The 49th Annual Marine Corps Marathon is in the books. It was an emotional journey across the 26.2 miles for many of the runners — and several of them already have next year’s race on their mind.
Among the runners, a teenager, a 90-year-old and every age in between. The course crisscrossed through D.C. and Arlington, Virginia.
“I’m going to start crying because it was so emotional. … When you go through the ‘Wear Blue Mile,’ that was just amazing … and it’s just awesome. I loved it,” Margaret Dwyer, 60, told WTOP.
Dwyer said she traveled from Vermont for her first Marine Corps Marathon.
Nick Schneider also completed his first Marine Corps Marathon and first 26.2 mile distance race.
“Feels really good,” he told WTOP while laying in the grass just after high-fiving a Marine at the finish line. “To be able to have this notch in my belt and be done with it, I honestly couldn’t be happier.”
One of the more sobering moments of the race comes at Haynes Point.
Runners enter the stretch pumped up because the halfway point is approaching and then the “Wear Blue Mile” hits. All the chatter and high-fives stop and all the runners get quiet and slow down, as they pass by signs with the name and picture of fallen service members every 10 yards or so.
“I was just hyperventilating because I was already tired and trying to cry, but I didn’t have any water left in my body, so there were no tears coming out,” said Erin Ghostlaw.
Many of the young men and women pictured were only in their teens and early twenties. The pain and fatigue for runners is put into perspective, as they continue past that section of the course.
“I’m actually active duty Air Force myself, so to see my brothers and sisters along the way, the fallen heroes, it was pretty emotional,” said Matthew Amiot, who is stationed in Dover, Delaware.
“Even though I’m in the Air Force, we’re all brothers and sisters.”
The somber moments though are contrasted by the highs of a raucous crowd cheering them on for much of the distance.
As racers tack on the miles and legs are fatigued and feet are about to fall, runners still have a smile on their face thanks to the crowd and their comical signs.
Several of the silly phrases spotted: “You Run Better Than The Government,” “Run like there are Taylor Swift tickets available,” “If Frodo can bring the ring to Mordor you can do this race” and “Never stop chafing your dreams.”
It’s tough not to laugh and smile as your body is in pain.
“Whoever told me it was a flat course, we need to have a chat, because that was not flat,” joked Ghostlaw.
“But it was a beautiful crowd, a perfect day for running,” she admitted.
If crowd-goers did not have an amusing sign, many still offered high-fives and yells of encouragement.
“The crowd was crazy. I couldn’t believe that people were doing shots at Mile 22,” said Schneider. “The atmosphere pushed me through this for sure.”
The big question is, will these runners be back next year for the 50th Marine Corps Marathon?
“I’ll be back next year, if I can do it. I gotta be there for the 50th … come on!” said Dwyer.
“Candidly, probably not,” said Schneider. “But you know what? Honestly, there’s enough people in my circle that need to still do their first so maybe they can convince me.”
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