Washington Dc Marathon

Washington City in the District of Columbia is the capital City of the United States. It is the seat of the Federal government as well as several international organizations. It is also the home of two marathons considered Washington D.C. marathons. These are the Wirefly National Marathon and the Marine Corps Marathon.

The original Washington D.C. Marathon took place in 2002. Organized by the H2O Entertainment Group, the initially modest affair folded in 2003. The organizers intended this first Washington D.C. Marathon to be the spring answer to the fall Marine’s Corps Marathon. In 2003, only two days before the event, the organization called it off and left town. They blamed the American invasion of Iraq.

The town was already flooded with registered participants. Many were arriving even as the organizers sent the e-mail to cancel the event. Many of them banded together to hold their own race. This second Washington D.C. Marathon took place three days later. The runners, almost 600 of them, and the press christened it the “Unofficial Washington D. C. Marathon.” The course route ran in an erratic fashion along streets and on sidewalks not secured from traffic and other pedestrian dangers.

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After this escapade, one of the runners, Bob Sweeny approached the mayor in an attempt to set up another annual marathon. After three years of arguing his case, Bob Sweeney got what he wanted. In 2006, the Wirefly National Marathon became the newest Washington D.C. Marathon. The race debut date was set for March 25, 2006.

The Wirefly National Marathon is an alternative to the larger and more open other Washington D. C. Marathon – the Marine Corps Marathon. The distance for both is the marathon length of 26.2-miles; however, the entrance is limited for the Wirefly. The Wirefly National caps its registered runners at 5,000. The Wirefly hopes to attract, in this manner, some of the more elite racers. They are also establishing qualifying elements to meet the Olympic standard and those of the Boston and New York Marathons.

An attraction of the Firefly National Marathon is its course. The starting finishing point is the RFK Stadium. The course runs west on East Capital Street and passes through Lincoln Park and along Independence Avenue, Constitution Avenue, Pennsylvania Avenue and Lincoln Memorial Circle. Six miles of the race pass through Prince George’s County. Runners also get to sight-see along the way as they pass the Mall and the United States Capital.