Runners training for the Marine Corps Marathon later this month are wrapping up their 20-mile training runs this week—but is it all for nothing?
Participants have flooded the marathon’s Facebook page with questions about whether it will be affected by the government shutdown. The course goes through Rock Creek Park and past monuments along the Mall, ending with the uphill climb to the finish line at the Iwo Jima Memorial—all areas that are currently closed down.
But Marine Corps Marathon spokesperson Tami Faram says so far the marathon should go on as planned on Sunday, October 27. “Right now, the staff is at Quantico working and planning the Marine Corps Marathon. We’re still working with law enforcement and our partners as we would to plan everything,” she says.
The course map has not been altered, she adds, although that could change, depending on what the marathon planning team is told by their partners. “Both our law enforcement partners and other partners we coordinate with for the course and event will be telling us if they have any changes or adjustments to make. But right now, today, everything is still moving ahead for the Marine Corps Marathon.”
As for the Army Ten-Miler race, which takes place a week before the marathon, a spokesperson told Runner’s World that the race will not be affected by the government shutdown. In response to a Facebook comment on the race’s official page, organizers yesterday posted, “If the government is still closed at that time we will post updates prior to the race. At this point we don’t expect any changes.” Today, they said, “We have not been given any information on how or if the government shutdown will affect the race.”
Says Faram, “Right now we don’t know. We’re just like everybody else because of the furlough, waiting to see how things are being affected.”
Update 10/15: ARLNow reported earlier today that the course for this weekend’s Army Ten-Miler has been changed due to the government shutdown. However, Army Ten-Miler has not confirmed the course change, posting on its Facebook page that an official statement will be made Thursday regarding the race’s status.
The status of the Marine Corps Marathon, which takes place the weekend after the Army Ten-Miler, is still up in the air. Arlington County Police lieutenant Dave Green told ARLNow that “if as of Friday evening the government is still closed, [the race is] probably not going to happen.”
Update 10/15 5:18 PM: The Marine Corps Marathon posted on its official Facebook page that it will notify runners about the status of the race on Saturday, October 19.