Way back in 2002, the Inaugural Washington DC Marathon ran through history… but only briefly. I believe their hopes were to become the spring version of the Marine Corps Marathon, but that wasn’t to be.
There was no race morning packet pick-up, so our friend Bob and I drove over to Stadium-Armory on Friday afternoon to pick up our packets at the outdoor race expo. It was pretty small and we were in and out in a matter of minutes.
Shirt Front Logo
Sunday morning Bill and I got a late start and arrived at the starting line seconds before the starting gun fired. Somehow we immediately found Bob, and after a little ribbing from him, we settled in for our run.
The race was held on Palm Sunday, and I’ve never seen so many dressed up, frustrated people that just wanted to get to church. I actually felt rather guilty seeing cars backed up so close to the churches, but not being allowed to cross the street because of the herd of people running by.
During most DC races, photographers station themselves so they can get the various historical buildings and monuments in the background of their pictures. One of the photographers snapped this great picture of Bill in front of the capitol.
And later another photographer captured this memory for us in front of the Washington Monument. That’s half of Bob that you can see beside me. Bill and Bob are obviously looking at something on the right side of the street; but not me, I’m smiling it up for the camera!
The three of us ran most of the race together, until we got to an intersection where a police officer was directing traffic and letting cars go through the intersection whenever he could. He tried to stop traffic as we approached the intersection, but the driver of one of the cars refused to stop and gunned his engine to speed past the officer. We had to stop short to keep from getting hit, and Bob tweaked his knee. Fortunately, Bob was able to continue running, but slowed down slightly keeping an eye on his injured knee.
Bill and I continued on with the race, and I had a little extra kick at the end and pulled ahead and finished in 3:57:08 (9:02 minute/mile pace). Bill finished about a minute behind me, and Bob finished just a few minutes later. Despite almost being run down by a car, Bob set his marathon PR that day!
Overall, we really enjoyed the race and all three of us decided to return in 2003 for the second annual Washington DC Marathon along with about 7,000 other runners. We diligently ran our long training runs, tapered, and were set to run the marathon when just four days before the race, it was canceled…
Race officials blamed the recent start of the war in Iraq as making DC an unsafe area and that runners were afraid to travel to the city. They also cited that local police were needed for more important things than working the race. Interestingly enough, the race organizer, H2O Entertainment, filed for bankruptcy at about that time.
On Sunday during the scheduled race time, about 500 runners showed up to run the course, and it was quickly dubbed the “Unofficial Washington DC Marathon.” We did not make the trek downtown to participate, although I’m sure it would have been fun.
Soon after the debacle, we learned that we were part of a class action lawsuit filed in hopes of recovering at least some, if not all, of the entrance fees. I remember getting a letter or two in regards to the lawsuit, but I don’t recall ever getting any of our entrance fee back.
Despite there being a demand for a spring marathon in DC, we didn’t get another one until the 2006 National Marathon. The National Marathon has been a huge success, especially since becoming one of the Rock ‘N’ Roll races.
A couple of years later we got a letter from a company that had obtained the items left behind from the 2003 DC Marathon. We were told that our finishers’ medal and shirt would be available for pickup at that fall’s Baltimore Marathon Expo. Since we were running the Baltimore Marathon and would be attending the expo, we jumped at the chance to pick up these collector’s items from the race that never happened!
Collector’s Item
- Questions:
- Have you ever missed a race or shown up just as it started?
- Have you ever signed up for a race that was canceled?
- Who raced this weekend?
Thanks for sharing this story! I haven’t had a race get canceled, but my first race of 2014, the Charlotte 10 Miler, got postponed from late February to today because of flooding on the greenway. I battled a calf injury earlier this month and a head cold the past couple of days but managed a new PR (1:17) and a 2nd place age group finish. Maybe my races should get postponed more often! 🙂
Laura King Edwards recently posted…How to Fly
Congrats on your new PR, AND placing in your age group!
Sounds like it had been a great race! Those pictures are pretty cool 🙂
That really sucks it was cancelled so close to the race day!
I am always ridiculously early to races because I get so nervous, so I don’t think I’ve ever come close to missing one!
Abby recently posted…Highlights from our California Coast adventure
We usually arrive extremely early for races, too. I don’t remember what happened that caused us to cut it so close!
That sounds so annoying! about the cancelled race. And I can’t believe that car that gunned it while you guys were trying to run through! What a d-bag!
Courtney @ Don’t Blink. Just Run. recently posted…The Great Flood Of 2010
I know, we were shocked, and lucky no one was hit!
What a great story. That is pretty cool to have a collectors item like that. I’ve never had a race get cancelled and I hope it never happens. If it does, I hope its got a great story like yours does. Thanks for sharing.
The Running Schlub recently posted…Where Did My Legs Go??
Yes, I would have much rather run the race, than get the collector’s item!
You are a part of history 🙂 Pretty cool that they were able to track down race participants a few years later, and offer them the opportunity to pick up their “swag” from the 2003 race. Quite the collectors item! Does it hang with your other race medals?
I can’t remember ever having a race get canceled. A few have been postponed due to weather, but that’s it. A couple of years ago, Barry signed up for a Tough Mudder in MD, which he never got to run. I tagged along as a spectator, but we ended up sitting in traffic for 6 hours on a two lane road that had been turned into two one way lanes to the farm where the race was being held. It was ridiculous. When we finally arrived, they said the race had been canceled. Earlier heats had gone, but due to the rain and mud and other logistical issues, they canceled the rest of the race. I think the town where the race was held banned Tough Mudder from ever coming back….
Meagan recently posted…Beating boredom on the treadmill
Yes, the “collector’s item” medal does hang with my other medals. The Virginia Creeper Trail Marathon had a paperweight instead of a medal, so I use this medal as a stand-in for it!
That’s horrible to sit in traffic for six hours and then have the race canceled. Not cool!
Deb, I ran the 2002 DC marathon too, my first. I see you have an official photo. Can you tell me the name of the company that took them? I’d like to buy one of me for inspiration that I’m training again for my second marathon 15 years later.
You’re in luck because I have a file folder of old race picture forms! Brightroom was the photography company. Not sure if they’re even in business anymore, but here’s what I found on my order form: online/internet http://www.brightroom.com and phone 510-420-4946. Deadline to order on the order form says 5/24/2002, but you never no… It’s always worth a try – good luck!
Hello,
I am having a race map print made for my brother-in-law’s 50th birthday whose first marathon was this one. He’s since competed in several triathlons and IronMan races, but I thought the “inaugural” DC race would be a good one to make for him. One of the components of the map is a description of the race. I do not know DC well enough to determine where the race ended. I can see it started at the Memorial Bridge. Can you help with some of the details of the race trail? Thank you.
Kristina
That sounds like such a nice gift and I’d like to help you out as much as I can! To answer your question, we finished the race at Freedom Plaza. I will take another picture of our map and email the full size image to you so you can see the details clearly. I’ll need to wait until tomorrow so it won’t have the glare from the lights on it.
Thank you so much!! I am going to have them use the green-yellow-blue colors from the race bib for the map, too. Thank you again. I really appreciate it.
Kristina
Sounds perfect! I just emailed the higher res picture to you. Let me know if there’s anything else I can do!