The
Inaugural Washington, D.C. Marathon was held Sunday 24 March 2002. This
26.2 mile race is run entirely within the
District of Columbia, in contrast to the established autumn
Marine Corps Marathon which goes through both D.C. and
Arlington, Virginia.
The course begins on Memorial Bridge and heads due east along
Constitution Avenue past The Mall and The Capitol.
Capitol Hill is a significant hill, but not difficult this early in the
race. RFK stadium marks mile 5, as the route
continues beyond another mile just beyond Minnesota Avenue where
the route heads south after a few turns. At Pennsylvania Avenue
the course hangs right and heads back to the Capitol Hill area.
Winding back to the Potamic River and the Foggy Bottom neighborhood
the second half of the course is a winding path through the area near
Dupont Circle, Logan Circle, Howard University, and
McMillan Reservoir ending at the finish line at Freedom Plaza.
I crashed during the latter part of the course, my legs
flush with lactic acid as I trudged uphill from the 19 to 21 mile
markers. In my opinion, this is a very difficult course due to the
continual hills in the second half of the race, and other runners I
talked with agreed. It is not a course for setting a
personal record (PR), but one should consider it a challenge.
For me, the timing is right so that I have enough recovery time
to run another marathon in May, probably the Cincinnati Flying Pig
Marathon.
Andrey Kuzhetsov (44) won the 2002 race with a time of 2:23:40
and Victoria Mills (40) was the first place woman at 2:54:30.
The top wheelchair racer was Dane Pilon (41) at 1:58:40. There were
about 8000 total runners and walkers.
For a new marathon with less than 10,000 runners, the crowds were
outstanding. Cheering spectators line the roads along The Mall,
the Capitol Hill neighborhood, Foggy Bottom, Dupont Circle,
and the finish at Freedom Plaza, as well as several other places
of which I don't know the names. These cheers were a real consolation
as I slogged my way along after a disheartening slow-down past the
half-way mark.
Some members of the local communities were discontent with the
date of the marathon, as it coincided with Palm Sunday; the closure
of roads hindered many worshipers from reaching their church as
conveniently as usual. Mayor Anthony Williams even apologized to the
local churches for the inconvenience.
The Inaugural Washington, D.C. Marathon route, courtesy
of the official website www.washingtondcmarathon.com:
- Starting Point- Memorial Bridge
(Runners will be on both sides of the road at the beginning of the race
heading east on Memorial Bridge)
- Veer left around the Lincoln Memorial toward Henry Bacon Drive NW, again,
veer left on Henry Bacon Drive NW, head down Henry Bacon Drive NW toward
Constitution Avenue NW
- Take a right on Constitution Avenue NW and then continue straight on
Constitution NW/NE
- At North Carolina Avenue NE take a left and proceed past RFK Stadium
where North Carolina Avenue NE turns into East Capitol Street NE/SE
- Continue on East Capitol, cross the Whitney Young Memorial Bridge and
veer right onto B Street SE
- Take B Street SE and proceed to Minnesota Avenue SE
- Take a left on Minnesota Avenue SE
- Follow Minnesota Avenue SE until it intersects with Pennsylvania Avenue SE
- Take a right on Pennsylvania Avenue SE, follow Pennsylvania Avenue
SE all the way down toward the Capitol where Pennsylvania Avenue SE turns into
Independence Avenue SW
- Continue on Independence Avenue pass the Smithsonian Institute
- National Air and Space Museum and
take a left on 7th Street SW
- Take 7th Street SW to Maine Avenue SW and make a right turn
- Follow Maine Avenue past the Jefferson Memorial where it intersects
with Independence Avenue SW
- Veer left on to Independence Avenue SW and follow Independence
along the Potomac River until Independence turns into Rock Creek Parkway
- Continue on Rock Creek until it intersects with Virginia Avenue
- Veer right on Virginia Avenue and follow to 18th Street NW
- Veer left on 18th Street NW and follow to Pennsylvania Avenue NW
- Veer left on Pennsylvania Avenue and follow Washington Circle to 23rd Street NW
- Veer right onto 23rd Street NW which turns into 22nd Street
NW just pass P Street and veer right onto Q Street NW
- Continue on Q Street NW till it intersects with Massachusetts Avenue NW
- Take a right on Massachusetts Avenue NW and follow until you reach 7th Street NW
- Veer right on 7th Street NW and follow until it intersects with
Massachusetts Avenue NW
- Veer left back onto Massachusetts Avenue NW and follow until
you reach North Capital Avenue NE
- Take a left on North Capital NE until you reach Michigan Avenue NE
- Take a left on Michigan Avenue NE and follow until you reach
Warder NW and take a right
- Follow Warder to your reach Kenyon and take a left and follow
until you reach 13th Street NW
- Take a left on 13th Street NW and follow until you reach Logan Circle
- Veer right around the circle till you reach Vermont Avenue NW
- Veer right onto Vermont and follow Vermont till you reach K Street NW
(You will pass through Thomas Circle)
- Veer right on K Street NW and follow until you reach 15th Street NW
- Veer left on 15th Street NW and follow until you reach H Street NW and take a left
- Follow H Street NW all the way down into Chinatown under the
Friendship Archway to you reach 6th street NW
- Take a right on 6th street NW and follow past the MCI Center till you reach
Pennsylvania Avenue NW
- Take a right onto Pennsylvania Avenue NW
- Follow Pennsylvania Avenue NW all the way down towards 14th Street NW and
Freedom Plaza where the Finish Line is located.
The course is
USA Track and Field Certified (certification No.: DC-01021-RT) and Sanctioned
Update: The Washington D.C. Marathon is no more. The company which
organized the marathon, H20 Sports, cancelled the second annual marathon
just days before the race citing, "Security reasons." In its place, hundreds
of people ran an unofficial marathon, following the planned course despite
the roads being open to traffic.