West End, Foggy Bottom prepare for 50th Marine Corps Marathon

The Marine Corps Marathon returns Oct. 26 for its 50th year, and once again West End and Foggy Bottom residents say unclear communication and road closures are testing their patience.

“I honestly didn’t know there was a marathon this weekend,” said Mary Lopez, a West End resident. “No one told us anything, so I’m not even sure what to say about it.”

The race, one of Washington’s largest annual events, is organized by the U.S. Marine Corps and expected to draw tens of thousands of runners. It begins near the Pentagon in Arlington, Va., winds past major landmarks and finishes at the Marine Corps War Memorial. Runners will pass through Georgetown, the West End and downtown D.C. streets.

While many D.C. residents celebrate it as a patriotic tradition, neighborhoods along the route face adjustments as streets such as Virginia Avenue NW and Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway close from early morning until midafternoon on the day of the race. For many residents and businesses in the affected areas, news of the closures—and even the event itself—has come as a surprise.

“I didn’t even know the parkway would be closed,” said Daniel Reyes, who drives on it daily to get to work. “You’re actually the first person to tell me that.”

The communication gap extends to local businesses as well. A Shell gas station near P and 22nd streets NW sits just off one of the small streets near an entrance to Rock Creek Parkway. Several station employees, who asked not to be identified, said they were unaware of the marathon.

“We didn’t know anything about it until you mentioned it,” one employee said. “If the streets close, I don’t even know how people will get here.”

Confusion extended to other businesses along the route as well. An employee at The Baron Hotel on 22nd Street, who declined to give his name, said he had not heard about the marathon. Management at the hotel did not respond to a request for comment.

The advisory neighborhood commissions for the area, ANC 2A02 and 2A09, and the Marine Corps Marathon Organization did not respond to requests for comment.

Adding to the uncertainty is the ongoing federal government shutdown. Although the D.C. government remains open, some residents worried about how the event’s federal partners would operate.

On Oct. 16, the Marine Corps Marathon’s official Facebook page posted a video and statement confirming the race will proceed as scheduled. The post also drew supportive comments from runners and spectators thanking organizers and expressing excitement for the 50th anniversary race.

On the r/Marathon_Training subreddit, registered runners expressed relief and excitement about the confirmation, with one participant praising the race’s “best finish I’ve ever experienced” at the Marine Corps War Memorial. The contrast highlights what some residents describe as a communication divide between race organizers and the neighborhoods affected.

Even residents participating in the race had to seek out information themselves.

Edwin Todd, a Foggy Bottom resident running in the marathon, said he learned about road closures from the Marine Corps Marathon website, not from D.C. officials.

“I had to go looking for it myself,” he said. “I never got any notification from local officials.”

Despite the communication gap and inconvenience, some residents say they still plan to watch or cheer from the sidewalks.

“It’s noisy, inconvenient, but kind of beautiful,” said Elvis Barrett, a Foggy Bottom resident. “You see thousands of people running past monuments—it reminds you why people love this city.”

For the full course map and more details, visit marinemarathon.com.