Baltimore Running Festival 2015: Marathon Route, Course Map and Road Closures

The 15th iteration of the Baltimore Marathon occurs Saturday, October 17th at the 2015 Baltimore Running Festival.

The full marathon begins at 8 a.m. ET on Russell and Camden Streets before taking a picturesque tour through the city. At the finish line, runners will receive special 15th anniversary medals featuring the event's mascot, Blue The Crab.

A staple of marathon season, this year's event will feature runners from around the globe, both novice and professional in form. On Facebook, the marathon gave observers an innovative, digital copy of the program:

Such a massive event for the city means road closures, of course.

Alexander A. Pyles of the Baltimore Sun took a look at the situation:

With about 15,000 people registered for the event and 26 special stops planned to show off every feature of the city, race organizers had to put together a gargantuan effort to attract racers.

Lee Corrigan, president of Corrigan Sports, sounds happy with the expected turnout.

"Fifteen years ago when we started, we had about 6,500 runners, so we've been able to grow it exponentially," Corrigan said, per Megan Pringle of WBALTV.com. 

The course itself is the main draw. The festival's Facebook page provided a closeup of the marathon's route and course map:

It also took an in-depth look at the route to the finish line, which includes a scenic trip past the city's most important sports stadiums: 

Of course, an event can only be as great as Mother Nature permits, especially in the middle of October.

As Jonathan Myers of WBFF-TV captured, temperatures should be right in the runners' comfort zone:

With all the proper details in place, all that remains are the folks who will run the marathon.

Which is what the Baltimore Marathon is about: Community. The full marathon hasn't been around as long as some of the globe's bigger events, but for someone like Lewyn Garrett, who has ran in each of the prior 14 marathons, it's a special event for participants nonetheless.

He spoke with Pyles' colleague, Mike Klingaman, about the community factor: "Every full marathoner is very thankful for the half-marathoners ... so many of the half-marathoners encourage you, especially after you feel like you've hit the wall around 18-to-20 miles."

With one of the best scenic routes the country has to offer and a growing legend as it evolves, Saturday's Baltimore Marathon stands tall as one of the month's greatest events.

Information courtesy of TheBaltimoreMarathon.com unless otherwise specified.