thedrifter
02-07-08, 07:17 AM
Many faces of Molly Marine ready to run with pride
Published Thu, Feb 7, 2008 12:00 AM
By DAN HILLIARD
dhilliard@beaufortgazette.com
843-986-5531
Off the track, Staff Sgt. Robyn Brown is a mom and a Marine Corps drill instructor at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island.
This Saturday, however, Brown will become one of the faces of Molly Marine, the Corps' personification of its female Marines' fighting spirit and history.
"Molly Marine embodies the fundamentals of women Marines -- the pride, the cohesion, the self-esteem and the quality of woman Marines," she said.
Brown, 28, plans to run Saturday with 14 other drill instructors from three companies in the third annual Molly Marine 5K Run/Walk, sponsored by the Phyllis Alexander Chapter of the Women Marines Association.
They'll join about 60 other registered runners, according to organizer and retired Master Sgt. Brenda Moore.
All proceeds from the run will be donated to the Phyllis Alexander Chapter.
"The Molly Marine 5K is all about the
women Marines and how far we've come since the beginning," she said. "It's about
history."
The run will start and finish at the recruit depot at the Molly Marine Monument, where female recruits typically end their training with a short award ceremony to recognize outstanding
achievers.
The 3.2-mile run shouldn't be much of a challenge, Brown said.
She just wrapped up a half marathon last weekend on Tybee Island, which she prepared for by running about 15 miles per week.
Plus, a 3-mile run is one of the three events a Marine must complete for their physical
fitness evaluation.
Brown, a native of Shreveport, La., and an 11-year Marine veteran, said she ran a holiday 5K in December in about 22 minutes, but this time she'll have to take it a little easy.
"I'm bringing my 8-year-old son Courtney, so he can support Molly Marine, too," she said. "So he'll be riding his bike, and I'll be just jogging along."
Also running alongside Brown will be drill instructor Staff Sgt. Christine Yohannan, 28, of Queens, N.Y.
This will be Yohannan's first Molly Marine run, though she's been looking up to the Molly Marine ideal throughout her nearly 10 years in the Corps, she said.
"Last year, at this time, I was with a platoon, and we were early in training, so we couldn't afford to lose a drill instructor," she said. "But I'm pleased to be running Saturday."
Yohannan typically gets up at 4 a.m. to run, she said. While most Beaufort residents are sound asleep, she's on the recruit depot's track pounding out laps.
A short shower later, and it's time for work.
Still, there's no more satisfying job, Yohannan said.
"We think of Molly Marine as the perfect Marine," she said. "I feel honored to be running for her, especially since I am a drill instructor, and I try to lay the foundation for all female Marines. They really want some kind of leadership, and we teach them to be a Marine, to wear a female uniform but to be ladies, as well."
Ellie
Published Thu, Feb 7, 2008 12:00 AM
By DAN HILLIARD
dhilliard@beaufortgazette.com
843-986-5531
Off the track, Staff Sgt. Robyn Brown is a mom and a Marine Corps drill instructor at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island.
This Saturday, however, Brown will become one of the faces of Molly Marine, the Corps' personification of its female Marines' fighting spirit and history.
"Molly Marine embodies the fundamentals of women Marines -- the pride, the cohesion, the self-esteem and the quality of woman Marines," she said.
Brown, 28, plans to run Saturday with 14 other drill instructors from three companies in the third annual Molly Marine 5K Run/Walk, sponsored by the Phyllis Alexander Chapter of the Women Marines Association.
They'll join about 60 other registered runners, according to organizer and retired Master Sgt. Brenda Moore.
All proceeds from the run will be donated to the Phyllis Alexander Chapter.
"The Molly Marine 5K is all about the
women Marines and how far we've come since the beginning," she said. "It's about
history."
The run will start and finish at the recruit depot at the Molly Marine Monument, where female recruits typically end their training with a short award ceremony to recognize outstanding
achievers.
The 3.2-mile run shouldn't be much of a challenge, Brown said.
She just wrapped up a half marathon last weekend on Tybee Island, which she prepared for by running about 15 miles per week.
Plus, a 3-mile run is one of the three events a Marine must complete for their physical
fitness evaluation.
Brown, a native of Shreveport, La., and an 11-year Marine veteran, said she ran a holiday 5K in December in about 22 minutes, but this time she'll have to take it a little easy.
"I'm bringing my 8-year-old son Courtney, so he can support Molly Marine, too," she said. "So he'll be riding his bike, and I'll be just jogging along."
Also running alongside Brown will be drill instructor Staff Sgt. Christine Yohannan, 28, of Queens, N.Y.
This will be Yohannan's first Molly Marine run, though she's been looking up to the Molly Marine ideal throughout her nearly 10 years in the Corps, she said.
"Last year, at this time, I was with a platoon, and we were early in training, so we couldn't afford to lose a drill instructor," she said. "But I'm pleased to be running Saturday."
Yohannan typically gets up at 4 a.m. to run, she said. While most Beaufort residents are sound asleep, she's on the recruit depot's track pounding out laps.
A short shower later, and it's time for work.
Still, there's no more satisfying job, Yohannan said.
"We think of Molly Marine as the perfect Marine," she said. "I feel honored to be running for her, especially since I am a drill instructor, and I try to lay the foundation for all female Marines. They really want some kind of leadership, and we teach them to be a Marine, to wear a female uniform but to be ladies, as well."
Ellie