It’s the coup de grace of all dares, the sinister double-dog-dare. Starting last year, the Marine Corps Historic Half dared participants to scale the challenging Hospital Hill not once, but twice in one morning, by participating in the Semper 5ive and then turning around to complete the 13.1 Half.

Runners accepted the challenge and sold out the inaugural Devil Dog Double, completing 18.1 miles over two events and earning three finisher medals. A maximum pace-per-mile was set, that when not met, shut down runners at the Semper 5ive finish. Sadly, for several, this proved to be the case, despite a mad dash to reach the finish as the fences were closing.

In 2018, the field will be doubled to accommodate 1,200 “Doublers” and the pace requirement will be stretched to ten minutes-per-mile.

The 2018 event, happening on May 20, will launch runners at 6:40 a.m. from the Semper 5ive start line. Participants must reach the finish and make the tight u-turn to start the Historic Half portion of the Double by 7:30 a.m. The 13.1 mile course closes at 11 a.m.

Runners depart the event with bounty of bling and bragging rights for having conquered Hospital Hill twice. For those unfamiliar with Hospital Hill, it’s a 0.53-mile segment of the Historic Half and Semper 5ive courses in the middle of a two-mile uphill climb. The much-talked-about Hospital Hill stretches over 930 yards in which the hill’s elevation doubles from 100 feet to 200 feet, or the equivalent of climbing to the top of a ten story building.

Every dog has its day. Registration for the Devil Dog Double is $85 and opens on January 17.

Thanks for visiting this archived blog. The content and details are specific only for the event year highlighted in this article. For current information, please visit the event page within the MCM website.