The Marine Corps Marathon – established in 1975 as part of the U.S. Marine Corps mission to promote physical fitness and good will in the community – will bring tens of thousands of visitors from around the country and world to the D.C. metro area this weekend.

Click below to listen to Kate Musselwhite’s report on the Oct. 31 race, one of the nation’s top, and hear from a coach and runner with the Capital Area Runners, a local running group, about what it takes to prepare for the 26.2-mile challenge.

More on Coach Buckheit and the Capital Area Runners…

More on the marathon…

• The marathon course will wind through the District and Northern Virginia, offering runners and spectators a view of some of the area’s most well known landmarks.  See more information on the course and local street closings.
• A Health and Fitness Expo planned for Friday and Saturday before the race is expected to draw up to 100,000 people to the Washington Convention Center, according to Marc Goldman, Marine Corps Marathon Sponsoring/Marketing Manager.

“It’ll be noticeable all over town that it’s marathon weekend.” – Marc Goldman, on the upcoming race and events

• The first year the Marine Corps Marathon offered online registration, the servers immediately crashed because of the volume of runners bidding for a race bib, said Goldman.
• Goldman said that the Marine Corps Marathon has always attracted runners and has traditionally been a “gateway” to the sport of running.

“This event…has a great reputation.”  – Marc Goldman, on the annual Marine Corps Marathon

• According to Goldman, the last time the race fell on Halloween was 2004.  Before that  – 1999.
• Goldman said that many marathoners dress in costume for the race – whether or not it’s Halloween – but that he expects to see more costumed runners this year than usual.   “Regularly occurring characters” at the Marine Corps Marathon include the devil,  who specifically requests bib number 666, and Kermit the Frog.

“I imagine we’ll see a lot of Superman and who knows what else.” – Marc Goldman, on the event’s Halloween start date this year.