The Marine Corps Marathon announced Sunday afternoon that the marathon course was closing earlier than planned due to humidity.
The first checkpoint in D.C., by the National Mall closed at noon, according to a post on social media.
🚨 Due to current humid weather conditions, the DC Gauntlet is closing at noon ET. All runners who arrive to that location after that time will be diverted to continue toward the finish. 🚨
— Marine Corps Marathon (@Marine_Marathon) October 29, 2023
Marathon officials closed the second checkpoint at Crystal City at 1:15 p.m.
Due to the ongoing humidity, the Crystal City Gauntlet will close at 1:15 p.m. ET. These diverted runners will continue to the finish line at the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial.
— Marine Corps Marathon (@Marine_Marathon) October 29, 2023
Those closings happened 30 minutes earlier than planned, meaning some runners that didn’t make it to the checkpoint in time would be diverted to the finish line on a shorter path.
The average high temperature for race day for the past 14 years was 67 degrees, while Sunday’s race day temperature was expected to reach 76 degrees.
WTOP traffic reporter Joe Fox has run the Marine Corps Marathon and nine other marathons before, he outlined why officials made this call.
“So the runners that are still out there right now were the ones that really had to push to get through this race,” Fox said. “Being out, doing any exercise for five or six hours is a big deal on the human body. And the combination of temperature and humidity has a major effect on how your performance is going to be when you’re on the course on a given day.”
Fox said that this was still an unusual move for marathon organizers, and could be a real letdown for runners who may take longer to finish the marathon but will now not get to fully complete it.
“It is definitely unusual. It was actually about seven to 10 degrees warmer in 2019. And they took no such action,” Fox said. “And if you train for six months or longer to finish a marathon, and for some people this is a lifetime achievement… That would be a huge letdown, and I’ll be very interested to see the comments from the organizers after the race.”
Organizers of the marathon have been keeping an eye on the weather for the past week, preparing for any changes that might cut the race short.
“We are probably checking the weather even more religiously than runners are, because … their health and their safety is our number one concern,” said Kristen Loflin, spokeswoman for the Marine Corps Marathon.
Earlier this month, the Twin Cities Marathon was canceled at the last minute when excessive heat conditions settled over Minneapolis.
WTOP’s Dick Uliano contributed to this report.
