Organizers of the 26.2-mile event have made it clear that they won't share their portable facilities with participants from Comedy Central's Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert rallies. Indeed, the Marines plan to put padlocks on their 800 Porta-Potties later this month, as both marathon runners and political naysayers descend on the Mall over Halloween weekend.
"We've paid for 'em. They're already there for our race, our event. We've taken care of our event, and our event is very separate from what Comedy Central is doing," Tami Faram, a spokeswoman for the Marine Corps Marathon, told AOL News today in a phone interview.
Toni L. Sandys, The Washington Post / Getty Images
Despite planned Comedy Central rallies on the National Mall on the same weekend, Marine Corps Marathon runners -- like those seen here in 2007 -- will have their Porta-Potties to themselves. The marathon director has said he'll padlock the potties to keep them ready for runners only.
The New York Times reports that the organizers of the Comedy Central rallies asked Rick Nealis, the director of the marathon, if he would consider sharing the Porta-Potties. According to the Times, Comedy Central offered to help pay for the toilets and promised to clean them as well.
Instead of sharing, Nealis put up some extra money to buy "real, live" metal padlocks, to make sure the restrooms are available for runners only. "It will cost me a few extra pennies, but it's worth it to know that my runners won't run out of toilet paper," he told the Times.
The paper noted that the marathon may have ordered most of the toilets available in the area. "I understand that they were having problems ordering Porta-Potties, that they might have to go as far as Baltimore to get them, but I just didn't want to share," Nealis said.
But Comedy Central promised that restrooms would be available at its Oct. 30 events, the "Rally to Restore Sanity" and the "March to Keep Fear Alive," a play on rallies organized by political conservatives.
"We will have no problem providing Porta-Potties at our events," Steve Albani, a spokesman for Comedy Central, told AOL News today. He declined to say where those toilets would come from. "We're confident and secure we're going to get everything we need. This isn't our first rodeo."
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Bill Line, spokesman for the National Capital Region of the Park Service, seemed offended at the suggestion that there would be a shortage of restrooms available on the Mall. "I have every right to ask questions, and I am asking questions that I would like an answer to," he told the Times. "Who's making these allegations? I want to know who is saying there will be a problem with portable restrooms." Line did not return AOL News calls for comment today.
The National Park Service has not yet approved the permits for the Comedy Central rallies, but Albani said he didn't expect any problems with the process. Faram noted that the marathon received its permit months ago. "We're pretty pleased with our end of things," she said.