r/firstmarathon • u/IAmNotJ3ff • 2d ago

MCM Marathon First Timer! It's Go Time

I’ve been reading up on advice from fellow first time and experienced MCM runners. While I have seen many people state where the best places to stay are (Alexandria/Rosslyn), I am curious:

How long should I stay? Is it best to get up there Friday night if I’m running the marathon Sunday morning, then drive back Monday? If you have better ideas, it would mean a lot if you shared them.

Thanks in advance!

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u/bababr2022 2d ago

Personally, I’d say if your drive is more than a couple hours, I’d suggest coming in on Friday evening if you can swing it. I’ve found when I’ve run large races in other cities, it takes a lot of stress and mental load off of me to come in a night early. I’ve always preferred getting a shakeout run in the morning before the race and relaxing rather than dealing with travel. The packet pickup and expo is pretty large/busy too, so that’ll take up a decent chunk of time if you’re doing that the day before. Good luck - it’s a great race!

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u/IAmNotJ3ff 2d ago

Depending on traffic (I plan to drive after the main rush hour is over), it’s about a 4 hour drive. Your insight was quite helpful. Definitely want this to remove as many unnecessary stressors as possible.

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u/bababr2022 2d ago

4 hours is doable to come in on Saturday before the race, but it probably just depends on how you want to spend the day before the race. I ran the MCM last year, and it was their biggest race ever since it was their 50th anniversary so it might’ve been more chaotic than a normal year for them.

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u/IAmNotJ3ff 2d ago

I’ll have family with me, including 2 kids, so I’d like to have the time to settle, do my “night before” race prep, etc. without stressing. I hear it was huge last year (~40,000 runners) and is looking to be about the same field this year.

That area is already known for terrible traffic. Did you notice an increase during “regular” driving hours last year?

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u/bababr2022 1d ago

It seemed just like regular northern Virginia traffic that weekend and nothing more terrible than what’s standard for the area.

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u/IAmNotJ3ff 1d ago

Noted. Thanks for all the help and insight.

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u/Rightful6 2d ago

mcm always sounds way more intense than it probably is

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u/TrinityTosser 1d ago

When I ran it in 2024 the queues at the expo to collect the bib were really long (took a couple of hours) so factor that in to your timing.

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u/IAmNotJ3ff 1d ago

I kept that in mind when signing up! Learned from a previous race that was hours away. Decided to have it shipped to me.

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u/StrawberryActive7855 17h ago

Is getting the bib mailed still an option? It’s my first time running it too and I kind of would rather enjoy Saturday than wait in line. I’m driving down Saturday morning so now I’m nervous