Early Warning on Marathon

We've had several discussions lately about the difficulties of getting around during big weekend events, so I thought I'd post this early warning about the Marine Corps Marathon coming up Sunday.

Many roads will be closed, with many different agencies responsible for the closures. (I think that's part of what gets us into trouble with these things. Sometimes, interagency communication has not been what it should be.)

Here's a link to a pdf page on the Marathon Web site that lists the street closings, the times and the jurisdictions involved. Here's a link to a map of the route through eastern Arlington and through the mall and Potomac River areas of the District. Travelers should expect delays through the area and add extra time.

Also, the Fern Street, Hayes Street and Eads Street Pentagon parking lots will be closed beginning 7 p.m. on Friday and remain closed until 7 p.m. on Sunday.

The marathon starts Sunday at 7:50 a.m. for wheelchair and hand cycle participants and at 8 a.m. for runners.

Metro will start service at 5 a.m. Marathon participants should use the Pentagon Station on the Blue and Yellow lines. (We'll still be on Daylight Saving Time this weekend, so no need to set the clocks back on Saturday night. Standard Time resumes on Nov. 4.)

Metrobuses that normally use the Pentagon Transit Center will be relocated on Sunday to the Pentagon City
Metrorail station between 4 a.m. and 4 p.m. If you normally travel to the Pentagon Metrorail station and transfer to a Metrobus, you'll need to ride to the Pentagon City Station on the Blue or Yellow lines to catch the bus.

Metro expects that more than 30,000 runners, volunteers, and spectators will use the trains. The most heavily used stations are likely to be Rosslyn, Arlington Cemetery and Pentagon.

Extra Blue Line trains will operate between 5 a.m. and 8:15 a.m, and again from 11:15 a.m. to 1 p.m. Blue Line trains will depart every seven and a half minutes from the Franconia-Springfield and Stadium-Armory stations.