Right on Track

As of yesterday, despite the government shutdown, the Marine Corps Marathon  (MCM) is still slated for 11 days from now. 

That doesn't mean it's a "go", but as of now it's not a "no go". 

Last Sunday the Army 10 Miler went off with almost 19,000 participants, which is about half of what the Marine Corps does and with more than double the distance. 

More importantly, that race shares some of the same route as the MCM. This bodes somewhat well for the race to still happen. 

The issue isn't with the road closures or finances. It has to do with the US Parks in which runners go into. Technically, the US Parks are to be closed during shutdown, but it becomes an issue of liability if something happens to a runner on those locations. 

The online chatter has calmed down a bit about possible cancellation since the Army did their race. But it amazes me that people purchased non-refundable airline tickets (nationally and internationally) for this race. 

My indignation has nothing do with the race cancellation, but having had several injuries, I wouldn't purchase a non-refundable anything for a race - especially a destination one. 

Others claim if it is cancelled they'll come anyway and run. I'm assuming not the actual route as streets won't be closed. 

While I love DC, if the MCM is cancelled I'm not going to the District just to go. What's the point?  Monuments, Museums, Buildings etc are all shut down.....at least to the public. I don't need to drive 300 miles to eat out - though the restaurants and hotels I'm sure are taking a beating. 

Luckily, we can cancel our hotel room 24 hours beforehand and not get charged, so I don't think we'll incur any costs. 

Should this be 86'd, I've done a lot of marathon training for nothing. There might be small marathons open to me somewhere, but the bigger ones are all sold out.

I'm in my taper now, which has been the most pleasant one yet. More importantly, mentally I'm strong. Usually I spiral for weeks, but with this one, I'm feeling confident. But I still have 11 days to crumble. 

My biggest marathon stressor?  The line for the port-a-potty before the gun. 

Song by: Breakfast Club