Marine Marathon tests will, as well as ability
<!-- end head --> <!-- deck --> 'I am just going to get through this,' handicapped vet promises
<!-- end deck --> <hr size="1">Posted: October 29, 2008
1:00 am Eastern
By Matt Sanchez
<!--- copywrite only show on NON commentary pages as per joseph meeting 8/23/06 ------> <!-- copyright --> © 2008 WorldNetDaily <!-- end copyright -->
<!-- begin bodytext --> WASHINGTON -- It is 5:30 a.m. in a hotel parking lot and half a dozen athletes are warming up to compete in the 33rd annual Marine Corps Marathon.
"Just remember, you must wear a helmet (http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=79310#), or you won't be allowed to ride," said Genna Griffith.
While most of the 30,000 runners (http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=79310#) expected to participate in the 26.2-mile challenge on Sunday would not require a helmet, these athletes are nothing like most of those running in what has become one of the largest marathons in the world.
They are Achilles athletes, (http://www.achillestrackclub.org/) and Griffith is an experienced Achilles coordinator.
Achilles is a worldwide group that seeks to enable people with all types of disabilities in participate in mainstream athletics.
<table align="center" border="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td width="450">http://www.worldnetdaily.com/images/misc/crank.jpg
Soldiers who have been wounded find a different enemy to battle, themselves. The Marine Corps Marathon attracts all the services and a fair amount of civilians.</td> </tr> </tbody> </table>
"I haven't done much training," said Marcus Wilson, an 0369 Infantry Leader and 32-year-old Marine (http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=79310#) gunnery sergeant originally from Arkansas.
Last year, Marcus lost both legs after his Humvee was hit by an IED on a Baghdad (http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=79310#) road, "between FOB Falcon and Camp Victory," the physically imposing Marine said. This morning Marcus was making the last adjustments on his handcrank wheelchair, a contraption that looks like a cross between a makeshift lounge chair and modern exercise equipment (http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=79310#).
"This is something I always wanted to do," said the gunnery sergeant about competing in a race that has become an important item on a wish list for almost every Marine.
The race course snakes throughout the nation's capital and could easily double for a traveler's tour of the city. Runners pass in front and around almost all the major monuments, crossing state lines, Civil War battle grounds and finishing at the Iwo Jima Memorial, which originally honored men of a specific battle and conflict but now symbolizes the entire American military (http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=79310#) and in many ways, the spirit of the nation itself.
Marcus Wilson still was recovering from his injuries at Walter Reed, but he wanted to take part in the event, bringing his two young boys to cheer him on.
"I am just going to get through this," the Marine promised.
The athletes who use the hand crank wheelchairs start a full 10 minutes before the runners on foot, partially because of the speeds they can reach. The best of these special athletes will finish the race in just over an hour, nearly twice as fast as the best of their allies on foot.
But speed isn't the sole reason to compete. Marathoner Brian Jantzen is motivated by the opportunity to honor a fellow soldier, Specialist Thomas "TJ" Barbieri.
"I never met him before, but I heard he was someone to be proud of," said the former 82nd Airborne Army Captain. Jantzen had his leg amputated after suffering wounds in 2005 while serving in Iraq.
On the back of Jantzen's three-wheel vehicle is an image of Barbieri, who was on an Iraq tour with the 1st BN, 325th Airborne Infantry Reg, 2nd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, when he and his fellow soldiers came under fire from an overwhelming force.
<table align="center" border="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td width="450">http://www.worldnetdaily.com/images/misc/sanchezstone.jpg
Photo Courtesy of Tom Gugiluzza-Smith, May 2007</td> </tr> </tbody> </table>
Barbieri killed one of the assailants and purposely exposed himself to danger in order to protect members of his unit. For previous service in Afghanistan Barbieri had earned the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.
Barbieri always had wanted to be a soldier "ever since childhood," said his father Tom Barbieri Sr. a college football (http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=79310#) coach and volunteer for the Achilles program.
For his courage that day in Yusifiya, Iraq, Barbieri also was awarded the Silver Star for "gallantry in action during combat operations."
Runners teemed in the starting chute eagerly awaiting the thunderous artillery round signaling the beginning of the struggle.
Near the marathon starting line, Tom Barbieri spoke proudly of his son and pointed to the nearby hill, "He's buried there, in Arlington."