Metro Wants to Get You to the Army 10-Miler and to Shows at Arena Stage

Metro has had certainly had its ups and downs lately.  It's been down a lot on 3-day holiday weekends while trying to take care of its tracks and catch up on basic maintenance, while on the other hand, it's going out of its way to make it easy for people to take Metro to specific events. Here are two that Metro wants you to see: The first is the Army 10-Miler race on Sunday morning, and the second is a farecard/theater tickets deal for Arena Stage.  Interestingly, the Metro press release (below) notes that organizers of the race have paid for Metro's extra service, but is silent on the financial arrangements involved in the Arena Stage promotion.

Metro will be opening at 6 a.m. Sunday for Army 10-Miler

Additional Blue Line service will be available to race participants and spectators attending Sunday's Army 10-Miler race, as the Metrorail system is opening an hour early at 6 a.m. on Oct. 24. (The Army 10-Miler paid for the early hours.)

Metrobus operations at the Pentagon Transit Center will be relocated temporarily to Pentagon City until Arlington County reopens the impacted roadways, which is expected to happen at about 2 p.m. The Pentagon Metrorail station will remain open to accommodate race spectators and participants.

To help get everyone to and from the race, Metro will operate additional Blue Line trains between 6 a.m. and the start of the race (8 a.m.), and again afterward from 11:15 a.m. to 12:40 p.m. Blue Line trains will depart approximately every 7 1/2 minutes from the Franconia-Springfield and Stadium-Armory Metrorail stations headed to the Pentagon. On a typical Sunday, Blue Line trains operate every 15 minutes from the terminal stations.

Participants and spectators who take Metrorail to the race should exit at the Pentagon or Pentagon City Metrorail stations on the Blue and Yellow Lines. For those driving to Metrorail stations to begin their trips, parking is free at Metro-operated parking facilities on weekends.

Metro suggests that race participants to use a SmarTrip card or a plastic cover to protect paper farecards. In previous years, race participants have had their farecards demagnetized while participating in the race after they became covered in moisture.

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Half-price Theater Tickets Available to Metro Riders

Promotion valid at new Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater

Metro riders have the opportunity to purchase half-price Arena Stage tickets for the inaugural season of the Mead Center for American Theater.

On "Metro Mondays," riders who present their SmarTrip cards or Metro fare cards at the Arena Stage box office after noon, will be eligible to purchase half-price tickets to that week's performances. Tickets are subject to availability and limited to two per customer.

The Mead Center is one block from the Waterfront-SEU Metrorail station on the Green Line. Metrobus routes 70, 71, V7, V9, P1 and P2, as well as the DC Circulator Convention Center-Southwest Waterfront route also serve the theater area.

For information on how to plan your trip to Arena Stage, visit Metro's web site. For

information on tickets and performances, visit Arena Stage.