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US Army Ranger Wins Fourth Largest Marine Corps Marathon
20,895 Finishers ‘Brave the Chill’ on Record-Setting Day
QUANTICO, VA (Oct. 30, 2011) – A U.S. Army lieutenant won the Marine Corps Marathon (MCM) in what was the fastest finish time since 1997. The 20,895 finishers marks the fourth largest total since the event began in 1976. Over 98 percent of , and amid one of the highest percentages of finishers who completed the entire marathon.
1st Lt. Charles Ware, 27 of Wheeling, IL finished the marathon in a fast 2:19:11 over local runners Michael Wardian of Arlington, VA (2:23:46) and Patrick Fernandez, a U.S. Coast Guard runner from Alexandria, VA, who finished the MCM in 2:26:37. Ware’s finish is the fastest in 14 years the most recent record of 2:25:31 set by Weldon Johnson of Washington, D.C.
Despite chilly morning temperatures of 39 degrees at 8 a.m., 21, 250 participants started the 36th running of the MCM in Arlington, VA and Washington, D.C. on Sunday, Oct. 30, with more than 98 percent completing the entire 26.2 mile event.
The three top seeded women finished the marathon as Tezata Dengersa, a native of Turkey who resides in Ellicott City, MD completed the event in 2:45:28; Emily Shertzer of Jonestown, PA finished second in 2:45:55 and Getachew Shiferaw also of Ellicott City, completed the event in 2:47:30.
At the same time the MCM was occurring, the MCM10K included 6,873 participants during the event that began on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Reuben Mwei, a native of Kenya who resides in Acworth, GA, crushed the MCM10K all-time record by finishing the 6.2 mile event in 00:30:37, beating the 2009 time of 00:32:54 set by Wyatt Boyd. Navy Lt. Amanda Rice, 27 of North Bethesda, MD completed the second-fastest overall MCM10K finish time for women. The remaining second and third place finishers for the MCM10K were Brian Dumm (00:32:52) of Colorado Springs, CO and Luke Belford of Nottingham, MD who finished in 00:33:13. Jennifer Perrottet of San Marcos, CA finished second for the women running 00:39:22, while Christine Rehwald of Arlington, VA completed the event in 00:39:54.
“The People’s Marathon” attracted all generations of runners from a 90-year old, to a 14-year-old who celebrated her birthday today. Comedian and host of “The Price Is Right” Drew Carey completed his first marathon in 4:37:10. Carey, a Marine Corps Reservist served as honorary starter for his first 26.2 mile event.
Was being a Marine Carey’s inspiration for training and completing the MCM? “That’s definitely part of it,” Carey said, “I used to joke that being in the Marine Corps is one job you can’t quit but I think that is where I learned stick-to-itiveness.”
The final MCM finisher was Mona Kroos of Leesburg, VA who accepted the Penguin Award for completing the event in seven hours.
All unofficial results for the 36th MCM and MCM10K are available on www.marinemarathon.com. For more information about the MCM, contact Tami Faram, MCM public relations coordinator at 703-432-1840 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
