Getting In · Iconic road race
Marine Corps Marathon
No prize money has ever been paid at the Marine Corps Marathon. It is run by Marines, for anybody, through the monuments of Washington, and it finishes on a climb to the Marine Corps War Memorial with a Marine putting the medal around your neck.
- Distance
- 26.2 miRolling, then flat, then a hill
- Field
- ~30,000
- First run
- 1976
- Lottery
- Roughly March 18-31
- Nickname
- The People's Marathon
- Best door
- Guaranteed-entry programs, not the lottery
MCM is the largest marathon in the world that offers no prize money, and that fact shapes everything about it. There are no elite fields, no pacing rabbits, and no time-chasing atmosphere. What there is instead: Marines at every mile, the Blue Mile lined with photos of fallen service members and their families holding flags, and 30,000 runners going through Georgetown, along the Mall past the Capitol, and out onto Hains Point.
The course is genuinely runnable. Rolling hills through Arlington and Georgetown in the first ten miles, a long flat stretch through the monuments and Crystal City, and then the short brutal climb to Iwo Jima at mile 26. It's a great first marathon and an even better thousandth one.
How to get in
- LotteryThe public lottery
The main door. The registration window runs roughly March 18 through 31, with selection emails on April 1. You are not charged unless you're selected. Odds move with demand year to year and MCM does not publish them, but it is nowhere near as brutal as New York or London.
- Legacy / loyaltyRunners Club and Groups
MCM keeps several guaranteed-entry programs: multi-year finishers' clubs, active duty and veteran allocations, and group registrations for organised teams. If you have run it before, check whether you already qualify for a guaranteed spot before you enter the lottery.
- Volunteer / serviceRun an MCM Event Series race
Finishers of certain MCM-organised events, such as the Historic Half in May, earn guaranteed entry to the marathon. This is the most reliable and most overlooked route: run a spring half in Fredericksburg and skip the lottery entirely.
- CharityOfficial charity partners
A large charity program with a heavy military and veteran focus. Minimums are modest by major-marathon standards and the causes are unusually meaningful to this race.
The course and the two hard parts
MCM is friendly right up until it isn't.
- Miles 1-4 climb. Out of Arlington up Lee Highway. Slower than goal pace, on purpose.
- Miles 5-12 roll through Rosslyn and Georgetown and along the Potomac. Beautiful, fast, easy to overrun.
- Hains Point, miles 12-16. Flat, exposed, windy, sparse crowds. This is the Blue Mile. Runners consistently name it the emotional peak of the race and the hardest place to hold pace.
- The Mall and Crystal City, 17-24. Loud again. Watch the "beat the bridge" cutoff at the 14th Street Bridge around mile 20: miss it and you're pulled.
- Mile 26. The climb to Iwo Jima. Short, steep, and cruel, and then it's over.
Questions runners actually ask
When is the Marine Corps Marathon lottery?
The public lottery window typically runs from around March 18 to March 31, with selection notifications on April 1. You are not charged unless you're selected.
Is there a way to skip the lottery?
Yes. Finishing certain MCM Event Series races, such as the Historic Half, earns guaranteed entry, and there are group, active-duty, and multi-year-finisher programs.
Is there a cutoff time?
Yes. You must reach the 14th Street Bridge near mile 20 by a set time, informally known as beating the bridge, which works out to roughly a 14-minute-mile pace.
Go to the source
Entry rules, dates, standards, fees, and odds change every single year, and the interesting races change them the most. Use this guide to build the plan; use the official site to confirm the details before you book anything.
If this is your kind of thing
Need the races in between? The hard part of a bucket list year is everything else on the calendar: the qualifier, the tune-up, the long run with a bib on.