Marine Corps Historic Half Marathon in Fredericksburg, VA

2009 INFO HERE

[4/24 Update on Official Street Closings]
Fredericksburg VA is going to host the Marine Corp Historic Half next month.
Stats:
May 18th
Start Time 7AM
5,000 Participants (Filled in 2 Weeks)
13.1 Miles

Below I have created a Google route of the course map, each marker indicates the water locations. (If viewing in an RSS feed, you may need to open the story, click here)


View Larger Map

One minor error, the course is going to [EDIT thanks to City Girl] use the canal path to get from Fall Hill back to RT1. Google doesn't have a street here, so the map goes down Normandy Ave around the shopping center. That's probably where the extra 0.2 miles comes from in the distance.

I haven't seen any documents of official places to watch, but here would be my suggestions.

1. In and around UMW/Sunken Rd. This is a tree lined area, with lots of shade.
2. Cowan Blvd should be fun, you get to see the pack at the start, and also the thrill of the chase (uphill) near the end.
3. Old Mill Park, plus there is parking
4. Anywhere along Riverside Drive. Plus when there are no runners, you get to enjoy the river.
5. Start/Finish Line. Surely there will be plenty of parking in Celebrate VA and Central Park. Along with other activities during the day.
6. Princess Anne & Caroline Streets should be active places. The reason this is low on my list is because of the limited sidewalks. Hopefully the city will restrict parking downtown to give people more room for a block party atmosphere to watch the race. PARK IN THE GARAGE. (Hint Hint, if downtown plans adequately for this, I'll consider moving it up the list.)
7. [Updated based new route information] If you leave near Normandy Ave, you might be able to use one of the Canal Path Bridges to watch from. Again, nice and sheltered from the sun. This part of the run is going to be narrow, which might make for some interesting strategy, however, I'm not sure if there are going to be good viewing locations since it's the area is designed for people to stay on the pathway.

More info here: http://www.marinecorpshistorichalf.com/
Map w/Elevation: www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=210414

[update 4/24] Just received this from a friend at the City:

Street Closings on May 18, 2008
6:50 - 7:30 Carl D Silver Pkwy (CDSP) southbound from Convention Center to Cowan Blvd.
6:50 - 11:00 Traffic control point (TCP) at Fall Hill Ave. and CDSP.
6:50 - 8:00 Cowan Blvd. (eastbound) from CDSP to Keeneland Rd.
7:00 - 8:05 Woodland, Keeneland and Westwood Roads from Cowan Blvd. to Rt 3.
7:05 - 8:10 Rt. 3 (westbound lanes) from Westwood Rd. to William St.
7:10 - 8:55 William St. (westbound) from Blue/Gray Pkwy. to Washington Ave.
7:10 - 8:35 Sunken Rd. northbound from William St. to Fitzhugh St.
7:15 - 8:35 Fitzhugh St. between Sunken Rd. and Franklin St.
7:15 - 8:35 Franklin St. between Fitzhugh and Madison St.
7:15 - 8:35 Madison St. between Franklin St. and Littlepage St.
7:15 - 8:40 Littlepage St. between Madison and Grove Ave.
7:15 - 8:40 Grove between Littlepage and Kenmore Ave.
7:20 - 8:50 Kenmore Ave. between Grove and William St.
7:20 - 9:05 Washington Ave. between William St. and Maury St.
7:20 - 9:10 Maury St. from Washington Ave. to Fall Hill Rd.
7:25 - 9:10 Fall Hill Rd./Canal St. from Maury to Princess Anne St.
7:25 - 9:20 Princess Anne St. between Canal Rd and Charlotte St.
7:25 - 9:20 Charlotte St. between Princess Anne and Caroline St.
7:30 - 9:50 Caroline St. (west lane only) between Charlotte and Van Buren St.
7:35 - 9:55 Riverside Dr. (east lane only) from Woodford St. to Fall Hill Ave.
7:35 - 10:00 Fall Hill from Riverside Dr. to canal path.
7:40 - 10:15 US Rt. 1 (one lane and turn lane only) from canal to Mary Washington Blvd.
7:40 - 10:20 Mary Washington Blvd. from Rt. 1 to Sam Perry Blvd.
7:45 - 10:30 Sam Perry Blvd. from Mary Washington Blvd. to Hospital Dr.
7:45 - 10:30 Hospital Dr. from Sam Perry Blvd. to Cowan Blvd.
7:20 - 10:50 Cowan Blvd (westbound) from Hospital Drive to CDSP
7:20 - 11:00 CDSP northbound from Cowan Blvd. to Fall Hill Ave.
CLOSURE TIMES STREETS/HIGHWAYS
Church Patrons Only - Park at the Public Parking Lot Intersection of Sophia and George Streets
Shuttle Transportation
Free race day shuttles to/from the Fredericksburg Expo & Conference Center will be available for runners and
spectators at the following commuter lot locations from 4:30 - 6:30 am and from 10:30 am - 2:00 pm.
• Houser Dr. lot located just off Courthouse Rd. in Spotsylvania County
• US 17 lot located at US 17 North towards Warrenton, just off I-95 at exit 133
An additional shuttle will be available to take spectators to downtown Fredericksburg at mile seven of the Marine Corps Historic Half course. The shuttle will transport spectators from World St., near the Expo Center.