thedrifter
04-05-07, 08:43 AM
IN STEP
CCC and the U.S. Marines have formed a relationship that has stood the test of time
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
By Andrew Canulette
Staff writer
On Saturday at 5:30 a.m., a group of several dozen people will meet on a mostly deserted street and begin preparations for the 29th annual Crescent City Classic.
They aren't the tightly knit group of elite Kenyan or Ethiopian stars who rise before dawn on race day to loosen their legs in the Central Business District or French Quarter. They aren't one of the large groups of people who run in the name of charity, and they certainly aren't part of the loosely assembled thousands who meander the 10-kilometer course behind the leaders.
They are members of the U.S. Marine Corps, and their presence is one of the most time-honored traditions of New Orleans' largest road race.
The Marines, along with some Navy personnel and civilians, will meet at the Naval Support Activity's east bank facility on Dauphine Street, where they will be issued green T-shirts for the race. When the starting gun sounds at 8:30 a.m., they will run in perfect formation from the race's beginning in the Quarter to its end in City Park.
But it's not only their presence on the course that makes the Marines a race staple. Before the group begins its run, members will help with crowd control on side streets intersecting Decatur Street, where runners await the race's start. Then, just before the masses begin their trek toward City Park, the Crescent City Classic will begin with the playing of "The Star-Spangled Banner" by (you guessed it) the U.S. Marine Corps Band.
Capt. Paul Greenburg, community relations officer for the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, is in his first year of service in New Orleans and is helping organize this year's group of runners and volunteers. Greenburg estimated that approximately 50 people participated in last year's Crescent City Classic, and that he's hoping for 89 people (80 volunteers and nine street or zone leaders) this year. The effort is funded in part by the Marine Support Group, a collection of retired Marines and supporters in the area.
Greenburg was of the belief that the Marine Corps' significant presence at the Crescent City Classic was because of the involvement of Gary Gomez, the CCC's elite race coordinator who served as a Marine from 1966 to '70.
But the relationship actually goes back to the race's infancy in 1979, according to Mac Devaughn, founder of the Crescent City Classic.
"If memory serves me, the Marine Corps was with us if not from the inception, then shortly thereafter," Devaughn said. "My dad was in the Navy, and one of my first childhood memories is of the Marine Corps Band in Washington, D.C. When I realized we had a detachment in New Orleans, we wanted them to be involved."
Current race organizers agree and have carried on the tradition.
"When you see the United States Marine Corps Band in full dress blue regalia playing the national anthem at the start, it's very stirring," Gomez said. "But of course, I'm prejudiced."
Devaughn believes the relationship between the Classic and the military was sealed after the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995. The race made a donation to a survivors fund in the name of a New Orleans area reservist who died in the explosion.
"Donating to that fund was the right thing to do, but I think they appreciated that, and the relationship flourished," Devaughn said. "It looks to be the same way today."
And the Marines and Crescent City Classic officials would have it no other way.
"This is purely a community relations event," Greenburg said. "Whenever we have a large group (physical training) activity, it's for esprit de corps and unit cohesion. Small group activities are for training. This is about showing who we are to the community, and this is a great event for the city, a great event for everyone."
Greenburg, who is from Pennsylvania, said he's an active runner, though he might be moving at a bit slower pace than he's accustomed to on race day.
But of course, he won't be running alone.
"(Running in cadence) is best for people who are the weaker runners," he said. "We're shooting for a consistent 8-9-minute-per-mile pace."
Andrew Canulette can be reached at acanulette@timespicayune.com or (985) 645-2855.
Ellie
CCC and the U.S. Marines have formed a relationship that has stood the test of time
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
By Andrew Canulette
Staff writer
On Saturday at 5:30 a.m., a group of several dozen people will meet on a mostly deserted street and begin preparations for the 29th annual Crescent City Classic.
They aren't the tightly knit group of elite Kenyan or Ethiopian stars who rise before dawn on race day to loosen their legs in the Central Business District or French Quarter. They aren't one of the large groups of people who run in the name of charity, and they certainly aren't part of the loosely assembled thousands who meander the 10-kilometer course behind the leaders.
They are members of the U.S. Marine Corps, and their presence is one of the most time-honored traditions of New Orleans' largest road race.
The Marines, along with some Navy personnel and civilians, will meet at the Naval Support Activity's east bank facility on Dauphine Street, where they will be issued green T-shirts for the race. When the starting gun sounds at 8:30 a.m., they will run in perfect formation from the race's beginning in the Quarter to its end in City Park.
But it's not only their presence on the course that makes the Marines a race staple. Before the group begins its run, members will help with crowd control on side streets intersecting Decatur Street, where runners await the race's start. Then, just before the masses begin their trek toward City Park, the Crescent City Classic will begin with the playing of "The Star-Spangled Banner" by (you guessed it) the U.S. Marine Corps Band.
Capt. Paul Greenburg, community relations officer for the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, is in his first year of service in New Orleans and is helping organize this year's group of runners and volunteers. Greenburg estimated that approximately 50 people participated in last year's Crescent City Classic, and that he's hoping for 89 people (80 volunteers and nine street or zone leaders) this year. The effort is funded in part by the Marine Support Group, a collection of retired Marines and supporters in the area.
Greenburg was of the belief that the Marine Corps' significant presence at the Crescent City Classic was because of the involvement of Gary Gomez, the CCC's elite race coordinator who served as a Marine from 1966 to '70.
But the relationship actually goes back to the race's infancy in 1979, according to Mac Devaughn, founder of the Crescent City Classic.
"If memory serves me, the Marine Corps was with us if not from the inception, then shortly thereafter," Devaughn said. "My dad was in the Navy, and one of my first childhood memories is of the Marine Corps Band in Washington, D.C. When I realized we had a detachment in New Orleans, we wanted them to be involved."
Current race organizers agree and have carried on the tradition.
"When you see the United States Marine Corps Band in full dress blue regalia playing the national anthem at the start, it's very stirring," Gomez said. "But of course, I'm prejudiced."
Devaughn believes the relationship between the Classic and the military was sealed after the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995. The race made a donation to a survivors fund in the name of a New Orleans area reservist who died in the explosion.
"Donating to that fund was the right thing to do, but I think they appreciated that, and the relationship flourished," Devaughn said. "It looks to be the same way today."
And the Marines and Crescent City Classic officials would have it no other way.
"This is purely a community relations event," Greenburg said. "Whenever we have a large group (physical training) activity, it's for esprit de corps and unit cohesion. Small group activities are for training. This is about showing who we are to the community, and this is a great event for the city, a great event for everyone."
Greenburg, who is from Pennsylvania, said he's an active runner, though he might be moving at a bit slower pace than he's accustomed to on race day.
But of course, he won't be running alone.
"(Running in cadence) is best for people who are the weaker runners," he said. "We're shooting for a consistent 8-9-minute-per-mile pace."
Andrew Canulette can be reached at acanulette@timespicayune.com or (985) 645-2855.
Ellie