June 9, 2014, MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va. – The Marine Corps Marathon team, Base Facilities and approximately six Marines began building the Run Amuck course last week in preparation for the June 14, 2014, race.
More than 2,000 participants were scheduled to run the 4-mile course as of June 6. Another 400 were scheduled to run the scaled-down, 2-milelong Mini Run Amuck.
Run Amuck, part of the MCM Event Series, which was established in 2008, promotes physical fitness and generates community goodwill while showcasing the organizational skills of the Marine Corps, which is the MCM mission, said Tami Faram, public relations coordinator, Marine Corps Marathon.
There have been multiple changes to the race since last year.
The first change is the hills begin immediately.
“The Run Amuck start is completely different from last year,” said Faram. “Runners will begin closer to the Quantico Chapel grounds and run up a hill initially. Last year the start ran across Lejeune Hall and was relatively flat.”
The second is to one of the mud pits.
“The mud pit, near Quantico’s Firebreak Trail, is also being built differently this year with runners going up and down along a four-finger configuration up and down the mud pit area,” Faram added.
There is a new obstacle: Honor, Courage & Commitment.
“There is a new log obstacle…where Run Amuck runners will move over a height progression of logs,” said Faram.
And the last change is the new balance beam obstacle, previously unheard of for Run Amuck.
Registration for Run Amuck began March 17 with limited entries still available. Currently there are participants from 23 states and Washington, D.C.
It is open to the public, as all Marine Corps Marathon events are. All runners must be age eight or older. To register go to www.marinemarathon.com