Marine Corps Historic Half Marathon Official Website

The "Nitty Gritty" Details (User Opinions)

Michael K.
Manassas, VA

  (07-05-2011)

"Yet another great race put on by the MCM team. Course was consistent with previous years, no surprises there. Hospital hill is a good challenge towards the end of the race around the 10 mile mark. Comedian Drew Carey fired the starting pistol and then ran his first half marathon. Expo seemed a little lighter than previous years in the number of vendors. Packet pick-up was quick and easy. Water spots were well manned. Good crowds and music along the course. "

Reviewed by a: Repeat Participant for 2011

Sid B.
Goose Creek, SC

  (10-04-2010)

"I have run all of them so far,and hope to run this event for as long as I can.
Great support and organization,tough course,and great expo, make this a must do event."

Reviewed by a: Repeat Participant for 2010

Michael K.
Manassas, VA

  (05-19-2010)

"Overall another good race by the MCM team. This year's expo seemed similar in size to last year's. The crowd was larger than last as well, most likely due to the better weather, the light rain stopped around a half an hour prior to race start. Temperature in the mid-60’s, but the humidity was in the upper 80’s at the start. Various music along the course. First part of the course was down hill, light rolling course in the middle, around mile 10 by the hospital until you cross over I-95 around mile 12 is uphill, last mile is flat for a good sprint to the finish. The flow after crossing the finish line was changed from last, seemed to work better without the bottle necks of the 2009 race. Once again a nice finisher's medal, but there wasn’t a coin this year. The official time being available for you after getting your food and water by the MCM staff on iPads was a nice addition this year. The attempt to go green with the biodegradable/flower seed race bids was a bad idea, after the first couple of miles I started seeing other runners’ bibs on the road, and then more and more having to carry them since they ripped. I had to stop three times to fix my bib as it ripped at the holes for the safety pins. I have already contacted the MCM team via e-mail regarding the bib issue and was informed that they were not planning to use that type of bib again. However, overall logistics were excellent as would be expected from the Marine Corps Marathon crew. I would recommend doing next year's race as well as any others in the MCM Race Series. "

Reviewed by a: Repeat Participant for 2010

Jason P.
Stafford, VA

  (05-16-2010)

"I've run them all - and I hope to be able to say that for years to come. In 2008 the Marine Corps Marathon partnered with the City of Fredericksburg to produce the Marine Corps Historic Half Marathon. This year the field was opened to 7000 Half Marathon runners for 48 States and several Countries. It was my first experience running in honor of a friend - Mark Stratton. I printed some performance t-shirts and dedicated this years 13.1 miles to Mark. It felt awesome just wearing the shirt and then as I'm in the starting gate other runners saw my shirt and told me of their shirt (who they were running for) - a very bonding experience. During the race three runners saw the back of my shirt and told me that they knew Mark - one even served in his unit in Afghanistan. Other runners commented on the memory of my friend. With all of the comments I used most of my 2:11:51 to think about Mark and our first Marine Corps Half Marathon experience. Race day weather called for rain but as I lined up at the start the light sprinkle stopped and it was great weather for the entire race - maybe even a little hot during the last two miles. The course was exactly the same as last year and so were the water points. At 7:00, after the official town crier (a bit cheesy) proclaimed it time to run, we were off heading to downtown Fredericksburg. My beginning pace was right on track but around mile 5 I started feeling the affects of staying out until 1:30 the night before - I was completely out of gas. It was going to be a long day. I started with a running mesh hat because of the chance of rain - but with no rain it was just hot and I contemplated dropping it. But wait - there is Charlie Jett with his son in the crowd. I passed my hat to him and I'll collect it later. Sheriff Jett - sorry the hat was so disgusting. I will not blame you if instead of saving it to give back to me you called the HAZMAT team on it. Halfway there and I was not going to beat my PR of last year, but that is okay, I'm still having a blast. I made it to mile marker 10 and started looking up Hospital Hill. Miles 10 and 11 are straight uphill and all I wanted to do is continue running - no walking. I shifted it down to low and started up the hill. I made it to mile 12 and could hear the finishline calling. I hit the finish in 2:11:51. I collected my snacks and quickly made it back to my car for church. Notes: 1) The Marathon is trying to go green - this included a biodegradable bib which had wildflower seeds in it. The idea is that after the race you plant your bib and grow flowers - not a back idea. But a bib that dissolves in water might not be the best idea for a bib in which some people perspire (or just sweat like a pig) My bib came apart at mile 10 but I saw many bibs littering the course. The bio-bib did not work and Marathonfoto will lose tons of money because plenty bibs were on the ground instead of the runners. 2) The Law Firm of Goodall & Pelt sponsered three Stafford County Deputies to run the race. Next week I'm going over to the Sheriff's Department to annonce the winner. 3) I will never stay out unitl 1:30 on the evening before a race again - I'm ust not that good 4) Can wait until next year - Thanks Marine Corps Marathon and the City of Fredericksburg. "

Reviewed by a: Repeat Participant for 2010

Jason P.
Stafford, VA

  (04-21-2010)

"5/17/2008 Fredericksburg, VA. Saturday night Tracee and I put the kids to bed and started watching a movie when we heard the sound of rain drops hitting the skylights in the living room. I quickly logged on to the Weather Channel to discover that it was going to rain steady, heavy at times, through Sunday Morning - not a great way to start a Half Marathon. I woke up around 5:30 to discover that it was still raining and about 62 degrees. I changed my decision on the "Run Jason Run" shirt (which is a very thin white performance t-shirt) and went with a plain black one. Since the rain brought cooler temps and I knew that I would be wet I went with a thicker performance t-shirt and a mesh hat that I just purchased for triathloning. I grabbed a banana and headed to Fredericksburg with plenty of time to spare - I thought. It turns out that getting 5007 runners to the start line on time is a chore. The interstate was back up and it took me longer than expected to get parked and to the line. In fact I was walking past the start line heading for my time flag when the announcer said 30 seconds to the start. So I made a quick decision - I hopped the plastic fence and got in line with the 1:45 - 1:59 group. I would have started in the 2:15 - 2:30 group but it was go time. My personal goal of the Half Marathon was to finish under 2 hours - that would be besting my PR by about 23 minutes. As the starter was counting down the start I tied my shoes thinking about my goal - could I do it? No more thinking that was the starting gun - we were off. It was lightly drizzling at the start and my new mesh hat helped keep the rain out of my eyes so I could run with my head up. Running with a faster group really has it benefits - I smoked through my first 2 miles in 15:30. I could hardly believe my watch, I was just running with the crowd and ran the first 2 miles at a 7:45 pace, amazing but I knew that I had to slow the pace down if I was going to make it 13.1 miles. I dropped back and let some of the rabbits pass me and at the 5k mark I was at 26.55. By mile 4 I had found a good pace that could keep me going through the rest of the race. I passed by one of the Clerks from the Stafford Circuit Court that lives along the route. I made a sign for her to hold up and when I rounded the corner and saw the yellow sign with screaming fans it was a huge motivator. I started to rethink my shirt selection - I was starting to get hot even with the light rain. The first half of the course is all down hill which is nice but during every downhill section I knew that I was be paying for it later. I passed the 10k marker at 53:45 - that is 2 minutes faster than my PR for a 10k - I knew that I was on a great pace and did the mental calculations to discover that I was on pace to meet my goal. My spirits were again lifted. The course continued into Downtown Fredericksburg on William Street. During a turn onto Princess Anne Street I stepped onto a curb and lost my footing on my bad foot - whoa that was close - just keep running nothing to be concerned about. At the Fredericksburg Visitor Center volunteers were passing out energy jelly beans and I also popped a sample energy pack that was in my race pack. The rain continued to fall lightly until mile 8 then the bottom fell out of it - it started to rain and rain hard. Again I was thankful I had my hat on to shield my eyes from the rain. While my eyes stayed dry nothing could be done for my feet, by mile 9 my shoes were completed soaked, please Lord protect the feat from blisters. I was running by the Rappahannock River and then onto US 1 with Mary Washington Hospital in sight - oh my there is mile 10. A quick look at my watch revealed 1:26 for the 10 Miles - that is 9 minutes faster than my PR for the 10 miler. With 3 and change to go I was going to get it done under 2 hours. Oh no - Hospital Hill, this is the hill that killed me last year. Okay Hospital Hill, come on I'm ready. I started the uphill climb and it was hard but I just kept pumping and I was at the top just as the rain started to let off again. 2 more miles with one more uphill over the interstate. I can see the mile 12 sign and with a time of 1:48 I was going to make it. Just one more turn, I can see the finish - kick it out and I finished at 1:57:41 at an 8:59 pace. (I started with the right group after all) I felt great. I went to the Powerade line and got some goodies then started heading for the car. The temp had dropped to 58 and I started to get really cold so I could not stick around. On the way to the car I saw Tim with about 1/2 mile to go. It was the best race I have ever done and meeting my goal really felt wonderful."

Reviewed by a: Repeat Participant for 2009

Catherine R.
Gaithersburg, MD

  (05-26-2009)

"Drove to Fredericksburg with the group from the Montgomery County, MD area. Although the race location was close enough to drive the day of, there is no packet pick up offered the morning of the race. So, we found a hotel close to the expo/start area, which did not require a 2 night minimum – tougher than you think! – and stayed there. The Fredericksburg Hospitality House has some issues, but it was a roof over our heads and close enough to walk to the start (0.7 miles).
Fredericksburg is a great place to travel with a group. The historic area is compact and full of shops and restaurants and there is a great, although not aesthetically pleasing, ice cream shop called Carl’s outside of the historic section. If you just want to land in town, have dinner, and go to sleep, the shopping complex in which the expo was held is self contained. Plenty of chain restaurants, and lots of stores, one excellent running store.
The expo was large per participant registered, comparable to the one for this year’s Cherry Blossom 10 Mile in Washington DC. Packet pick up took a matter of minutes, even with one of our group having to obtain a replacement bib. That glitch appears to have occurred because the bib was given to the wrong registrant, avoidable if they’d place registrant information on the bib, but for some reason they did not do that for this race. This year, the 2nd year for the race, we were issued technical shirts, short sleeved in deep red. I bet my running buddies that we would see lots of them at the race, and sure enough, we did.
Race morning, we walked to the start, passing ample parking. There were plenty of port-a-johns available, music and hoopla in full throttle despite the drizzle. Line up was by estimated finish time and people mostly complied.
Support on the course was more than adequate: water and (newly reformulated) Powerade, port-a-johns, Sports Beans in town along the course. There was plenty of entertainment on hand again this year: harpist with strings, several bands, drummers, recorded music, colonial dancers in costume, a gospel choir, etc. The local folks came out in force, as well. Several groups had set up their own hydration tables and boom boxes and stood out in the rain, cheering. Lovely scenery. There were lots of photographers out on the course for those who like to commemorate their race with a photo.
At the finish, we had medals placed upon us by marines, there was water, bagels, bananas, Powerade, space blankets, a beer tent for those so inclined, massages available, and a finisher coin.
4923 people finished the race, a nice, mid-sized field, larger than the inaugural year.
The course consists of a rolling gradual downgrade into town, flat through town, and a gradual uphill to the finish with a couple of steeper hills between miles 10 and 12 thrown in for fun. The course is a bit “faster” than I anticipated, based upon the elevation profile. Street surfaces were in good condition and spacious so there were no bottlenecks. The first series of hills surprised those who did not run the race the year before, but these were fairly short.
I recommend the race on its own merits, but also for someone who enjoys a “big race feel” with a moderately sized field, for people who travel with a group – lots to do, and for those runner/history-buff types.



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Reviewed by a: Repeat Participant for 2009

Michael K.
Manassas, VA

  (05-19-2009)

"Overall another good race. This year's expo seemed smaller than last year's. The crowd was lighter than last as well, but most likely due to the weather, those that were out did their bit by cheering the runners in the rain. Various music along the course, but also somewhat less than last year, also most likely weather. First part of the course was down hill, light rolling course in the middle, around mile 10 by the hospital until you cross over I-95 around mile 12 is uphill, last mile is flat for a good sprint to the finish. The flow after crossing the finish line was changed from last, but didn't seem to work as well with more bottle necks, but nothing drastic. Once again a nice finisher's medal and coin. Overall logistics were excellent as would be expected from the Marine Corps Marathon crew. Would recommend doing next year's race."

Reviewed by a: Repeat Participant for 2009

Ray T.
Dublin, OH

  (05-19-2009)

"Fredricksburg is beautiful friendly and historic. As far as being organized, well it is run by the few and the proud. Awesome!"

Reviewed by a: Repeat Participant for 2009