Overview The Marine Corps Marathon is the marathon the United States Marines run through Arlington and Washington, D.C., and by the organization's own count it is the largest marathon in the world that pays no prize money, celebrating every finisher instead. It starts near the Pentagon and finishes at the Marine Corps War Memorial, and it calls itself The People's Marathon. The weekend around it adds shorter races, a Kids Run and a Health and Fitness Expo. The Marine Corps Marathon Organization runs it from Marine Corps Base Quantico, along with the Marine Corps Historic Half in Fredericksburg each May, a 17.75K in Prince William Forest Park and a year-round event series aboard the base. On site From Arlington the course crosses Key Bridge into Georgetown and runs past the Kennedy Center, the Lincoln, Jefferson, Martin Luther King Jr. and FDR memorials, the Washington Monument, the Capitol and the Smithsonian. At mile 20 runners have to reach the 14th Street Bridge before the course closes it, a checkpoint the race calls Beat the Bridge, then cross back into Virginia through Crystal City. Marines staff the course. The Finish Festival fills the streets of downtown Rosslyn, and the weekend's footprint also takes in a Charity Village, cheer stations, water points and Camp Miles at the Kids Run. Audience Runners come from all 50 states and more than 60 countries. The organization's own account of why they run: as a tribute to a loved one serving the country or in honor of one who died in service, in defiance of an illness or in celebration of beating one. The race has been named a best marathon for beginners and for families. Registration opens in the spring, and runners stay on the race's website, app and emails through months of training until race day in October. Talent and Influencers The Armed Forces Championship, run inside the marathon from 1998, pits teams from each branch of the U.S. military against one another, and the Challenge Cup sets U.S. Marines against runners from the British Royal Navy and Royal Marines. Past finishers include Oprah Winfrey in 1994, Al Gore in 1997, Jill Biden in 1998, and Sean Astin and Medal of Honor recipient Kyle Carpenter in 2014. Track record Colonel James L. Fowler proposed the race in 1975, and 1,175 people ran the first one in 1976. The men's course record of 2:14:01 dates to 1987 and the women's 2:37:00 to 1990. Finishers numbered about 23,000 in 2023 and about 30,000 in 2024. The 50th running, in 2025, fell in the year of the Marine Corps' 250th birthday. Brand presence Sponsorships are built around pieces of the weekend: the expo, the Finish Festival, the Kids Run, the Hall of Fame dinner, medical, water and food, transportation and the technology official staff use on race day. The Armed Forces Championship and Challenge Cup partners get a table and a few words at the pre-race reception, and can co-present the awards on race day alongside a general officer. Other positions run from the start and finish banners and mile markers to the medal reveal and the Opening Ceremonies parachute jump. Medical-tent branding stops at National Park property along the course.