Thank you for entering 14th annual Potomac River Run Marathon and Half!

  • First event of our weekend is Thursday, May 4, from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM -- Goodie bag assembly and early packet pick-up at Walter Reed Community Center, 2909 16th Street South, Arlington VA 22204.
  • Please help us assemble 400 goodie bags and pick up your number, goodie bag, and SportScience > ® t-shirt early!

  • Next event is Saturday, May 6, from 3:00 PM to 5:45 PM -- pre-race packet pick-up at Pacers Running Store, 3100 Clarendon Boulevard, Arlington VA. Pick up your bib number, goodie bag, and t-shirt.
  • Pacers Running Store is near Clarendon Metro. You may park free for 90 minutes under Trader Joe's, parking entrance on Garfield Street, parking validation near the cash register, but please stop in and buy something there -- say you're from Potomac River Run Marathon!

  • Then Saturday, May 6, from 6:30 PM to 7:30 PM -- dinner with Gib Leonard, Buy A Brick Foundation, Cosi Restaurant, 1801 North Lynn Street, Arlington VA, near Rosslyn Metro, including photo show of their progress building Leonah Clinic and Hospital and fighting malaria in Zimbabwe.

    See last year's Time Magazine TIME 100 for a biography of Tu Youyou, the Chinese biologist who discovered Artemisia Annua, the anti-malarial crop that Buy A Brick Foundation is planting in Zimbabwe.

  • On Sunday morning, May 7, Red Top Cabs leave Key Bridge Marriott, 1401 Lee Highway, at 7:00 AM to get you safely for the 8:00 AM and 9:00 AM starts at Fletcher's Cove, 4940 Canal Road NW, Washington DC
  • After you finish, if you took Red Top Cab to the race, we offer free rides back courtesy of our drivers at Fletcher's Cove back to Key Bridge Marriott.

  • If you want to register for the dinner at Cosi Restaurant or the Red Top Cab ride, please use our web page at
    https://safetyandhealthfoundation.org/marathon/20170507.php

  • Canal Road is the westbound extension of M Street past Foxhall Road, about a half mile west of Key Bridge.
  • Fletcher's Cove is where Reservoir Road intersects Canal Road.
  • Races start at 8:00 AM and 9:00 AM at Fletcher's Cove, 4940 Canal Road, Washington DC, about 2 miles west of Key Bridge.

  • Packet pick-up opens on-site on race day, Sunday, May 7, at Fletcher's Cove, from 7:15 AM to 8:45 AM
  • You may leave your personal belongings at the registration desk. We provide white plastic bags. Please write your name and bib number on your white bag if you check personal items. Please, no backpacks or duffel bags.

  • Enjoy our laughing warm-up, led by Diane Cohen, Arlington Laughter Yoga, at 7:30 AM and 8:30 AM. If you've never enjoyed Laughter Yoga before, you will today!
  • We play the National Anthem at 7:45 AM and 8:45 AM, followed by stand-up comedy from Showtime Mike Mebreahtu and final instructions from the race director
  • Showtime Mike also announces the finish

  • Enjoy authentic African music, singing and dancing, from Anna Mwalagho from 11:00 AM to 12:00 noon at the post-race picnic area. See www.annamwalagho.com

  • We present awards as promptly as possible after you finish. Give us a few minutes to keep up with the data. We use old-fashioned hand-timing, recorded on an electronic time recorder called Time Machine (see www.timemachine.org) that feeds into our proprietary scoring system. Please wear your bib number visibly on the front of your shirt, not obscured in any way, so we can record you at the moment you finish.
  • Please do not remove the name tag at the bottom of your bib number. It is NOT a baggage tag. We pull the tag off the bottom of your number after you finish to establish the order of finish
  • Awards include your choice: SHF shatterproof UV-protective sunglasses; SHF multi-color desk lamps to brighten your day; $25 certificates from Falls Road Running Store in Baltmore; $25 certificates from Pacers Running Stores in DC, MD, NJ, and VA; and one certificate each from Metro 29 Diner in Arlington and Great American Restaurant region-wide

  • Your time is as shown on the clock. If you plan to run a fast time or to try to qualify for 2018 Boston Marathon or Chicago, Houston, or New York City Marathons who also have qualifying times, please step to the front of the crowd under the START banner after we sing the National Anthem
  • Thus you won't lose 15 to 30 seconds starting back of the crowd. The race is small enough that you can do that

  • We look forward to treating you post-race to Trader Joe's bananas and clementines, Dunkin' Donuts bagels, Mario's Pizza House pizza (two types -- cheese and vegan), Carb Boom energy gel, Simone Super Energy, and King Zachary's Royal Barbeque

  • If you want to change your start time or distance, please use the form at
    https://docs.google.com/forms/d/18mLarqnWRRFUyb5UL20Y6W2TB26OKHE8z_RCfbOUwuc/viewform

  • You can also inform the registrar when you check in on Thursday, Saturday, or Sunday
  • If you entered the full marathon but can run only the first half marathon, and that's it, please cross the finish line, accept your Dan Kain Trophies medal, and then inform the scorekeepers at the finish line that you switched from the full marathon to the half
  • We won't force you to run another 13.1 miles!

  • If you are running the full marathon, when you get back to Fletcher's Cove, you've gone half-way
  • We'll have cones set up and a refreshment station with water, Gatorade, and Carb Boom at the half-way table
  • Get some refreshments, go around the cones, and run the second half of the course
  • Please also tell the finish-line staff if you registered for the half marathon but decided to run the full. Believe it or now, it happens!

  • We thank our aid station volunteers at Lock 5 (Buy A Brick Foundation), Lock 7 (Ethio-American Athletics Association), and Lock 10 (DC Capital Striders)
  • Please make their job easy and deposit used paper cups, gel packs, banana peels, etc. in the trash boxes we provide at all aid stations

  • In case of emergency, each aid station has water, Gatorade, ice, space blankets, chairs, tents for shade, first aid kits, first aid-certified volunteers, and vehicle to drive you back to the start / finish at Fletcher's Cove
  • If you must drop out, please stop at one of the aid stations
  • If you see someone stop who needs assistance, please inform the volunteers at the next aid station so someone can run to the aid of the person who needs assistance

  • MAPS:
  • Flat - scenic - beautiful views of the Potomac River - tree-lined - shaded - out'n'back
  • Start and finish at Fletcher's Cove | 4940 Canal Road NW, Washington DC
  • USATF certified course DC09005RT | Certificate | Color Map | B&W Map | DOC | PDF | GMAP
  • We will have laminated markers at every mile
  • The aid stations are approximately (not exactly) two miles apart

    Thank you,

    Jay Jacob Wind, director, Safety And Health Foundation
    racedirector@att.net
    703-927-4833