23 Jun Seattle Rock n Roll Marathon: Road Closures

I have been training for about 6 months for this year’s Rock n’ Roll Half Marathon. Although I was waylayed for over a month because of a stress fracture (replace your running shoes often!), I am excited to be running in it for the second time in a row. I’m even more excited that after I run through the finish line, I only have a 3 block walk to make it home.

If you haven’t heard of the Rock n’ Roll Marathon + 1/2 before, this is only their second year in Seattle. There are close to 30,000 runners that will participate this Saturday, June 26th, which is close to 5,000 more than participated last year. It is an absolutely beautiful course, and covers many different neighborhood areas in South Seattle/South Downtown.

All neighborhoods that are a part of the course, however, should be aware of the difficulties in getting to or leaving your home on Saturday:

Beginning at 5:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 26th, police and event personnel will implement a soft closure along the entire race course, with roads closing at 6:00 a.m. unless otherwise noted. The races begin at 7:00 a.m. and streets will reopen on a rolling basis as soon as the last participant has passed and all the course support materials have been removed. Most road closures and detours will be in effect between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m, with roads near the start line opening earlier than roads near the finish line.

“It’s a beautiful course that really showcases what Seattle has to offer,” said Elizabeth O’Brien, Event Director. “However, it’s critical that our neighbors plan ahead, anticipate delays, and be aware of alternate routes that are available. Once the roads are closed, vehicles may not be able to cross the route.”

Both the full and half marathon start together at Gateway Corporate Center on Interurban Ave in Tukwila, south of downtown Seattle. The course runs through Tukwila and makes its way to the scenic shores of Lake Washington for miles 4 through 9. Full marathoners split off for 2 miles on the floating Lake Washington Bridge. After 2 miles, both courses meet again and run next to each other on the Interstate 90 Express Lanes.  All participants head into downtown Seattle, where the half marathon splits off and finishes downtown outside Qwest Field.

The full marathon continues north onto the Alaskan Way Viaduct/Hwy 99, with views of Elliott Bay, passing the Space Needle and Lake Union as the Alaskan Way Viaduct/Hwy 99 becomes Aurora. Runners will u-turn and head back toward downtown on the highway before finishing outside Qwest Stadium in downtown Seattle.

In addition to a number of road closures, several freeway ramps will also be affected, including:

•     Highway 599 Northbound & Southbound off-ramp to Interurban Avenue

•     Highway 599 Northbound on-ramp from Interurban Avenue & S. 133rd Street

•     Interstate 5 Northbound off-ramp and on-ramp to and from Martin Luther King Way

•     Interstate 5 off-ramps to Interurban Avenue/S. 133rd Street

The I-90 Express Lanes will be completely closed during the event. Regular traffic on I-90 will be allowed. For a complete list of road closures, visit http://wwww.competitor.com/community.

The race will finish outside Qwest Event Center in Pioneer Square, where participants and spectators can enjoy a finish line festival and free headliner concert featuring “Tonic.” Live bands will also play nearly every mile of the course. A complete list of bands is available online.

Downloadable Course Map:

http://seattle.competitor.com/files/2009/04/SEA_10_CourseMap-2.pdf

Specific Road Closure Grid:

http://seattle.competitor.com/files/2009/05/Road-Closure-Grid.pdf