U.S. Marines Put Together Winning Team
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  1. #1

    Exclamation U.S. Marines Put Together Winning Team

    U.S. Marines Put Together Winning Team

    By Jim Hage and Matt McFarland
    Special to The Washington Post
    Monday, October 27, 2008; E05


    The U.S. Marines topped Britain's Royal Marines to win the Commanders Cup for the second straight year -- but for just the second time in the last 16 years.

    "Your guys have finally got some runners, that's the problem," said Royal Navy Commander Al Rich. The rivalry began in 1978 as a one-time contest, Rich said, but proved so popular that it is now a hotly contested but good natured annual event.

    U.S. team captain Alex Heatherington, 41, long the Marines' top runner but not a scoring team member yesterday, ran 2:44:45. "It's just good to finally be on the winning team," said Heatherington, who missed last year's race with an injury.
    Staying on Pace

    Marathon pace groups, led by experienced runners carrying signal balloons, have become extremely popular and help runners maintain an even pace from start to finish. Bill Sanders, from Elmhurst, Ill., paced hundreds of runners in the popular 3-hour 40-minute group yesterday. "We hold 'em tight together through 23 [miles], then send 'em on," said Sanders, who finished right on schedule.

    "It helped a lot," said Doug Frawley, 30, from Warner Robins, Ga., who finished in a personal-best 3:40:01. "I've gone out too fast before. This makes a big difference. . . . You just keep the balloons in sight."
    More First-Place Finishers

    Scott Seiss of Rocky Ridge, Md., won the handcrank bike race in 1:23:21. He raced closely with Arkadivsz Skrzypinski of Poland until the course's final hill. "In the last kilometer, I said congratulations," Skrzypinski said.

    Seiss's handcrank bike, a kneeler, allows him to use his trunk and generate more power. Skrzypinski raced in a reclining handcrank bike, which is more aerodynamic and suited for flat courses, but since it only uses a racer's arms, isn't ideal for hills.

    David Swope won the wheelchair race in 2:20:26. The New Windsor, Md., resident won last year as well.
    Barrett Takes 10K

    Marine 2nd Lt. Sean Barrett, 23, won the 10K race for the second straight year, finishing in 34:23. He expected to be in Iraq but his deployment was delayed three weeks ago. Without enough time to train for the marathon, he signed up for the 10K. "I starved myself to try to lose some of the extra weight," said Barrett, who lost 12 pounds while preparing.

    Registration closed at 5,000 runners, making it one of Washington's largest 10-kilometer races. . . .


    Wearing bib number 2 and the countenance of a former drill instructor -- which he was --Carlton Kent, the 16th Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, finished his sixth Marine Corps Marathon in 3:55:59. The sergeant major is the Corps' senior enlisted man. . . .

    D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty finished his eighth Marine Corps Marathon in a personal-best 3:37:18. "All out, all the time," Fenty said.

    Ellie


  2. #2
    A Pair of First-Timers Win Marine Corps Marathon

    By Jim Hage
    Special to The Washington Post
    Sunday, October 26, 2008; E01


    With an unorthodox move at an unlikely point, first-time marathoner Andrew Dumm broke away from his more experienced competitors and went on to win the 33rd Marine Corps Marathon in 2 hours 22 minutes 42 seconds yesterday. Another marathon novice, Cate Fenster, from Wooster, Ohio, led wire to wire and won the women's race in 2:48:53, holding off Arlington's Lindsay Wilkins by 11 seconds.

    Dumm, 23, a graduate student at American University, had only just caught up to the lead pack a few miles earlier when, near the halfway point of the 26.2-mile race, he dramatically dropped the pace -- and the early leaders. For the next 13 miles, a combination of Dumm's aerobic strength, mental toughness and some good fortune made his audacious move pay off.

    At Hains Point, notoriously the loneliest portion of the course and moved from the late to the middle miles for the first time this year, Dumm seized the lead. "It was an early spot for a move but I was trying to get some separation," said Dumm, a University of Virginia graduate and Fulbright Scholar. "I know Hains Point is a psychological barrier. . . . Maybe being a novice freed me up to make a bold move."

    Canny or just lucky, Dumm's ploy broke open the race. By the time the leaders looped the Point and returned to the Lincoln Memorial near Mile 16, Dumm had forged an insurmountable lead. Reuben Garcia, two-time winner and last year's runner-up, seemed staggered; he tried to stay close but faded to eighth place in 2:33:31.

    "The pace got hot after 12 miles," said Fred Joslyn, who passed Garcia at Mile 18 and took second overall in a personal-best 2:23:52. "We went from running 5:15 [per mile] to 5:05. [Dumm] put more than a minute on me in just a few miles. I tried to keep it steady; that was the right move for me or I could have blown up."

    Joslyn, from the Hanson's Running Project based in Rochester, Mich., narrowed the gap over the last six miles, and could see Dumm toward the end. "I ran out of gas," Joslyn said. "I'm okay with it, maybe a little disappointed I wasn't more competitive in the front."

    Brian Dumm, the winner's brother who finished sixth here last year, cautioned Andrew to pace himself evenly. "It's really the only advice you can give someone," he said. The brothers ran together for the first few miles; Brian Dumm, who is stationed in England with the Air Force, finished fifth in 2:25:58.

    The Dumms' father, Kenneth, 57, finished his eighth Marine Corps Marathon in 3:19:31. The eldest Dumm works at Air Force headquarters in the Pentagon. "I was interested in how [Andrew] would do in his first marathon," Kenneth Dumm said. "That's pretty awesome."

    Corey Duquette, who is awaiting orders from the Navy in Pensacola, Fla., took third in 2:24:38 and was the top military finisher. "Effort-wise, meaning-wise, this is a personal best," Duquette said. Abigail Stiles, who graduated from the Naval Academy in 2002, was the top female military finisher, fourth in 2:54:45.

    Jaron Hawkins, third here last year, finished fourth yesterday in 2:25:17, a 17-second improvement. Despite "hurting from Mile 6 on," Hawkins moved up throughout the race. "Now I'll go to Boston and try to qualify for the Olympic trials," he said.

    Masters runner Alisa Harvey went through halfway in 1:29:42, but felt sluggish and dropped out a few miles later due to overhydration. "Coughed up a lung, sat down and made my way home," she said.

    After the start near the Iwo Jima Memorial, the revamped course traced three early miles in hilly Clarendon before crossing the Key Bridge for another up-and-down track in Miles 4 through 8. By the time most of the runners reached Mile 10 near the Kennedy Center, a heavy haze had burned off the Potomac River and the sun bore down. Start-time temperatures in the 40s rose rapidly, but generally the weather was good for running.

    "It's no longer a [personal record] course," said race historian, George Banker, who finished in 4:28:26. "Lots of hills, rough pavement -- my legs are beat up -- and it got hot out there. I'll do better next year."

    Ellie


  3. #3
    Dumm leads the field in Marine Corps Marathon


    By Jeff Schogol, Stars and Stripes
    Mideast edition, Monday, October 27, 2008

    ARLINGTON, Va. — Andrew Dumm, 23, won the 33rd annual Marine Corps Marathon on Sunday with an unofficial time of 2 hours, 22 minutes and 42 seconds.

    His brother, a first lieutenant in the Air Force, finished a few minutes later, making him the first airman to cross the finish line.

    Andrew Dumm said he had planned to run along with his brother, but then he found a gap and made his move.

    His brother, Brian Dumm, 25, who is stationed in Molesworth, England, finished with an unofficial time of 2:25:58.

    "I really couldn’t be more proud of Andrew," he said. "He really put the work in and he’s an outstanding runner."

    It was chilly and damp Sunday morning as Marines fired a 155 mm howitzer to start Sunday’s events. About 27,000 people participated in the marathon and 10K race, said organizer Beth Johnson.

    Seaman Corey Duquette, 22, was the first servicemember to cross the finish line Sunday with an unofficial time of 2:24:38.

    Based in Pensacola, Fla., Duquette finished third overall in the marathon. He said he felt "phenomenal" after crossing the finish line.

    Rounding out the other services, Army 2nd Lt. Ken Foster, 22, was the first soldier to complete the race with an unofficial time of 2:30:01.

    Foster, based out of Fort Bliss, Texas, said he was hurting after the event, but he hopes to return next year — as long as he’s not deployed.

    Marine Cpl. Thomas Kunish, 28, was the first Marine to finish the marathon in 2:30:12.

    Kunish, based in Okinawa, Japan, said he was the second Marine to cross the finish line last year, so he wanted to be the first this time around. Afterward, he said he was going to get a beer.

    Air Force Master Sgt. Mark Hurst ran the Marine Corps Marathon in honor of Air Force Capt. Eric Das, who was killed when his F-15 went down in 2003 in Iraq.

    Hurst, 35, was part of a team that recovered the remains of the two people in the plane, and he later became friends with Das’ widow, according to information from event organizers.

    Nikki Das, 31, of Alexandria, Va., said Sunday marked the second time that Hurst ran the marathon in memory of her husband.

    It will not be the last, Hurst said. "I’ll keep doing it," he said.

    Video

    http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?s...&article=58418

    photo gallery from the marathon

    http://www.stripes.com/08/oct08/marathongallery/

    Ellie

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