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In 1970, a group of friends from the University of Washington (UW) came up with the idea of a local marathon, and just like that, the Seattle Marathon was born.

Back then, 38 runners participated, with 31 completing the race.  Today, more than 1,000 athletes participate in the oldest marathon in the Pacific Northwest.

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The marathon starts in the Seattle Center and will also go through Downtown Seattle, Montlake and Greenlake.

The route will close a number of streets for a 10-hour period beginning Sunday morning at 4 a.m.

According to the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), the closures include:

• Interstate 5 Express Lanes closed until 9:30 a.m.
• Northbound State Route 99 from Harrison Street to North 63rd Street is closed from 6:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
• Traffic holds on Montlake Boulevard at Northeast Pacific from 6 a.m. to 7:10 a.m.
• Westbound State Route 520 off-ramp to Montlake Boulevard closed from 6:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.

A full map of the closures can be found .

Good luck if you are trying to drive through downtown, and WSDOT said you should expect extra congestion.

You can read more of Nate Connors’ stories here. Follow the ³ÉÈËXÕ¾ Newsradio traffic team on  for more traffic updates.