Marine Corps Marathon course & pace calculator
From Arlington by the Pentagon, up through Rosslyn and across Key Bridge into Georgetown and Rock Creek Park, around Hains Point and the National Mall, back over the 14th Street Bridge to Crystal City, and up the final hill to the Marine Corps War Memorial. Hilly early and at the finish, flat through the middle. This profile uses the organizer's 2025 route map.
- Climb
- 185 m
- Descent
- 169 m
- Low – high
- 1 m – 69 m
- Terrain at 3:00
- +1:33
- Typical start
- 11°C
- Sub-3 needs
- 2:58:21 flat
Course time calculator
Type h:mm:ss or use the step buttons.
11°C at your start → 15°C at the finish · dew point 8°C
Heat is scored with shade WBGT from temperature and humidity, starting to cost time above about 15°C (59°F) WBGT. Slower runners lose more because they are out longer. Wind, sun and rain are not modelled.
Certified distance only. Switch on to count the metres lost to corners, crowds and aid stations.
Same effort all the way: slower up the climbs, faster down the descents.
- Flat course
- 2:58:21
- Terrain
- +1:32
- Weather
- +0:07
- Marine Corps finish
- 3:00:00
Average 4:16 /km on course · 4:14 /km flat
Elevation profile
185 m up, 169 m down. Hover or tap the chart for the grade and your clock time at any point.
- Climb 2%+
- Climb 0.8–2%
- Flat
- Descent 0.8–2%
- Descent 2%+
- 1Pentagon start · 0.0 km
- 2Marine Corps War Memorial · 42.2 km
Course splits for 3:00:00
Even-effort splits with the selected weather. Climbing and descent are per split, from the smoothed profile.
| Split | Pace | Split time | Clock | Up / down |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 km | 4:22 | 4:22 | 4:22 | +10 m / −0 m |
| 2 km | 4:24 | 4:24 | 8:46 | +14 m / −5 m |
| 3 km | 4:38 | 4:38 | 13:24 | +29 m / −4 m |
| 4 km | 4:30 | 4:30 | 17:54 | +22 m / −10 m |
| 5 km | 4:04 | 4:04 | 21:58 | +0 m / −25 m |
| 6 km | 4:04 | 4:04 | 26:01 | +0 m / −31 m |
| 7 km | 4:28 | 4:28 | 30:29 | +16 m / −1 m |
| 8 km | 4:09 | 4:09 | 34:39 | +2 m / −16 m |
| 9 km | 4:13 | 4:13 | 38:52 | +2 m / −3 m |
| 10 km | 4:15 | 4:15 | 43:07 | +2 m / −1 m |
| 11 km | 4:15 | 4:15 | 47:22 | +2 m / −0 m |
| 12 km | 4:17 | 4:17 | 51:39 | +6 m / −1 m |
| 13 km | 4:11 | 4:11 | 55:51 | +0 m / −7 m |
| 14 km | 4:14 | 4:14 | 1:00:05 | +2 m / −1 m |
| 15 km | 4:13 | 4:13 | 1:04:18 | +0 m / −2 m |
| 16 km | 4:13 | 4:13 | 1:08:30 | +0 m / −2 m |
| 17 km | 4:14 | 4:14 | 1:12:45 | +2 m / −2 m |
| 18 km | 4:13 | 4:13 | 1:16:58 | +0 m / −1 m |
| 19 km | 4:14 | 4:14 | 1:21:12 | +1 m / −1 m |
| 20 km | 4:14 | 4:14 | 1:25:25 | +0 m / −0 m |
| 21 km | 4:13 | 4:13 | 1:29:39 | +0 m / −1 m |
| 22 km | 4:14 | 4:14 | 1:33:52 | +0 m / −0 m |
| 23 km | 4:14 | 4:14 | 1:38:06 | +0 m / −0 m |
| 24 km | 4:14 | 4:14 | 1:42:20 | +0 m / −0 m |
| 25 km | 4:20 | 4:20 | 1:46:40 | +7 m / −0 m |
| 26 km | 4:11 | 4:11 | 1:50:51 | +0 m / −8 m |
| 27 km | 4:19 | 4:19 | 1:55:10 | +8 m / −2 m |
| 28 km | 4:12 | 4:12 | 1:59:22 | +0 m / −6 m |
| 29 km | 4:15 | 4:15 | 2:03:37 | +1 m / −1 m |
| 30 km | 4:19 | 4:19 | 2:07:55 | +6 m / −1 m |
| 31 km | 4:14 | 4:14 | 2:12:09 | +2 m / −5 m |
| 32 km | 4:14 | 4:14 | 2:16:24 | +2 m / −2 m |
| 33 km | 4:16 | 4:16 | 2:20:40 | +2 m / −0 m |
| 34 km | 4:19 | 4:19 | 2:24:59 | +10 m / −5 m |
| 35 km | 4:16 | 4:16 | 2:29:15 | +6 m / −8 m |
| 36 km | 4:15 | 4:15 | 2:33:29 | +2 m / −3 m |
| 37 km | 4:14 | 4:14 | 2:37:43 | +1 m / −1 m |
| 38 km | 4:12 | 4:12 | 2:41:55 | +0 m / −6 m |
| 39 km | 4:15 | 4:15 | 2:46:10 | +3 m / −3 m |
| 40 km | 4:14 | 4:14 | 2:50:24 | +1 m / −1 m |
| 41 km | 4:20 | 4:20 | 2:54:44 | +7 m / −1 m |
| 42 km | 4:20 | 4:20 | 2:59:04 | +9 m / −5 m |
| Finish | 4:48 | 0:56 | 3:00:00 | +7 m / −0 m |
Race-morning weather
Air temperature and relative humidity by hour from the first wave’s 07:55 start, from 98 mornings within three days of the race date since 2011 at WASHINGTON REAGAN NATIONAL AIRPORT, VA US. Cool and warm are about the 10th and 90th percentile mornings by heat stress. Median wind 13 km/h.
Weather scenarios use the 07:55 start and Reagan National Airport readings.
| Local time | Cool | Typical | Warm |
|---|---|---|---|
| 07:55 | 6°C · 72% | 11°C · 82% | 17°C · 87% |
| 08:55 | 7°C · 72% | 12°C · 77% | 17°C · 85% |
| 09:55 | 8°C · 64% | 14°C · 62% | 18°C · 84% |
| 10:55 | 10°C · 45% | 15°C · 57% | 19°C · 85% |
| 11:55 | 10°C · 54% | 17°C · 43% | 20°C · 83% |
| 12:55 | 10°C · 58% | 17°C · 51% | 21°C · 79% |
| 13:55 | 11°C · 53% | 19°C · 37% | 23°C · 64% |
| Date | Start | +3 hours | Peak WBGT |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-10-27 | 9°C · 61% | 12°C · 48% | 14°C |
| 2023-10-29 | 19°C · 87% | 21°C · 76% | 24°C |
| 2022-10-30 | 5°C · 86% | 11°C · 77% | 16°C |
Data & method
- Route: Organizer's 2025 marathon route layer (MCM 2025) from the Marine Corps Marathon ArcGIS course map (https://services3.arcgis.com/uriB49wQuOhO1ZVZ/arcgis/rest/services/Marine_Corps_Marathon_2025/FeatureServer/3), converted to GPX. Measured at 41.95 km and scaled to 42.195 km.
- Elevation: USGS 3DEP 1/3 arc-second (10 m) bare-earth DEM. Sampled every 25–50 m, with bridges set to deck height and smoothed over 200–400 m.
- Weather: hourly observations from NOAA’s Integrated Surface Database (station 72405013743).
- Small climbs on flat courses can be terrain-model noise; they add only seconds to the estimates.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Marine Corps Marathon hilly?
The course climbs about 185 m (607 ft) and descends about 169 m in total, which is gently rolling. At even effort the terrain alone changes a 3:00 flat-course marathon by +1:33 and a 4:00 by +2:03.
What flat-course time do I need to break 3 hours at the Marine Corps Marathon?
About 2:58:21 on a flat course, assuming a typical race morning. For a sub-4 you need about 3:57:33. Switch the weather off in the calculator to see the terrain-only figure.
What is the weather usually like at the Marine Corps Marathon?
On a typical race morning it is about 11°C (52°F) at the first wave’s start and 15°C (59°F) three hours later, with a dew point near 8°C. That costs a 3-hour runner about 0:08 and a 4-hour runner about 0:25. Figures come from airport observations within three days of the race date since 2011.
How is the course-adjusted time calculated?
The course is cut into 100 m pieces. Each piece is run at your flat-course pace times a grade factor (about +3.3% per 1% uphill and −1.8% per 1% downhill) and a heat factor from shade WBGT at the time you reach it. Adding the pieces gives the course time, and the calculator works backwards from a goal the same way.