WASHINGTON — Although forecasters were predicting a wet and windy 26 miles for runners in the 37th Marine Corps Marathon, Hurricane Sandy held out, at least in terms of rain, for this year’s race.
Thirty thousand runners registered for the race, which sold out in a record time of 2 hours and 41 minutes; and despite less than ideal running conditions, it is likely it broke another record Sunday for the most finishers.
The Army swept the top finishers, with Spc. Augustus Maiyo flying across the finish line in 2:20:20.
Cpt. Kenny Foster was not far behind him at 2:22:31. Foster warmed up for Sunday’s race with a sub-50-minute finish at the Army Ten-Miler on Oct. 21. Foster said he felt really strong until he hit the 25th mile, when he got a bad stomach cramp.
“But I looked behind me, about 800 meters to go and I could actually see somebody coming up on me, so I just sucked it up and finished the last 800 meters,” Foster said.
Perhaps surprisingly, Foster ran without a running watch, preferring to pace himself “on feel.”
The third top men’s finisher was Birhanu Tadesse, an Ethiopian native, who finished in 2:23:03.
The women were not too far behind, with Hirut Guanqul finishing with the top time of 2:42:0. Wayinshet Hailu, another Ethiopian native, came in second with a 2:47:04, and Erin Richard placed third with a time of 2:48:11. The MCM was Richard’s third marathon, and her first time running what’s dubbed “the people’s marathon.”
The people didn’t fail to show up. The runners included not only Marines, but service men and women from all branches of the military, as well as civilians supporting loved ones who were wounded or killed in combat.
Jeremy Boutwell, a retired staff sergeant in the Marines, was hit with shrapnel in his face and left leg in 2004. He’s now blind in his right eye, but even as a wounded warrior he wasn’t running the marathon for himself.
“I am running for all of my brothers who we lost across my various deployments. I’m running for every one of them,” Boutwell said at the start line. “Most of these folks out here are running for somebody. They’re not running for themselves.”
Marines flanked the sidelines at water stations and the finish line, shaking hands with participants and cheering them on.
“Go Navy,” one Marine cheered to a seaman making his way toward the finish.