Marine Corps Base Quantico -- “Who here has run the Marine Corps Marathon?” Col. Joseph Murray, Marine Corps Base Quantico commander, asked the roomful of lieutenants from Fox Company at The Basic School. The lieutenants were gathered to hear a briefing on their duties as marathon volunteers.

A scattering of hands went up.

“Who here has hit ‘the wall’?”

The hands stayed up.

“Can you describe it?” Murray asked one Marine.

“That bridge at mile 20, sir, when everything seizes up and you feel like you’re dead,” the lieutenant replied.

Murray told the room that he hit “the wall” around that same point when he ran the MCM. He was close to quitting when he passed a young lance corporal.

“Oorah, sir!” the lance corporal said.

“Just hearing that picked me up and gave me the motivation to run despite the fridge I was carrying on my back,” said Murray. “This weekend, you’re going to be that Marine. You will have the opportunity to pick people up, whether it’s at a water point or the finish line.”

“Many of the people running don’t know what it’s like to be around Marines, if you can believe it,” he added. “You will be the face of the Marines!”

Nearly 30,000 runners will attempt to complete the 26.2 mile race this weekend. The course begins in Arlington National Cemetery and ends at the Marine Corps War Memorial in Rosslyn, Va. The mission of the Marine Corps Marathon is to promote physical fitness, showcase the organizational skills of the Marine Corps, and promote community goodwill.

“With 18,000 people running the Marine Corps Marathon for the first time, that’s 18,000 chances to make a good impression,” Maj. Andrew Bormann, the director of Public Affairs for Marine Corps Base Quantico, said during one of the volunteer briefings. “This is the biggest public affairs event for the Marine Corps.”

2,300 Marines from Quantico, the Pentagon, Marine Barracks Washington D.C., and Headquarters Marine Corps will ensure that the marathon runs smoothly.

“Marines are taught to organize quickly,” said Gunnery Sgt. Jens Orsen, assistant operations chief for Headquarters and Service Battalion. “We’re given a mission and told ‘you need to get this done’ — and we figure out how to get from A to B. That’s our culture.”

“By nature, we thrive on organization,” said Col. Todd Oneto, commanding officer of Headquarters and Service Battalion. “We love to take on a challenge such as this.”

Marine volunteers will assist with set-up, tear-down, and crowd control at the start and finish lines. They will hand out water and snacks at the 12 water points and four food points, and will cheer on runners at each mile marker.

Headquarters and Service Battalion will run the Command Operations tent, located near the finish line, which monitors the entire marathon, Oneto said. Eight TV screens will show different parts of the race and keep track of the weather. Representatives from the Arlington, Pentagon, Metropolitan D.C., and Park Police and medical personnel will have places in the CO tent.

The marathon course is divided into eight divisions, each with a captain in charge.

Oneto said the hardest part of organizing an event like this is getting the roster of names of those assigned to each division to the captain in charge.

The Marine volunteers are entrusted with satisfying the mission of the MCM.

“People are coming from around the world to run this race and often this is their first encounter with a U.S. Marine,” Oneto said. “I think our conduct will meet or exceed people’s expectations.”

Lance Cpl. Timothy David, Headquarters and Service Battalion, will be assisting at a water station this year. He said he volunteered with the Marine Corps Half Marathon in Fredericksburg, Va., this past May. He remembered a female Marine who motivated a struggling runner by running with her for a mile.

“It was really cool to see that,” David said. “It would be great to help someone that way.”

“There’s this perception that Marines are tough and hard,” Sgt. Philip White, Headquarters and Service Battalion, said. “This is a way for us to show people that we’re also soft; that we give back to the community.”

2nd Lt. Isaac Yuen, Fox Company, said that he is looking forward to cheering on runners the way that he has been cheered on when he’s run marathons.

“The marathon is about mental strength more than physical strength,” Yuen said. “You find out more about yourself, how far you can go. I’m excited to see people do that this weekend.”

The lieutenants from Fox Company will be posted at the end of the race to award medals to the finishers.

“When you put that medal over their heads, that’s a moment they’ll remember for the rest of their lives,” MCB Quantico Sgt. Maj. Gerald Saunders told the lieutenants. “It’s called ‘The People’s Marathon’ for a reason—people are proud to be a part of it.”

— Writer: auphausconner@quanticosentryonline.com