How long is that hill at the end, anyway? Does anyone here actually know the distance? bj
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Marine Corps marathon question
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It depends on where you say it starts. From my experience it is a lot shorter if you go back a few
days later.Between about 25.2 and 26.0 there is about a 80-90 foot rise. The last .2 miles are flat.
See the link from the USMC Marathon web site.
--
Joseph E. Meehan26 + 6 = 1 It's Irish Math
"bj" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
How long is that hill at the end, anyway? Does anyone here actually know the distance? bj
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bj said:
How long is that hill at the end, anyway? Does anyone here actually know the distance?
I have read a quote from the race director alluding to "the hilly 385 yards around the Iwo Jima
Memorial to the finish line" but can tell you both from personal experience and from the terrain
chart on the Flash map of the course (available under "Course" at www.marinemarathon.com) that this
is a misleading reference. Elevation at the start of mile 26 is about 20 ft. while the finish is at
just about 110 ft. as I recall. And since there is a very slight drop in the first few yards of
mile 26, I think you climb about 100 feet pretty steadily for nearly all of the final 6/10th of a
mile from the finish.....before you reach the top of the hill and run a pretty flat stretch around
the monument for about the last 10th. Don't hold me to that with any undue precision, but it's
probably close.For what it's worth, I don't think that hill is the most physically or mentally challenging section
of the course. Two others that come to mind are the deceptively difficult changes in footing and
some elevation from about the middle of the Mall to the top of Capitol Hill, along with the
hands-down winner: the 14th St. Bridge, which is flat, exposed, concrete and for
mid-to-back-of-the-pack runners looks a bit like a refugee march sometimes replete with genuine
injuries and medical responders. Once you get past those two places, a little ol' hill at the end
seems like snack food.That sounds worse than it is. To be fair, there's nothing really hard about this marathon course
other than the fact that it's 26.2 miles long. Elevations are mild and are more than compensated for
by the inspirational crowd support.Hope you are asking because you are doing the marathon. I'm looking forward to my third.
Chris
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Like the others have said, check out the MCM site as the the hill makeup. I don't recall it as a big
deal. It might look daunting on a map but a big factor is it comes at mile 25.5. A lot different
than it would be at mile 22.5. You're just so glad to be at mile 25.5 that you just bang through it.
Doug Burkebj said:
How long is that hill at the end, anyway? Does anyone here actually know the distance? bj
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"bj" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
How long is that hill at the end, anyway? Does anyone here actually know the distance? bj
After running it 6 times, I would say its not that bad at all.
But after my first time, I would have answered "a lifetime" 🙂
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A "Topo" map of Arlington Cemetery can be seen at:
Kevin
bj said:
How long is that hill at the end, anyway? Does anyone here actually know the distance? bj
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My seven year old daughter can do it. What are you whining about?
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--------------580D241ACB6D8B39CEED93BF Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bitNeat site Kevin. Thanks, Doug Burke
Kevin Graf said:
A "Topo" map of Arlington Cemetery can be seen at:
Kevin
bj said:
How long is that hill at the end, anyway? Does anyone here actually know the distance? bj
--------------580D241ACB6D8B39CEED93BF Content-Type: text/html; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit<HTML> Neat site Kevin. Thanks, Doug Burke
<P>Kevin Graf wrote: <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE>A "Topo" map of Arlington Cemetery can be seen at:
<Q><A HREF="topozone.commap.aspOpen ↗">w-w-Open ↗
ww.topozone.com/map.asp?z=18&n=4304542&e=320039&s=25&size=l&symshow=n</A><R>Kevin
<S>bj wrote: <BR>> How long is that hill at the end, anyway? <BR>> Does anyone here actually know
the distance? <BR>> bj <BR>> <BR>></BLOCKQUOTE> </HTML>--------------580D241ACB6D8B39CEED93BF--
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Thanks for the info. I'll just have to start using that longer-than-a-block-or-two hill not too
far from home. And go over to IJM for an on-site looksee. Last year was the first time I'd been on
that road.No, I'm not planning to run the marathon, I'm planning to run the 5K! They started having a 5k
last year, I did that, and it was a great experience. All the 5k-ers I met there also thought it
was great.I met a number of people who had friends/spouses/etc. running the marathon who wished they had
signed up for the 5k! It goes off after the marathoners are well away, and finishes before they
start coming back. There's one stretch near the beginning where the marathoners are coming back
along the other side of the (divided) road, with of course lots of cheering, and many of the
cheering section also turned around to cheer us on! And even the not-for-us cheers were great
encouragement 'cause it _sounded_ like it was for us!By the way, both Khannouchis ran in the 5k. She won the women's division
(21:20) but he must have been relaxing (22:09).The MCM 5k is organized and handled as well as you would expect from how they handle the marathon.
Adding the 5k didn't seem to upset them at all. (This *is* the Marines!) They gave us the same super
treatment they give the marathoners -- space blanket, medal, congratulations, goodie bag, but I
think no free massage (though I didn't check that out)! So I'm glad they're going to have it again.There were Marines on the hill cheering us on, "you're doing great", "the finish line is just up
there", etc. and greeting us at the finish line. And the weather was gorgeous. Great day. Hope for a
repeat. I don't think my knee would stand up to 26 miles anyway, so I'm glad to have this chance to
be a part of the event. (also not sure about beating the bridge time limit, considering my best 5
mile speed.)My more modest but most ambitious goal is to maybe do the Army 10 miler. I know I can do the
distance, just not sure about the knee in any given week!Just curious -- did you get your entry through the lottery or are you in some other system? bj
"Chris Smith" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
bj said:
How long is that hill at the end, anyway? Does anyone here actually know the distance?
I have read a quote from the race director alluding to "the hilly 385 yards around the Iwo Jima
Memorial to the finish line" but can tell you both from personal experience and from the terrain
chart on the Flash map of the course (available under "Course" at www.marinemarathon.com) that
this is a misleading reference. Elevation at the start of mile 26 is about 20 ft. while the finish
is at just about 110 ft. as I recall. And since there is a very slight drop in the first few yards
of mile 26, I think you climb about 100 feet pretty steadily for nearly all of the final 6/10th of
a mile from the finish.....before you reach the top of the hill and run a pretty flat stretch
around the monument for about the last 10th. Don't hold me to that with any undue precision, but
it's probably close. ... Hope you are asking because you are doing the marathon. I'm looking
forward to my third.Chris
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I remember seeing some of the 5K people at one point in last year's MCM and thought it was a great
idea to add that interest to the day. Good luck with your race this year.As for how I got in this year, I registered for the lottery at about 12:01 a.m. I think on the
first possible day for doing that. Not that it should matter since the drawing is random. Anyway, I
got in the first week of the drawing and got an email. Also saw my credit card was his for the $80
so I guess I have to stay in shape. This is my third year. The first year, I got in through the
wild and crazy and technically flawed online registration. If you could get into the server, which
could only process a few people at a time, and stay connected, you got registered. I made it in
after using three different computers to attempt it over a 4 hours period one night. I was more
tired registering than I was after the race. The second year, I got a guaranteed spot by the luck
of running in one of the handful of marathons around the country that the MCM people go to and give
people entries. That was in New Orleans in 2002. I was disappointed this year at New Orleans when
they weren't back again, but now I understand they have to rotate around the country. Two more
years after this one and I'll have the five MCM finishes (five) I need for guaranteed participation
from then on.Chris
bj said:
Thanks for the info. I'll just have to start using that longer-than-a-block-or-two hill not too
far from home. And go over to IJM for an on-site looksee. Last year was the first time I'd been on
that road.No, I'm not planning to run the marathon, I'm planning to run the 5K! They started having a 5k
last year, I did that, and it was a great experience. All the 5k-ers I met there also thought it
was great.I met a number of people who had friends/spouses/etc. running the marathon who wished they had
signed up for the 5k! It goes off after the marathoners are well away, and finishes before they
start coming back. There's one stretch near the beginning where the marathoners are coming back
along the other side of the (divided) road, with of course lots of cheering, and many of the
cheering section also turned around to cheer us on! And even the not-for-us cheers were great
encouragement 'cause it _sounded_ like it was for us!By the way, both Khannouchis ran in the 5k. She won the women's division
(21:20) but he must have been relaxing (22:09).The MCM 5k is organized and handled as well as you would expect from how they handle the
marathon. Adding the 5k didn't seem to upset them at all. (This *is* the Marines!) They gave us
the same super treatment they give the marathoners -- space blanket, medal, congratulations,
goodie bag, but I think no free massage (though I didn't check that out)! So I'm glad they're
going to have it again.There were Marines on the hill cheering us on, "you're doing great", "the finish line is just up
there", etc. and greeting us at the finish line. And the weather was gorgeous. Great day. Hope for
a repeat. I don't think my knee would stand up to 26 miles anyway, so I'm glad to have this chance
to be a part of the event. (also not sure about beating the bridge time limit, considering my best
5 mile speed.)My more modest but most ambitious goal is to maybe do the Army 10 miler. I know I can do the
distance, just not sure about the knee in any given week!Just curious -- did you get your entry through the lottery or are you in some other system? bj
"Chris Smith" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
bj said:
How long is that hill at the end, anyway? Does anyone here actually know the distance?
I have read a quote from the race director alluding to "the hilly 385 yards around the Iwo Jima
Memorial to the finish line" but can tell you both from personal experience and from the terrain
chart on the Flash map of the course (available under "Course" at www.marinemarathon.com) that
this is a misleading reference. Elevation at the start of mile 26 is about 20 ft. while the
finish is at just about 110 ft. as I recall. And since there is a very slight drop in the first
few yards of mile 26, I think you climb about 100 feet pretty steadily for nearly all of the
final 6/10th of a mile from the finish.....before you reach the top of the hill and run a pretty
flat stretch around the monument for about the last 10th. Don't hold me to that with any undue
precision, but it's probably close. ... Hope you are asking because you are doing the marathon.
I'm looking forward to my third.Chris
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