Mike Donaho and his wife have walked the Port to Fort 6K for the past few years, usually rounding out the race with a loop around Fort McHenry.

But this year, race organizers had to make do without the “fort” portion of the popular race due to the federal government shutdown. Fort McHenry’s gates have remained locked since the second-longest shutdown began Oct. 1.

Donaho still decided to walk the route with some of his friends to support the race’s charity, which provides services to critically ill children and their families. But he was “not too happy” about the closure of the national monument, a popular tourist attraction with panoramic views of the Patapsco River.

“They could have opened it up for this,” he said, adding that workers might have volunteered to be in the park for the race. “I don’t like the whole government shutdown thing, it’s a bit of a grudge match.”

Still, last-minute route changes that shortened the race from a 6K to a 5K did not discourage over a thousand runners who showed up for the event Saturday morning.

Organizers worked quickly with Baltimore Police and the race director to re-route the course, said Maryanne Davis, chief executive of Believe in Tomorrow Children’s Foundation, the nonprofit that organizes the race.

Instead of running a over a mile through Fort McHenry, participants turned around at the closed gates.

“It was a scramble,” said Davis. “We were very hopeful that the fort would reopen but we knew there was a chance that it wouldn’t.”

The National Park Service said in a September statement that while some national parks would remain open during the shutdown, others, including those secured by gates or buildings, would be closed.

Visitors to Fort McHenry must pass through metal gates to enter the site, but then are free to roam, jog or bike the grounds of the 43-acre site during park hours. Only the actual fort and museum require admission.

The monument and historic shrine attracted 394,000 visitors in 2024 and added $38.6 million to the local economy, according to a NPS report published in September.

As of Saturday morning, the government had been shutdown for 24 days. The shutdown has disrupted daily life for hundreds of thousands of Americans, many of whom rely on federal paychecks or assistance that have been halted.

Davis said that despite the pivot prompted by the fort’s closure, the organization had more people register this year than it had in recent years.

On the brisk October morning, runners (and walkers) were wrapped in coats and grasping hot coffees. Some came dressed in costumes as part of the race’s costume contest.

Cindy Rivera and her two daughters were dressed as characters from the Disney movie, “Lilo & Stitch.” It was the family’s third time taking part in the event. Rivera, a nurse, said that even though the Fort McHenry segment is her favorite part of the race, she was even more motivated to show up this year because of the shutdown.

“It kind of makes me sad that downstream we’re being affected again by higher-up decisions that we can’t do anything about that do affect those critically ill kids and the families taking care of them,” said Rivera. “Which makes this even more important.”

Parents, grandparents and children filled the parking lots beside the South Baltimore Little League. People lined the start and finish line to cheer on the racers.

Jasmine Mccullough, who was running with her son, Alex Gotha, was not upset to see the changed route.

“I’m actually happy it’s a little bit shorter, it’ll be a little bit more manageable for me,” she said. Like many, though, she is ready for the government shutdown to be over.