Virtual events offered for Historic Half

The annual Marine Corps Historic Half in Fredericksburg will be virtual again this year due to COVID-19, but the marathon organization has come up with some fun ways for runners to participate.

“Mission Ready: Historic Half” is a virtual interactive event that spans the six weeks prior to Historic Half Weekend (May 15-16) and offers three tiers of registration options based on the training miles runners will accumulate before their Historic Half event. Registration will open on March 1.

Each tier is associated with the number of training miles the runner commits to completing between March 21 and May 1 as they prepare for the Historic Half, Devil Dog Double or any other spring long-distance event. Tiers include Bronze at $25, Silver at $30 and Gold at $35. Runners will accumulate and log training miles on the way to the ambitious totals. An interactive Historic Half course map will track the runner’s progress and unlock motivation messages and interesting facts along the way. After logging all required miles, participants will receive recognition pieces according to their registered tier:

• Bronze will receive a uniquely designed dog-tag-shaped coin
• Silver will receive a dog-tag coin and a silver lapel pin
• Gold will receive a dog-tag coin, and silver and gold lapel pins

The dog tag and pins may be affixed to the finisher medal for the Historic Half to demonstrate the decorated runner’s mission preparation and then mission accomplishment. Ambitious runners can also sign up for the Semper Fi Challenge, returning for its second year. The two-event challenge includes either the Historic Half or the Devil Dog Double in May 2021 and the MCM or the MCM50K in October 2021. Runners must finish both events to earn the special medal.