Photo above: Lee Dipietro (wearing shades), age 46, finished fifth in the 2004 Baltimore Marathon in 2:53:04.

A month and 191 years after being filled with more than 1,000 U.S. troops during the Battle of Baltimore, Fort McHenry will once again be packed as thousands of runners taking part in the Under Armour Baltimore Running Festival will circle the National Monument for the first time in the five-year history of the event. The addition of the Fort McHenry National Monument Historic Shrine to the 26.2-mile course results in the Under Armour Baltimore Marathon becoming one of a handful of road races to go through or past a National Monument.

"Running through Fort McHenry is a great opportunity for the runners to experience one of our city's beautiful spots and one of our country's great Historic Landmarks," stated Lee Corrigan, Principal of Corrigan Sports Enterprises, which organizes the Festival. "This is something we had hoped to add to the course since year one. Until now, this opportunity has not been available to us. Although the timing of this move is not ideal, we feel it is important to make the change now to ensure that the run within Fort McHenry is included in the race route for years to come."

As a result, the first half of the marathon had to be reworked in order to accommodate the new addition to the course. Instead of running around Druid Lake through the park, the racers will go underneath along Druid Park Lake Drive as it becomes 28th Street. From 28th Street, runners will head south on St. Paul Street and resume last year's route. Near the fort, the runners continue down Fort Avenue, encircle the park and back up Fort Avenue before making a right onto Towson Street and following last year's course.

Among the other new additions to the course this year is a jaunt past the harbor along Lancaster Street and up Hillen Road to Shadyside Road and then back down to 33rd Street at miles 20 and 21.

Note: Registration for the CareFirst Blue Cross BlueShield Half- Marathon is CLOSED.

The Under Armour Baltimore Marathon is Maryland's premier fall event with more than 40 million dollars in revenue raised for the city and more than two million donated to local charities. This year's event will take place on October 15th beginning at 8 a.m. at M&T Bank Stadium. Registration is up for the third year in a row and the race has seen the number out-of-town participants increase steadily since the inception in 2000.

The Under Armour Baltimore Running Festival is produced by Corrigan Sports Enterprises, a leader in sports promotions in the Baltimore/Washington D.C. region. Founded in 1991, CSE owns and operates the following events: Under Armour Baltimore Marathon, The Charm City Challenge All-Star Basketball Game, The Capital Classic, the Toyota Pro Beach Volleyball Tour, the Scion Trash & Jam (Extreme Sports) and the annual BikeJam event.

Read about the 2004 Baltimore Marathon.