Drivers traveling on Route 234 should prepare for detours.
Road Closures and Time:
The biggest delays will be seen on Route 234 between Waterway Drive and Country Club Drive. Closures and times will follow as such:
- Pleasant Road will be closed to traffic from 5:30 a.m. to noon.
- One southbound lane and one northbound lane of Route 234 will be closed from 3:45 a.m. until end of the event, estimated to be around noon.
- Route 234 will be fully closed to all traffic from 6:45 a.m. until the start line clears, estimated to be around 7:30 a.m.
Event Day Detours:
Traffic on Route 234 south will be detoured onto Waterway Drive starting at 6:45 a.m. Traffic will be rerouted to Route 234 at Country Club Drive.
It commemorates the year the U.S. Marine Corps was founded and is one of nine events leading up to the annual Marine Corps Marathon in October.
The event will begin at 7 a.m. Saturday, March 26, and marks the first time organizers will hold the 17.75K run since 2019.
The course features an 11-mile run over rolling hills and winding turns in a densely wooded backdrop. The 17.75K starts and finishes outside Montclair Tabernacle Church near Dumfries, and sends runners on a course through Prince William Forest Park.
More than 2,900 runners finished the 17.75K run in 2019 and received automatic access to the Marine Corps Marathon, said spokeswoman Kristen Loflin.
For participants, the Marine Corps Marathon Organization provided information on access and parking.
Parking and Shuttle Information:
Participants and spectators will be able to utilize several parking lots along Route 234. It is recommended for runners to carpool and park at the following parking lots and use the provided shuttles:
- Forest Park High School, 15721 Forest Park Drive.
- Route 234 Commuter Lot
- Quantico Center (Fettler Commercial Buildings), 3850 Fettler Park Drive, Dumfries, Va.
Shuttles will take participants back and forth between the start/finish area at Montclair Tabernacle Church of God before and after the event. On event morning, the free shuttles will begin operating at 5 a.m., with the last pre-event shuttle departing the parking lots at 6:30 a.m.
Post-event shuttles will begin running shortly after 8:00 a.m. from the 17.75K finish area and return to the designated parking lots. Each bus will be labeled with a specific parking destination.
There are also a limited number of parking spaces at Moncure Park, Brittany Neighborhood Park and Montclair Commuter Lot. Due to the closer proximity to the start/finish area, there will be no shuttle service to these parking lots. Therefore, participants who choose to park in these areas are expected to walk to the start/finish area.
There is no participant parking at John F. Pattie Elementary School, Washington-Reid Preschool Center or Montclair Tabernacle Church of God.
The event is one of seven in a series of annual events that lead up to the Marine Corps Marathon, held in Arlington and Washington, D.C.
