Half Marathon
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View Mercy Center Foundation's video by Davin Lindwall featuring the girls of Mercy School, Lare, Kenya and the Mercy Project providing access to clean water, health care, educational opportunities, and micro-enterprise initiatives 
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- Distinctive medals for the first 250 finishers
- Gift certificates from sponsors for 1st, 2nd, 3rd M/F overall and 1st, 2nd, and 3rd M/F in age groups 19 & under, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, and 70 & over
- Race proceeds support
-
Mercy Center Foundation's work in Kenya
(see
www.mercyproject.org)
- supporting and mentoring girls' education and empowering new healthy lifestyles
-
Kaimont's life-saving aid and education programs in Nepal
- The half marathon is USATF-certified and a qualifying race for Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York City, and USA Olympic Trials Marathons
- Your sponsorship is tax deductible as this is a full charity race - Tax ID 54-2124269 - Mercy Project
- Please join us as a sponsor | PDF | DOCX | One-touch
- We announce our sponsors in pre-race e-mailings, on our web site, on our t-shirt, on race-day, and post-race
- If you're interested in sponsoring, please call Adrianne Doherty (703-309-6657) to discuss levels and opportunities
- Fletcher's Cove is two miles west of Key Bridge at 4940 Canal Road NW, Washington DC
- FROM THE EAST
- From Key Bridge in Virginia, turn left onto westbound M Street NW
- From Georgetown, and points east, take M Street NW west past Key Bridge
- At Foxhall Road, M Street NW becomes Canal Road NW
- Stay left on Canal Road NW
- After two miles, on the left is the first break in the the old stone wall and a stoplight for Reservoir Road
- CAREFULLY turn left at the stoplight to go down the ramp to Fletcher's Cove
- FROM THE WEST
- Take Clara Barton Parkway past Chain Bridge onto Canal Road NW
- After one mile, on the right is the first break in the the old stone wall and a stoplight for Reservoir Road, the entrance to Fletcher's Cove
- You can try making the hairpin turn right to go down the ramp to Fletcher's Cove, but it's dangerous
- Instead, you can turn left onto Reservoir Road
- Park in any legal spot on Reservoir Road, River School, U Street, Bending Lane, or Hutchins Street and walk downhill to Fletcher's Cove
- CAREFULLY cross Canal Road to go down the ramp to Fletcher's Cove
- Alternatively, you can make a U-turn on Reservoir Road and drive down to the stoplight, cross Canal Road, and turn right down the ramp
- At the bottom of the ramp, on the left is free parking for 85 cars in the upper parking lot
- When the upper lot is full, bear right at the bottom of the ramp and turn left into the tunnel under C&O Canal Towpath
- At the end of the tunnel, follow the curved road that leads to the lower parking lot which parallels Potomac River with free parking for 200 cars
- If both parking lots are full, we post a marshal on Canal Road NW at Reservoir Road NW to instruct drivers to turn RIGHT up Reservoir Road NW to free parking on-street and at The River School
- Please lock your vehicles
- Start and finish at Fletcher's Cove | 4940 Canal Road NW, Washington DC (Google Map)
- USATF certified course DC21001RT | Certificate | Color Map | B&W Map | DOC | PDF | GMAP
- Totally flat dirt-packed gravel trail, alongside scenic C&O Canal Towpath
- The half marathon is out 6.55 miles to Towpath mile 9.65 and back
- The towpath runs the length of 184.5 miles along the scenic C&O Canal
- Made of crushed stone and packed dirt, it is perfect for running, biking, and recreational events and programs
- It is mostly a flat route combined with some hills, turns, and medium or moderate terrain, but it's straight out'n'back where we run this race
- Please be courteous to other park users. We do not have exclusive use of the trail -- we share it with other runners, walkers, and bicyclists
• Lock 5, miles 1.8 & 11.3
• Lock 7, miles 3.8 & 9.3
• Lock 10, miles 5.8 & 7.3
- Re personal listening devices, we follow USATF rule 144.3.b (Assistance to Athletes):
- Because we must be able to communicate instructions to you at certain points in our races, we specifically allow wearing headphones during the race, but we specifically prohibit wearing headphones at these points:
• Start line
• Aid stations
• Turnaround
• Finish line
- At the 4 points above, plus:
• Under Chain Bridge
• Lock 6
• Lock 8
• Lock 9
• Lock 11
• Turnaround point (at the end of the blue line)
- DJ music by
Bach To Rock McLean
- Snacks & refreshments: Coffee, bagels, energy bars, bananas, and water at lower level Fletcher's Boathouse picnic area
- Distinctive medals for the first 200 finishers
- Gift certificates from sponsors
- for 1st, 2nd, 3rd M/F overall and for 1st, 2nd, 3rd M/F in 10-year age groups 19 & under, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, 70 & over
- We have 285 free parking spaces at Fletcher's Cove.
- 85 spaces are at the upper level near Abner Cloud House when you arrive
- If those spaces are filled, enter the tunnel on the right to go to the lower parking area, where we have 200 more spaces oon the left near Potomac River
- Once we fill all the parking at Fletcher's Cove (maybe 8:15 AM), we direct cars to turn right on Reservoir Road towards free on-street parking, 0.3 to 0.7 miles away.
- To park off-site, so that we leave some parking spaces available at Fletcher's Cove for the general public, here are options:
- Park in Rosslyn and take Red Top Cab (703-522-3333) to the start
- River School, 4940 Reservoir Road NW, Washington DC 20007
- Palisades Library, 4901 V St NW, Washington, DC 20007
- Our Lady of Victory School, 4755 Whitehaven Pkwy NW, Washington, DC 20007
- CVS/pharmacy, 4859 MacArthur Boulevard NW, Washington, DC 20007
- Park on Clara Barton Parkway northwest of Chain Bridge. Walk down ramp to C&O Canal Towpath, and walk about one mile southeast to Fletcher's Cove
- Park across Chain Bridge on Arlington side. Walk across Chain Bridge, walk down ramp to C&O Towpath, and walk about one mile southeast to Fletcher's Cove