Marine Corps Marathon elevation profile: 245 m gain and 245 m loss over 42.195 km, with segment pacing, fueling notes, and race tips.
Known as 'The People's Marathon,' the Marine Corps Marathon is one of the largest marathons in the US with no prize money. The course passes iconic DC monuments including the Pentagon, National Mall, and finishes at the Iwo Jima Memorial.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Location | Washington, DC, USA |
| Distance | 42.195 km |
| Elevation gain | 245 m (804 ft) |
| Elevation loss | 245 m (804 ft) |
| Start / finish elevation | 15 m / 25 m |
| Official site | https://www.marinemarathon.com/ |
MCM has several notable hills, including climbs on the National Mall. Start conservative and save energy for the hills in miles 20-24.
| Miles | Terrain | Advice |
|---|---|---|
| 1-4 | Rolling (Pentagon start) | Start at the Pentagon. Don't go out too fast on the rolling terrain. |
| 5-10 | Rolling (Rosslyn/Georgetown) | Through Arlington and into Georgetown. Some early hills. |
| 11-14 | Flat (Hains Point) | Out and back on the peninsula. Can be windy and mentally challenging. |
| 15-18 | Flat to rolling (National Mall) | Past the monuments. Beat the Bridge cutoff at mile 17. |
| 19-23 | Hilly (Crystal City/Pentagon) | Several climbs. This is where the race gets hard. |
| 24-26 | Rolling to finish | Final push to Iwo Jima Memorial. Marines are waiting. |
The hills in the second half increase energy needs. Take an extra gel before mile 18. Marines at aid stations are exceptionally encouraging.
MCM has no prize money - elite and amateur runners compete on equal footing. It's run by the Marine Corps for runners of all abilities.
MCM has 245m (804ft) of elevation gain - hillier than NYC. Notable climbs in the first half and challenging hills miles 20-24.
Runners must cross the 14th Street Bridge by mile 17 before the 1:55 PM cutoff (about 4:15 pace from gun time). Slower runners should start early in their corral.
Marines personally place finisher medals around each runner's neck - a unique and emotional experience that makes MCM special.
Every public page on this site has a Markdown mirror at the same path with a .md suffix (for example /calculator.md), and honors an Accept: text/markdown request header on the HTML URL. The calculations here are also available as callable tools through a free public MCP server — no account or API key.