When I first started considering running a marathon, all I could think about was running the Marine Corps Marathon.  A marathon run through the streets of DC just gets me all tingly in my feet at the thought. Being able to run through my favorite city (not just because I was born here and live here presently, but because I have lived in other cities across the country and none compare with the passion you find in this city) and support the great people who fight for this country was something that I could only have hoped for. I ran the 10k last October and I was so inspired by the people running the 10k and the full on the overcast (soon-to-be hurricane) day in DC. 

Anyway, I reached out to their social media team and got some immediate answers to some general questions I had:

How much planning does it take to plan the MCM every year?

Some components of MCM planning begin to take place more than a year before the event.  Starting annually during spring, the MCM hosts project officer meetings with the Marines who are assigned to various areas of responsibility.  This is where lots of the nuts and bolts of event coordination takes place.

How many people are on your planning team?

About 30 on the MCM staff, then there’s a significant civilian and Marine volunteer force.

How often do you change up the course?

As often as construction or other external elements require adjustments.  Most years, the course experiences at least a small adjustment.

Do you try to plan new things for the participants each year?

Always developing new ways to enhance the experience for runners, supporters and the community through new partnerships, entertainment, technology, etc.

In years before the past two, the MCM took a little longer to sell out than 2 hours. Why do you think the MCM is selling out so fast these days?

Watch the MCM Motivation Movie.  http://www.marinemarathon.com/Community/MCM_TV.htm   That’s why.  We are thrilled by the enthusiasm the running community has for the MCM.

I know a lot of people who have run your marathon year after year. What do you think it is about your race (as opposed to NYC or Chicago or others) that keeps people coming back year after year?

The MCM is an event that truly unites participants as a community.  The scenic course with so many national landmarks, the start adjacent to Arlington Cemetery and the finish at the Marine Corps War Memorial, the thousands of Marines supporting individual runners.  These are powerful and motivating forces that propel individuals to succeed and inspire them to return for more.

Many races have social media accounts, but your social media accounts are very active and always positive. When did you all decide to start utilizing twitter, facebook, etc. and do you have a specific plan for your social media? If so, what is it that you think makes it successful over other plans and keeps people coming back?

Our social media goal is to maintain meaningful dialogue and sustain the excitement and motivation individuals have during the annual planning, training and celebrating cycle.  We’re just as excited about the MCM as the runners and we try to convey that through all of our communications whether over FB, Twitter, Instagram or YouTube.

 

 

So with all of this being said, I will let you know that you all should look for my next post where I will talk about my MRI results and how they’re both good and bad news, but that it wont be keeping me from running the MCM (and my first ever marathon) this year in October!