advice to the runners who are worried they may not finish.
“There’s three words that I can tell anyone if they’re out there, if they are consistent, insistent and persistent, that will get them through,” he said.
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Luke Lukert
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