2nd Annual National Marathon

I began my documentation of the 2nd Annual National Marathon on Friday afternoon when I photographed a sign at the entrance/exit of the Waterfront- SEU Station that read "M Street Closed Saturday 7am - 1pm". Followed by WMATA signs, on the subway, that read Early Opening National Marathon.

On Saturday morning, I jumped off the sofa at 6 am, quickly got dressed and rushed to the Waterfront Station where I arrived at 6:36 am and would take photos, along the way, to the DC Armory.

When exiting the DC Armory Station I turned to get a look at the clock above the kiosk. It read 6:58 AM. With a scheduled 7 AM step-off I had less than two minutes to run one block north to East Capitol Street.

Rushing through the crowd, an early morning darkness and a light drizzle I heard an official announce "We'll just seconds away from starting the 2nd Annual National Marathon!"

At about two yards from where I tried my damndest to be, to capture step-off, the race began.

I spent the next few minutes snapping shots, of the step-off. Rushed back to the DC Armory Station and took the train to L'Enfant Plaza Station where I exited the system at 7th Street and Maryland Avenue, SW. About 5 or ten minutes later I captured the front runners as they passed through.

Wanting to capture the marathon in the SW Community, which is where I live, I followed the marathon south on 7th Street, across the 7th Street Bridge / Overpass to M Street and then east to 4th Street, in SW, across from Waterfront Mall.

I may would have stayed longer and proceeded further east along M Street, SW, but the rain was getting a little heavier and I did not want my cameras nor lens to get wet.

Click photo to view my 2nd Annual National Marathon collection. Since I took many images most of them will be featured in conjunction with the 2008 National Marathon as Never Before Seen photographs.