The Marine Corps 17.75K is a uniquely Marine event. The distance reflects the year the Corps was established. The setting is Prince William Forest Park with finishers emerging from the among the trees emulating the Marines at the Battle of Belleau Wood. The men and women who cross the finish earn access to the Marine Corps Marathon.
The Marine Corps 17.75K course in scenic Prince William Forest Park features a 11.03 mile run over rolling hills and winding turns in a densely wooded backdrop. The 17.75K starts and finishes outside Montclair Tabernacle Church located in Dumfries VA, near Marine Corps Base Quantico and sends runners on a course through Prince William Forest Park.
The Marine Corps 17.75K course begins just outside the church as runners head north (in a secured southbound lane of Route 234 and along the paved shoulder) before quickly turning left onto the gravel pathway of Pleasant Road to enter Prince William Forest Park.
The lollipop course begins with approximately two miles of gravel terrain beginning on Pleasant Road and turning right onto Burma Road. Runners then cross over Scenic Drive and travel downward on Taylor Farm Road before turning left onto Old Black Top Road (both roads are gravel).
Runners then turn right onto Scenic Drive, traveling clockwise. Near Mile 9, runners will make a left turn back onto Burma Road, heading toward the finish. Runners will complete a short out-and-back portion just before turning back onto Pleasant Road. Once on Pleasant Road, runners will continue straight until the final right turn, where they will exit Prince William Forest Park and follow the bicycle path to the 17.75K finish.
Runners must maintain 20 minute miles at the 17.75K.
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Tough Race but Ticket to the MCM
The race was super organized, plenty of shuttles, lots of nearby hotels with reasonable prices. Race started on a hill and had some gnarly hills with gravel. Race signs were … MORE
The race was super organized, plenty of shuttles, lots of nearby hotels with reasonable prices. Race started on a hill and had some gnarly hills with gravel. Race signs were awesome. Volunteers were great and lots of water and hydration stations. The reason we flew there to do it is to get the *access granted* for the Marine Corps Marathon.
A fun & unique distance
Very well organized, and instructions provided on the website and in emails are sufficient to make the race day morning logistics stress free. The quality of the shirt material and … MORE
Very well organized, and instructions provided on the website and in emails are sufficient to make the race day morning logistics stress free. The quality of the shirt material and print is the best shirt I’ve ever received at a race. A few very appreciable hills on the course! But also lots of time spent running mostly flat. The forest flanks you at all times during the run, so it was scenic in my book.
Year of the relentless COLD rain
Hilariously wet and cold! It rained cartoonishly hard, sideways. And I'm from Oregon, I *really* know rain! The bummer was that we were bussed to the start, and there weren't … MORE
Hilariously wet and cold! It rained cartoonishly hard, sideways. And I’m from Oregon, I *really* know rain! The bummer was that we were bussed to the start, and there weren’t enough pop-up awnings to huddle under so we got soaked while waiting to start. If I had swam to the start line, I could not have been wetter. Then we ran in non-stop, hard rain though the forest. I would have given higher marks for organization, but the food line when I finished was way too long, and there should have been somewhere for runners to stay dry, at least until we started or after we finished. Otherwise, the expo was great, and the busses were on schedule. The race intro speakers were too long winded, except for the ceremonial starter who was given the mic and said, “RUNNERS SET! GO!!” Thanks for that, sir.
Hills and Rain!
The Marines always host great races! The hill at 1.5 miles was just the beginning of the hills. The misty rain turned into a steady downpour however it wasn't bad … MORE
The Marines always host great races! The hill at 1.5 miles was just the beginning of the hills. The misty rain turned into a steady downpour however it wasn’t bad because it wasn’t cold. The run through Prince Williams Forest was quiet and relaxing as there were no spectators. In additional to a T-shirt we also received a nice coffee table picture book about the Marine Corp Marathon which is very nice. I recommend this race.
Holy Hills!
The race atmosphere at a Marine Corps Marathon event is always amazing! LOVED this course, super hilly and I walked up most but the scenery is beautiful and the energy … MORE
The race atmosphere at a Marine Corps Marathon event is always amazing! LOVED this course, super hilly and I walked up most but the scenery is beautiful and the energy is contagious. Our race day was cold and rainy but everyone was working hard, smiling, cheering and I would not have wanted to be anywhere else. Definitely adding this race to my yearly checklist!
Virtual-ly Awesome
Wow MCM killed it on letting us run our own race. Such an awesome way to motivated the masses. I was able to take the "coarse" elevation chart and find … MORE
Wow MCM killed it on letting us run our own race. Such an awesome way to motivated the masses. I was able to take the “coarse” elevation chart and find a similar location near home and had a race day even with shelter in place in acted.
Mud Mud, Hills Hills
People run this race just for the Access Granted after you finish. For those of you who don't know what that means: people hover at their computers and speed to … MORE
People run this race just for the Access Granted after you finish. For those of you who don’t know what that means: people hover at their computers and speed to register for this race because once you’ve successfully finished this 17.75k (~11 mile) race you get guaranteed entrance into the Marine Corp Marathon (yay for skipping the lottery).
The course is a lollipop course that loops through the state park just outside of Quantico. It was pretty, and chilly, I mean it’s a March race so not a big surprise on the chill. But it was much hillier than I expected, also the MidAtlantic states had been uncharacteristically wet so the parts of the course that were not on a paved surface were muddy as f&#$.
They had water stops manned by Marines, which was nice. And there were cute signs along the course, but it was pretty quiet when it came to crowd support. (Keep that in mind if you are someone who needs crowd support.)
No food on the course, but the food after was good (popcorn!! = game changer).
Even though it was a limited entry race so it was smaller than pretty much all the other races I have ever done, there were A LOT of bottleneck areas. Especially in the beginning, on the hills, with the mud.
Though I did overhear another runner mention that they could tell who was just a road runner versus people who have trained on trails. Mud doesn’t bug me, I also was one of the ones who has trained on trails.
Marine Corps 17.75K Race Report
Hubby and I had to get up early the morning of the Marine Corps 17.75K race, before sunrise, before the hot breakfast was available at our hotel. The U.S. Marines … MORE
Hubby and I had to get up early the morning of the Marine Corps 17.75K race, before sunrise, before the hot breakfast was available at our hotel. The U.S. Marines are master event planners; when they tell you to be at a shuttle location before 6:00 a.m., you get to a shuttle location before 6:00 a.m.
3,300 runners registered to run this race. Registration opens on February 20 at noon for the March 23 race and sells out in a matter of hours. It may seem surprising that thousands of runners wait by their computers to sign up to race this unusual distance, run entirely in Prince William Forest Park in Triangle, Virginia, but (1.) the race is sponsored by the Marine Corps and (2.) finishing the race in under three hours gives you guaranteed access to register for the Marine Corps Marathon in October. (You can read about my registration saga here.) Typically, you must take your chances in a lottery in order to run this very popular marathon.
At exactly 7:00:00, as the sun was just peeking over the horizon, the starting horn sounded and we were off.
After running for a very short time on a highway, we quickly transitioned to a narrow dirt and gravel park road. The road, rutted and full of potholes that had filled up with rain from the previous day, gave the race almost a trail race-like feel for the first four miles, which I liked. The gravel road had some pretty good rolling hills, some of them steep, but none very long.
To read the full race report, please go here:
https://meditationsinmotion.wordpress.com/2019/03/28/marine-corps-17-75k-race-report/
Access Granted for MCM
Registration for this race sold out in minutes--less than 15, if I remember correctly. I chose to do it because it would grant me guaranteed access into the Marine Corps … MORE
Registration for this race sold out in minutes–less than 15, if I remember correctly. I chose to do it because it would grant me guaranteed access into the Marine Corps Marathon later on in the year. I knew others who elected to try their luck in the lottery (some made it, others had to sign up with a charity to get in). This was the safe approach–plus I get to do another race with the Marines! The race takes place in a hilly forest, partly on trails and partly on a road going through the park. I wasn’t expecting as much elevation change as there was, but it was a great experience. Military family members can reserve a hotel room on the Marine Corps Base Quantico which is just ten minutes drive away.
Beautiful but challenging course
This course goes through the Prince William Forest, switching between gravel and paved surfaces with lots of hills. The scenery is beautiful, as you get to experience sunrise within the … MORE
This course goes through the Prince William Forest, switching between gravel and paved surfaces with lots of hills. The scenery is beautiful, as you get to experience sunrise within the forest. It’s amazing running with 2000 people with no noise except the sounds of breathing and feet hitting the ground. If you need a crowd to distract you, you won’t find it here (until the very end). But, if you enjoy running with natural beauty all around you, this is the course for you.