Marine Corps Marathon

Marine Corps Marathon Setup Underway Near Rosslyn

By ARLnow.com
1/11

Preparations are underway for one of Arlington’s biggest annual events: The Marine Corps Marathon.

The marathon, now in its 40th year, will kick off starting at 7:45 a.m. on Sunday. The 26.2 mile course will take it from Rosslyn to the GW Parkway and Key Bridge, around D.C., across the 14th Street Bridge, and through Crystal City before ending near the Iwo Jima memorial.

We photographed workers setting up tents and signs near the memorial yesterday afternoon. Throughout the week more signs and tents will be going up in Crystal City and throughout the course.

For those hoping to cheer on the runners, Crystal City will be holding its annual MCM family festival, with activities like moon bounces, face painting and arts and crafts.

Rosslyn will again host the race’s finish festival, where runners will meet up with friends and family members. The finish festival will also have food and drink, souvenirs and live entertainment.

Photos by Justin Funkhouser

Youngest Female Runner in Marine Corps Marathon Hails From Arlington

By Heather Mongilio

Alliston Family

A 14-year-old Arlington resident will be the youngest female runner in this year’s Marine Corps Marathon. As if that wasn’t unique enough, she’ll be one of the few to be running the race with her entire family.

Ella Alliston and her parents will all be running the marathon, the first for any of the Allistons.

The Marine Corps Marathon is open to anyone 14 years old and up, said marathon spokeswoman Tami Faram. Alliston said that she was surprised she was the youngest runner but was happy she could compete in a marathon at her age.

“When my friends found out they had kind of the same reaction, they were like ‘wow you are so young, I can’t believe you are doing it,'” Alliston said.

Alliston and her mom, Martha, and father, Ross, have run multiple races since Ella joined Girls on the Run in third grade. Ella and Martha started running 5K races, and encouraged Ross to join them. The family has since completed multiple races, including a half marathon last year.

“We did a half marathon and we didn’t want to get out of our routine so we decided our next step was a marathon,” Ella said.

The family has been training for the marathon for at least 18 weeks, Martha said. To prepare for the marathon, the family would run three days a week, with long distance runs on the weekends, Ella said.

“For the last month or so we’ve been running a half marathon or more on Saturdays,” Ross said.

The Allistons have run all over Arlington and D.C. in order to find enough miles for their long runs. They’ve run around downtown D.C., up the C&O Canal Trail and through Georgetown.

“I really liked running downtown and around the monuments,” Ella said. “It was another distraction to look at the monuments and everything. It was flat and there weren’t many hills.”

The family takes turns picking out which trail they’ll run. Ross likes the C&O trail, while Martha likes to run the urban environment of the District, they said.

“We run almost everywhere,” Martha said. “We’ve been through all parts of downtown by the Capitol, the monuments, all through Arlington.”

During the week, the family runs up N. Glebe Road and Old Dominion Drive. Ella mapped out the exact routes that would meet the required mileage each week, Martha said.

After each run, the family heads home to shower and eat breakfast, a routine they plan to keep after the Marine Corps Marathon.

“We’ll probably head home. We have two little dogs we have to walk and then we’ll have lunch,” Ross said.

The family is looking forward to the marathon, they said, adding that they have already tested parts of the course, including the famous long first hill in Rosslyn.

“We’ve enjoyed training for it and we can’t wait to do the Marine Corps Marathon,” Martha said.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

View of Courthouse in the background, seen from the Fort Myer Officers Club

Arlington K-9s to Retire With Handlers — The Arlington County Board on Saturday unanimously voted to officially sanction the transfer of ownership of retiring law enforcement K-9 officers to their handlers, thus allowing police dogs to live out their lives with their long-time partners. [NBC Washington, Arlington County]

Big Changes Coming to Crystal City Building — The U.S. Marshals Service is consolidating its offices into one Crystal City office building. That will leave another Crystal City office building, 1750 Crystal Drive, vacant. Owner Vornado is planning a big facelift for the building, with more glass and steel and less concrete on the outside. [Washington Business Journal]

Arlington, Falls Church Renew Service Agreement — Arlington County will continue to provide court, jail, fire department and other services to the City of Falls Church, under a new agreement approved by the Arlington County Board on Saturday. Fall Church will pay Arlington just over $1 million per year for the services. [Arlington County]

McAuliffe to Start Marine Corps Marathon — Next weekend’s Marine Corps Marathon will be officially started by Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe. [Twitter]

M.J. Stewart Suspended at UNC — Former Yorktown High School football standout M.J. Stewart has been suspended from the University of North Carolina football team after being charged with assault in connection to an off-campus altercation. Stewart, a sophomore, had been a starting cornerback on the team. [Associated Press]

Resident to County: Cover Sandboxes — A Shirlington resident spoke before the County Board on Saturday to raise concern about uncovered sandboxes. She urged county officials to keep sandboxes covered when not in use, to keep pets and disease out. [InsideNova]

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

A beetle spotted in Rosslyn

More Metro Delays — Delays were reported on Metro’s Orange, Blue and Silver lines during this morning’s rush hour due to several train malfunctions. [Twitter, Twitter, Twitter]

Memorial Bridge Repairs Starting Soon — Temporary repairs to the Arlington Memorial Bridge are expected to begin later this month. The repairs are expected to take six months and will allow the closed lanes on the bridge to reopen. [Washington Post]

Stratford School Historic Designation Meetings — The Arlington School Board held a work session last night and is scheduled to hold a public hearing on Thursday regarding a possible historic designation for the Stratford Junior High School building. The building currently houses the H-B Woodlawn secondary program, but is slated to be renovated back into a community middle school. Superintendent Patrick Murphy is recommending the School Board defer action on a historic designation until later. [Preservation Arlington, InsideNova]

Big Test Score Jump at Elementary School — Good news about Carlin Springs Elementary, which has a largely Hispanic and low-income student body and has struggled with standardized tests in the past: “Some grades… had double-digit increases in their state test passage rates after a concerted effort to prepare disadvantaged students for the exams and closely track student performance on practice tests.” [Washington Post]

Marine Corps Marathon Security — The 40th Marine Corps Marathon is two and a half months away, but local police departments are already gearing up for it. The event requires tight coordination among law enforcement agencies, including the Arlington County Police Department. [ESPN]

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

"Electric bridge" (Flickr pool photo by David Giambarresi)

Republicans Want Bond Changes — Arlington Republicans want big ticket items like the Long Bridge Park aquatics center separated out of county bond issues. For the past 20 years, Democrats on the County Board have typically bundled big items with smaller bond-funded projects under broad categories like “parks.” Republicans say items valued at more than $25 million should be put to voters separately as a matter of good governance. [InsideNova]

Portion of Wilson Blvd to Be Renamed, Temporarily — The portion of Wilson Blvd between N. Lynn Street and N. Moore Street in Rosslyn will be renamed “Marine Corps Marathon Drive” for the month of October. The County Board approved the measure this week. Runners will pass the renamed road at the beginning of the Oct. 25 marathon and then will return to it for the race’s finish festival. The Marine Corps Marathon is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year.

Reminder: Issue With Galleries on iOS — ARLnow.com is still working to solve an issue that’s preventing our image galleries from loading images on iOS device like the Apple iPhone and iPad. The technical issue follows our implementation of security measures that will make your browsing experience on our site more secure by serving pages exclusively via HTTPS.

Flickr pool photo by David Giambarresi

Arlingtonians Among Top Marine Corps Marathon Finishers

By ARLnow.com
1/6

Participants in the 39th Marine Corps Marathon were met with sunny, albeit breezy, conditions for Sunday’s race through parts of Arlington and the District.

Army Spc. Samuel Kosgei of Junction City, Kansas, finished first at 2:22:11. Two Arlington residents rounded out the top five finishers: Michael Wardian came in fourth with a time of 2:25:41 and Graham Tribble was close behind, finishing at 2:25:51.

Meghan Curran of Moorestown, New Jersey, led the women, with a time of 2:51:46. Lindsay Wilkins of Arlington was the second woman to cross the finish line, coming in at 2:52:19 and Arlington’s Erin Taylor came in fifth for women, at 2:52:53.

The Arlington County firefighters who participated in the race with full gear in honor of fellow firefighter Josh — who recently was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis — were met with cheers and cowbells from bystanders.

When ARLnow.com caught up with Batallion Chief Dan Fitch during the race, he said he and the other team members were “pretty sore.” The firefighters spotted Josh at numerous points during the marathon, prompting Fitch to say, “He’s as much support for us as we are for him.”

Josh managed to meet a group of the firefighters toward the end of the course and finished the race with them. An email from one of the team members said, “This was something that will stay with us forever.”

The official MCM results page indicates more than 27,000 participants crossed the finish line for the marathon and 10K races.

Firefighters to Run Marathon in Full Gear for Stricken Comrade

By Ethan Rothstein

Firefighters gather during a Falls Church office fireThirteen Arlington County firefighters plan to run the Marine Corps Marathon this Sunday in full gear that can weigh up to 45 pounds.

The firefighters are running the 26.2 miles around Arlington and D.C. to raise money for multiple sclerosis after a firefighter named Josh — who doesn’t want his last name released for privacy reasons — was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in June. Josh worked out of Fire Station 6 in East Falls Church with firefighter Jake Pike, who is organizing the run.

“Our brother Josh is the glue of our firehouse, the jokester, the infectious personality that always smiles and is always positive,” Pike wrote on the fundraising page for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s website. “In June 2014, our Captain came into the room with very solemn news. The glue of the crew and our brother had been in the ER all night and was diagnosed with MS.

“It is the only time I have heard our firehouse completely quiet. Not a sound from 12 strong A-list personalities was heard. The room went dead silent. At that moment you could feel that something left the room. It was devastating news. For the next few days each one of us grappled with the news, studied and read as much about MS as we could and some went home and cried. We were in shock.”

Pike told ARLnow.com today that a few weeks later, he and the other firefighters at Station 6 had resolved to run the Marine Corps Marathon to raise money for MS research and to support, as Pike called him, “our brother.”

“It wasn’t long enough to train for a marathon, but was kind of the perfect opportunity to do something,” Pike said. “We told him after the fact and he got mad at us because he didn’t want to draw attention to it. He’s a private guy, but I think he appreciates it. He’ll be there at the finish line for us.”

Some of the 13 participants will be wearing pressurized oxygen tanks and helmets, while others will just be wearing the suits, Pike said. The firefighters are nervous about the suits, Pike said, since they are designed to retain heat and weather forecasts are calling for an unseasonably warm day.

“None of us have run it before, and we’re not runners,” Pike said with a nervous laugh. “The biggest challenge for us is the weather. So if it’s hot and humid like it’s supposed to be, that’s going to be an issue. Then there’s the five-hour mark, you have the hit the [14th Street Bridge] in five hours or you’re not going to finish.”

Regardless of the result, Pike and his colleagues have already raised $5,630 for the MS society, and hope to raise even more Sunday when the tens of thousands of runners and spectators see the group of firefighters in full gear running alongside. A large contingent of the Arlington County Fire Department is expected to attend to support the group, and Josh.

“It’s really for the guy we wake up next to every day,” Pike said, “so hopefully it makes it easier for him.”

You can donate to their cause and help them reach their $30,000 fundraising goal here.

File photo

Sean Astin, War Hero to Run Marine Corps Marathon Sunday

By Ethan Rothstein
1/5

Actor Sean Astin, famous for playing Rudy in “Rudy” and Sam in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, will be among the tens of thousands of runners of the Marine Corps Marathon this Sunday.

Preparations are currently underway for the race in Arlington. Astin and the estimated 30,000-plus runners — U.S. Marines and civilians — will also be joined by retired Marine Cpl. William Kyle Carpenter.

Carpenter is a recipient of the Medal of Honor, the armed services’ highest honor, for leaping in front of a grenade to protect a fellow Marine, and losing his right eye in the process. He was awarded the medal this June.

Carpenter will skydive into the race — which starts at 7:55 a.m. on Route 110 — along with 11 other jumpers, to deliver a 7,800-square-foot American flag before running in the 39th annual edition of the race, the U.S. Marine Corps said in a press release. The race is the third-biggest marathon in the country, in terms of participation, after the Boston and New York marathons.

The race will end, as always, at the Marine Corps War Memorial near Rosslyn.

Runners will start on Route 110, travel through Rosslyn and up Lee Highway to Spout Run Parkway, before heading down the George Washington Parkway, over the Key Bridge and into Georgetown.

After about 15 miles in the District, the runners will cross the 14th Street Bridge before traveling through Crystal City and Pentagon City. From there, runners will pass Long Bridge Park and the Pentagon before traveling back up Route 110, past Arlington National Cemetery, for the race’s conclusion back in Rosslyn.

The Crystal City Business Improvement District is hosting a kid’s day for children in the area to have fun while the family takes in the race. At the corner of 18th Street S. and Crystal Drive, there will be “moon bounces, face painting, arts and crafts, cotton candy, balloon animals, circus activities, and more,” and admission is free.

Rosslyn will be hosting the race’s finish festival, featuring numerous post-race events and activities, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Many of the roads in Rosslyn, Crystal City and Pentagon City will be shut down on Sunday to accommodate the race. The full list of closures in the county is provided by the Arlington County Police Department, but among the notable roadways that won’t be accessible are:

  • Wilson Blvd from N. Nash Street to Route 110, from 4:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
  • Route 110 from I-66 to Jefferson Davis Highway, from 4:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
  • George Washington Memorial Parkway, from Spout Run to Memorial Circle, from 7:00-10:00 a.m.
  • Eastbound Lee Highway, from Kirkwood Road to N. Lynn Street, from 7:00-10:00 a.m.
  • All lanes of the Key Bridge, from 7:00 a.m. to noon
  • Crystal Drive from 12th to 23rd Streets S., from 7:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
  • Columbia Pike, from S. Rotary Road to the Washington Blvd ramp, from 7:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
  •  Washington Blvd, from Columbia Pike to the Route 110 off-ramp, from 7:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

There will also be plenty of road closures in the District to accommodate the race, including in Georgetown and along the National Mall. Parking restrictions will be in place along the course in both Arlington and the District.

Morning Notes

By Katie Pyzyk

Sunset on 11/6/13 as seen from Pentagon City

County Seeks “Great Design” Nominations — Arlington County’s is accepting submissions for great design in new construction, renovations, additions or adaptive re-use projects. It’s part of the biennial design awards program, DESIGNArlington, which recognizes people who do design work that enhances the county’s built environment. Applications can be submitted online until 5:00 p.m. on December 2. An independent panel of architecture, urban design, historic preservation, public art and landscape design professionals will examine the nominations and select several winners. Previous winners include Northside Social, the Reed School/Westover Library, and the Gleason/Pries residence. [Arlington County]

Preservation Arlington Highlights Bruner Home — This week, Preservation Arlington looks at the Brumer house in its “Preserved and Developed” series. In 1934, Dr. Roland Bruner purchased the property at 2018 S. Glebe Road in the Nauck neigbhorhood. Only two black doctors had been practicing in Arlington at that time, so Brumer opened a private practice in his house to help serve the black community. He worked up until his death in 1978, and a historical marker now stands near his home. [Preservation Arlington]

Close Election Could Benefit VA DREAM Act — Fresh off a victory in Tuesday’s election, Del. Alfonso Lopez plans to make enactment of the DREAM Act his number one priority for the Virginia General Assembly session. It appears the narrow victories of Governor-elect Terry McAuliffe (D) and Del. Thomas Rust (R) may help the prospects for such legislation. Lopez and Rust had combined similar pieces of legislation last year that made it through the House Committee on Education on a 17-4 vote, but stalled because the House Appropriations Committee did not act on the measure before the session ended. If the bill makes it to McAuliffe, he is expected to sign it into law. [Sun Gazette]

Rosslyn BID Collects and Donates Marine Corps Marathon Clothing — The Rosslyn Business Improvement District (BID) collected and redistributed 968 pounds of clothes to the Arlington Street People’s Assistance Network (A-SPAN). The clothes were items such as hats, gloves, sweatshirts and pants that runners shed while passing through Rosslyn during the Marine Corps Marathon on October 27. The BID had the clothing cleaned and gave it to A-SPAN to distribute to people in need.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

2013 Marine Corps Marathon viewing in Crystal City (photo courtesy Brian Ossip)

Marathon Winner Led for 25 Miles — Girma Bedada, 33, a recent emigrant from Ethiopia, won Sunday’s Marine Corps Marathon with a time of 2:21:35. Bedada led for 25 miles of the 26.2 mile race. [Run Washington, Marine Corps Marathon]

Army Captain Wins Women’s Division — U.S. military servicemembers captured the first three spots in the Marine Corps Marathon women’s division. The first female finisher was Army Capt. Kelly Calway, with a time of 2:42:16. Calway will be deploying to Kuwait in a few weeks. [Stars and Stripes]

Emergency Winter Shelter Opens Friday — Arlington’s emergency winter homeless shelter opens on Friday, Nov. 1. It’s the last time the shelter will open for the season; Arlington’s new year-round homeless shelter is expected to open around this time next year. [Sun Gazette]

Photo courtesy Brian Ossip

Morning Notes

By Ethan Rothstein

Morning Notes 102513 (flickr pool photo by ddimick)

SoberRide to Offer Free Halloween Cab Rides — The Washington Regional Alcohol Program is offering free taxi rides next Thursday on the night of Halloween. From 10:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m., revelers can dial 1-800-200-TAXI, be picked up and taken to their destination free of charge, within a $30 fare. The service is offered in D.C. as well as the Maryland suburbs and other Northern Virginia municipalities. The service is being offered to prevent drunk driving, and WRAP says that 52 percent of traffic deaths on Halloween come from drunk drivers. [SoberRide]

Crystal City BID to Give Away Free Bike Lights — The Crystal City Business Improvement District will be giving away free bicycle lights this afternoon (Friday). The giveaway is taking place at the Crystal City exit of the Mount Vernon Trail from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. At the bike light giveaway last year, cyclists received front and tail “Bug Eye” lights. [Crystal City BID]

Road Closures for the Marine Corps Marathon — The Marine Corps Marathon is this Sunday, and many road around Arlington will be closed while runners participate. The closures will begin at 4:00 a.m. and many roads will not reopen until 4:30 p.m. [Arlington County]

Flickr pool photo by ddimick. Disclosure: Crystal City BID is an ARLnow.com advertiser.

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