Marine Corps Marathon • Washington, DC • October 25, 2026
Three dudes. One bridge.
Zero interest in that bus.
At mile 20 of the Marine Corps Marathon, the 14th Street Bridge closes behind you. Fall off the pace and a very comfortable, very shameful bus carries you to the finish. We are three regular guys — not Marines, and honestly not really runners — training to cross that bridge on foot and earn the finish at the Marine Corps War Memorial.
T-minus to the start line
The situation
The 14th Street Bridge. It has to reopen to traffic, so the race gives you until roughly here to prove you belong on the course.
The overall pace you must hold to beat the bridge. Sounds easy in week one. Sounds different at mile 19.
Warm. Padded seats. Waiting patiently for anyone who didn't do their long runs. It is the villain of this entire website.
The crew
Not Marines. Not runners. (Yet.) Just three dudes who signed up for The People's Marathon to support the Corps — and who now have to live with that decision, eighteen weeks at a time.
The one who signed everybody up. Owns a chest strap, a foot pod, and opinions about cadence.
The stepson. Young legs, strong lungs, an alarm clock he treats as a suggestion.
Zach's buddy. Came for the friendship. Stays because Gunny knows where he lives.
Meet Gunny Bridges
Our drill sergeant. He lives inside the crew's training HQ, reads every uploaded run, and has a professional opinion about every skipped one. He mocks effort, never bodies — and he has never once smiled before a long run was finished.
- “The bus is heated. The bus has cushioned seats. The bus is for OTHER PEOPLE.”
- “You don't get tomorrow until you survive today.”
- “Dew point 72? The Corps ran Guadalcanal in worse. Hydrate.”
Training HQ is invite-only. Crew sign-in →