What is the Marine Motivation Zone?

Located at mile 12 on the Marine Corps Historic Half course, the Marine Motivation Zone will allow runners to pay tribute and draw inspiration from Marines past and present, historical and personal. Runners will enter this inspirational stretch of the course after departing the Mary Washington Healthcare campus. Marine Corps flags will decorate the road from Cowan Boulevard at Preserve Lane to the I-95 overpass.

To runner right, photo tributes of Marine leaders throughout history will be intermingled with images of Marines shared by participants as a way of honoring the service of a loved one. Leaders from Basilone to Butler and “Chesty” to “Pappy” will be featured, as will Marines who earned fame beyond the Corps including Drew Carey and Ted Williams.

“Runners expect to see Marines at the start, on the course and at the finish,” says MCM Director Rick Nealis. “The Marines are what makes the Historic Half unique from other half marathons. When entering the Marine Motivation Zone on the course, runners can reflect on the history of the Corps and many can share their personal Marine connection.”

Runners can nominate their Marine or Marines by posting a photo and sharing a story on the MCM Facebook page under the April 19th post related to the Zone. The Marines featured in the Motivation Zone will be randomly selected from those nominated by runners.

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.