Runner Need-to-Knows
MCM Runners' Expo: The MCM Runners' Expo presented by AdvancePCS is your first stop on the road to the finish line. You must visit the Expo to obtain your bib, chip, goodie bag and competitors shirt. Make sure you bring the back panel of the confirmation brochure. The Runners' Expo is where you can experience the latest in running technology, apparel, nutrition, publications and novelties. This three-day extravaganza will interest athletes of all abilities. Sit in on the Speakers Symposium! Shop at the MCM Brooks Store! Purchase apparel, running gear and commemorative MCM merchandise! Meet sponsors like MetroSports DC, Tylenol 8 Hour, First Command, Maggiano's and Deer Park!
The Expo will be held at the MCM Race Headquarters, Hyatt Regency Crystal City on:
Thursday, October 23 from 4 p.m.-8 p.m.
Friday, October 24 from 10 a.m.-7 p.m.
Saturday, October 25 from 8a.m.-8 p.m.
Set the Clock Back: Worst case is you forget to set the clock back and you arrive at the start line an hour early. Better yet, before going to sleep on the night prior to the marathon, you remember that daylight savings time ends at 2 a.m., sneak an extra hour of rest and then get the wake-up call.
ChampionChip: Make sure to activate the chip you will receive at Packet Pick-up. Immediately after obtaining your packet, you will get into a chip scan line to verify your chip's information. This is different than last year. If you own a ChampionChip, please have the serial number recorded at the chip scan booth. On race morning, tie your ChampionChip into your shoelaces. The Marines will assist with removal and collect at the finish. You will be charged a $30 fee if your chip is not returned.
Baggage: The large clear goodie bag you will receive at Packet Pick-up must be used to store personal items during the race. Bring it to the Baggage Tent, located on Marshall Drive, just up the hill from the start line, prior to the start. Bags will be tagged with a runner's bib number. For pick up, runners should enter the tent through the entrance designated with their bib number. As a backup, enclose a business card or some other form of identification in your bag. Please don't store any items of value.
Transportation: Metro will get you to the start. It's up to you to get to the finish. Metro starts service at 6 a.m., an hour early, for MCM runners and spectators on race morning. Metro's Rosslyn station (orange or blue line) and Arlington Cemetery (blue line) are the closest stops to the start—easy walking distance. Coming from a little further out? Park free at Metro-operated lots. Making things even easier, Metro one-day passes will be for sale at the Runners' Expo on the Exhibit Level.
Link-Up: Post-Marathon link-up tent will be marked by four large yellow, helium-inflated balloons marked with red lettering to be used as a guide for families and friends to link-up with their runner. Balloon lettering will be A-F, G-L, M-R and S-Z.
Finish Festival: The must-stop spot on a runner's post-marathon victory tour is the Finish Festival Tent, adjacent to hospitality. Open to spectators and runners all day, the Finish Festival offers a variety of interactive activities to enhance race day for all. Friends and family can follow a runner's progress along the course with live splits and results provided at the Cisco Check Your Runner station powered by Do It Sports. Get group photos with the triumphant runner at the Tylenol 8 Hour photo booth. Runners can share the excitement of the moment by calling loved ones from the AT&T phone booth. Enjoy a sample smoothie from Smoothie King. Or, runners can finally take a breather and get a massage therapy and chiropractic support from Guardian Care Alliance of Virginia and Piedmont School of Massage.
Results: Unofficial Chiptime results provided by DoIt Sports and be posted LIVE at the MCM website www.marinemarathon.com. For results, type in a runner's name or bib number.
Pacers: Galloway will be providing Pacers for race day (they will be holding a pace time sign while running). You can meet you Pace Group Leader at the Speaker's Symposium, Friday, October 24 @ 4:30pm or Saturday, October 25 @ 10:30 am. You'll also want to visit the Galloway booth in the MCM Runners' Expo in Hall C.
Sending a Friend to Packet Pick-up: For runners unable to make it to Packet Pick-up, a friend or family member can pick up the race packet in a runner's absence. Have your friend or relative bring a valid photo id and present a letter written by the runner including name, address, and bib # that grants them pick up permission.
Register: MCM5K or Healthy Kids Fun Run
Bring your family and friends to enjoy an exciting weekend of running and activities. The 28th
annual Marine Corps Marathon weekend includes the MCM Runners' Expo presented by AdvancedPCS
from Thursday October 23 to Saturday October 25 at the Hyatt Regency in Crystal City. Do pull-ups
with the marines...Go shopping for your running gear...Win some great prizes...Purchase commemorative items.
While at the Expo, those not running the marathon will want to sign up for the
MCM5K presented
by Deer Park, which starts immediately after the Marathon. The whole family can get
in on running, when kids ages 6-13 sign up for the MCM
Healthy Kids Fun Run
presented by The Washington Post on Saturday, October 25. Enter the race by paying a $10
fee or skip the fee and donate a toy to Toys for Tots. After the kids run, families
can enjoy face painting, parachute games, a football toss, and much more!
The Washington Capitals will salute MCM Runners with special price seating at Marine Corps Marathon night on Friday, December 19 when the Caps play the Toronto Maple Leafs. Game time is 7:30 p.m. at MCI Center. Visit the Caps website by clicking the headline above to purchase your seats to the game-tickets on every seating level has been discounted including $15 off the best available seats. Remember to bring a toy to donate to Toys for Tots.
Meet the MCM Announcer
Meet your start/finish line announcer, retired Marine Corps Major Ken
Berger. Arlington will be bouncing when the U.S. Naval Academy graduate and
20 year USMC Pilot, Ken provides the music production and the "hype on the
mic". From 0700 until the last runner crosses the finish line (circa 1530),
the relentlessly upbeat Berger can be heard motivating the 20,000 plus
runners while at the same time entertaining the thousands of fans and
spectators at the start and finish line area. With his knowledge of the
sport (he has put hundred's of running events and thousands of miles behind
him during his lifetime), he knows what the runners need to get them going
in the morning and especially what it takes to bring them "up the hill" for
the last mile of the day! How glorious it'll be when you hear Ken announce
your name as you approach the finish.
|
Meet MILES
Don't miss your chance to shake paws with the newest member of the Marine Corps Marathon Staff- Miles, the running bulldog. Talk about a guy who knows how to make friends. Look for Miles during the Runners' Expo...he's got guaranteed applications for the 29th MCM on October 31, 2004. He'll be distributing a very limited number of guaranteed applications at the following locations during the MCM Runners' Expo.
Thursday, October 23
6 pm Chiari Fine Art, Hall A
Friday, October 24
4 p.m. Fond Memories Graphics, Hall A
5 p.m. Lindsay Cadillac, Hall B
Saturday, October 25
1 p.m. Speakers Symposum, Tidewater
Room
1:30 p.m. Crossing the Line, Hall A
2 p.m. Speakers Symposium, Tidewater
Room
3 p.m. Marine Corps Pull Up Challenge,
Hall C
New! Cisco Runner Tracking
Friends and family can keep track of an MCM runner from their living room, a restaurant, a
campsite or a vehicle out on the highway. Follow an MCM runner as they navigate the course
with the new Cisco Runner Tracking powered by Do It Sports. Get live split times and finish
information updated instantly to a pager, text messaging number or email.
Visit the Cisco Runner Tracking website to register or come by the Cisco Runner
Tracking booth at the MCM Runners' Expo on the exhibit level by the escalators.
Challenge Cup
The Challenge Cup is a competition between the British Royal Navy/Marines and the U.S.
Marines...each team striving for the honor of winning the prestigious Challenge Cup. The winning
team is determined by adding the finishing time of the top three male and top 2 female finishers. The British Royal Navy/Marines have 17 victories in 25 years of this competition including last year when they bested the U.S. Marines by 4:03. The women have split the four competitions with the U.S. Marines winning in 2002.
This year, the U.S. Marines are scheduled to be represented by: Major Alexander Hetherington, Major Thomas Blackwell, Captain Mathew Limbert, Captain Chad Walton, Lieutenant Colonel Greg Mislick, Captain Ginger Beals, First Lieutenant Faye Hutchison, Captain Kristen McCann
MCM Brooks Store
The Brooks team looks forward to bringing you an exciting merchandise collection at the MCM Runners' Expo, where the MCM/Brooks Store will offer exclusive items not yet featured on the store website www.mcmstore.brooksrunning.com. Please come early to get the best selection of performance running product. You will not miss the exciting new MCM/Brooks Store just outside Packet pick-up at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City. Then, look for the store at the finish line on Route 110 with a limited amount of finishers items available for sale.
Carb Load at the Mueller's Marine Corps Marathon Pasta Party
Fill up on those much needed carbohydrates at the Mueller's Marine Corps Marathon Pasta
Party on Saturday, October 25 at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City, located just outside
Packet pick-up. Purchase your pasta party ticket at the Runners' Expo for the most
convenient of the three 90-minute seatings beginning at 3:30 p.m., 5 p.m. or 6:30 p.m.
Tickets are $22 for adults and $16 for children ages 6 - 12. Children under age 6
are admitted free. Each pasta party features a special guest speaker, entertainment by DJ
Ken Berger, the voice of the marathon, and exciting raffle prizes from Prince Michel vineyard,
Washington Capitals hockey and Brooks. Guest speaker lineup includes Jeff Galloway, 1972
Olympian, at 3:30p.m.; Ed Eyestone, 1998 and 1992 US Olympic Marathon team member, at 5 p.m.
and Deena Drossin, presented by Tylenol® 8 Hour, who broke the U.S. record for the marathon
with a time of 2:21:16 at the London Marathon, at 6:30 p.m.
Post Race Party Celebrates Your MCM Accomplishment
What are you going to do after running 26.2 miles? Certainly not go to sleep. Well, maybe a nap...then, bring your friends, family and supporters to the MCM Post Race Party at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City on Sunday October 26 from 7 - 10 p.m. Admission is free! Cash bar featuring Michelob Ultra and appetizers! Slideshow highlights of the 28th MCM! And, a dance floor full of celebrating runners! You can also check your race results at the Cisco Check Your Runner station, powered by DoIt Sports. Music to keep you on your feet, far longer than you'd expect, is provided by BIG 100 WBIG FM.
Preparation is Key-in Running and Running a Communications Network
AT&T "Prepared" to Offer Free Calls at Marathon
What's the first thought that crosses runners' minds at the end of a marathon? We don't know of any scientific surveys, but odds are "I did it!" is near the top of the list. To help runners share their "I did it!" moment, AT&T is providing free domestic phone calls on the day of the race. All Marine Corps Marathon participants (as well as spectators) are invited to stop by the AT&T booth at the Finish Festival Tent to place a call to a friend or loved one.
To provide the phone service, AT&T will be using equipment that is normally reserved for its network disaster recovery program. But through special arrangements with the Marine Corps Marathon, the company is rolling in one of its mobile satellite units to provide free calling.
In the last 10 years, AT&T has invested more than $300 million in its network disaster recovery program, which includes a team of more than 100 managers, engineers and technicians, as well as a fleet of more than 150 trucks that carry every type of equipment necessary to restore access to the AT&T network. The trucks, which have self-contained or dedicated power and environmental systems, generally travel by road. But depending on the nature and location of the disaster, they can also be shipped by rail or air if necessary. Since 1992, the network disaster recovery team has been activated 13 times in response to actual disasters, including restoring service after south Florida's devastating Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and after the Northridge, California, earthquake in 1994. The team also mobilized to provide recovery services following the attack on the World Trade Center in New York City in 2001.
To make sure people and businesses stay connected to its network, AT&T takes disaster preparedness seriously. But we're pleased that in this case, our preparation means simply that some exhausted marathon runners will be able to call their loved ones to say, "I did it!"
|