Army Spc. Samuel Kosgei won the 41st Marine Corps Marathon with a time of two hours, 23 minutes and 53 seconds, Oct. 30, 2016.
Desta Beriso Morkama came in second, at 2:24:29; followed by Oscar Caron Santos, at 2:25:03.
Perry Shoemaker, of Vienna, Virginia, was the first female to cross the finish line at 2:51:48; and Marine Corps Capt. Geophery Mills, of Nokesville, Virginia, won the 10-kilometer portion of the event with a time of 38:01. Arkadiusz Skrzypinski, of Poland, won the hand-crank event with a time of 1:17:18.
Kosgei’s Strategy Pays Off
After the race, Kosgei, who also won the 2014 Marine Corps Marathon, explained how he won this year’s marathon.
Kosgei said he never trained more than 8 to 10 miles for the marathon. The 26.2-mile route for this year's race began at the Pentagon, wound through Arlington, Virginia, and the District of Columbia, and ended near the Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, beside Arlington National Cemetery. Kosgei said preparation for the race included high-altitude training in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
He said he was not surprised to win because he visualized how he would compete and stuck to his plan. "I wasn't focused on a record-breaking time," he said. "I was focused just on winning, and winning big for the Army."
Kosgei said he ran at a "leisurely pace," not expending very much energy, for the first 10 or so miles. He said he stayed well behind the pack.
At about the 10-mile mark, Kosgei said he "kicked into gear," but not overly so, slowly passing runners one by one, while still conserving energy.
Somewhere around the 16-mile mark, he said runners began to pass him. At that point, Kosgei said he lost sight of the lead runners. But, he said, that didn't concern him because he was sticking to his low-energy strategy, maintaining his pace, and biding his time.
A few miles or so later, Kosgei said he began to quickly pass those who passed him just a while earlier, his calculated momentum now unstoppable. The last several miles he ran elbow-to-elbow with Morkama, who hails from Ethiopia.
The final portion of the marathon involved a steep hill that ran for about a quarter of a mile. Kosgei said his strategy left him enough energy in his reserves to take the hill. When he reached the top near the memorial, he cut through the finish tape, which was held by two Marines, including Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Robert B. Neller. Kosgei said when he was finished, he had energy to spare.
What's especially interesting about Kosgei is that he sustained an injury to his right leg in July that left a question mark of him even appearing in this race. Despite the injury, he said not once did his leg cramp. In fact, he said he was "comfortable" throughout the race.
Kosgei, 32, from Junction City, Kansas, is a medic in the Army and is originally from Kenya.
Soldiers have won the Marine Corps Marathon four times over the last five years. Augustus Maiyo won the 2012 Marathon and Trevor Lafontaine the 2015. This is the second of Kosgei's wins.
Commandant’s Assessment
About an hour into the race, Neller was asked if he had any predictions about who would win. He didn't hesitate to say, "Soldiers." But soldiers didn't take all the glory -- a Marine did win the 10-kilometer, which is run concurrently with the marathon.
After the marathon, Neller said the race brought out the best that the military offers with esprit-de-corps and fitness. He also noted that the Army and the Marine Corps share similar values.
Wins, Despite Recent Crash
Skrzypinski said he crashed his hand-crank bicycle about a week before the marathon. The crash was so violent that it completely destroyed the sleek hand crank he was set to use in the race. It also left him with injuriess to his elbows and chest. He didn't elaborate on the wounds, but said he was in pain the entire race, never expecting to win or even finish.
Besides that, he said it had been a long time since he had used the old, spider web-covered hand crank he brought to the race. He said he never thought it would ever be ridden again, much less in a race.
Wounded Warriors
While much attention was paid to the runners, it should be noted that there were many wounded, ill or injured service members and others who participated in the marathon in the hand-crank, push-rim, duo and mobility categories.
Among those participating in the hand-crank category was David Neumer, of Chicago. While in Afghanistan in 2009, the Army master sergeant was involved in a fierce firefight that nearly severed a leg when he was hit by an enemy 82 mm mortar round.
Neumer said the doctors at Walter Reed thought his leg should be amputated, but he didn't want that. Instead, he said, they performed a miracle by salvaging it. He still has a lot of residual pain though, he said.
Geoff Hopkins was in the Army Reserve, based out of Huntington, West Virginia, when someone crashed their vehicle into his motorcycle. He said he doesn't recall anything that happened, but a resulting spinal cord injury left him paralyzed from the legs down.
Hopkins said he's grateful today that he can still use his hands to propel his hand crank, and he's proud of his wife and their two children.
Hopkins currently lives in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and commutes to Martinsburg, West Virginia, where he works as the supervisor of the Department of Veterans Affairs' Recreation Therapy Program.
"It's very rewarding helping others, such as those with injuries or post-traumatic stress disorder," he said. Besides the hand crank, he said his program offers other forms of therapy.
Matt Robinson, a native of Syracuse, New York, had his legs injured in a snowmobile accident. The former sailor, who used a hand crank during the race, said he now does a lot of volunteer work with the VA in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Prior to his injury, he was an "instrument man" on the destroyer tender USS Prairie. An instrument man, he said, calibrates all of the gauges on the ship.
The People’s Marathon
The Marine Corps Marathon is also known as the People's Marathon. It attracts people from every state and over 50 countries.
Marine Corps Junior ROTC students from Quantico, Virginia, lined the marathon route, carrying flags from all of the participating nations.
Lauran Lemon was one of those students. She was carrying the flag of the People's Republic of China. She said several runners from China stopped by to get their photo taken with the flag. She reported that all were happy to run in the marathon and were impressed by the spirit of the race.
Caitlyn Templeton, also a JROTC student, carried the flag of the Philippines. She said her dad is a Marine working logistics in Quantico. She said it was her first time seeing the marathon and that she gets all her running playing basketball. Her takeaway from the race was she liked "how everyone is so pumped up."
Event Supporters
Besides the racers, there were innumerable spectators at the race, including the friends and families of the participants.
Among them were Chris Houseknecht, a retired airman, and his daughter, Abigal, who is 10 years old. She held up a sign reading "That's my BAD-A$$ Mother Runner!" which she said she created from the words on her mom's running shirt.
Abigal's mom, Rebecca, is an Army Reserve captain stationed at Fort Meade, Maryland, and she is a pediatric nurse. Chris said it's nice being retired and being a dependent. He said his wife does really well on the Army physical fitness test, including the pushups and sit-ups, and in helping him care for their five children.
Rebecca, he said, ran the marathon two years ago with a time of about six hours, which she planned to beat this time.
Chesty the Bulldog
Chesty XIV also made a showing at the race, running after bits of dog treats tossed by handler Marine Corps Cpl. Darren White.
"He only runs for food," White said, adding that Chesty XIV also does tricks like paw shakes and rolling over, as long as food is involved.
White said he's aware of the "awesome responsibility" of caring for Chesty XIV and bringing him to major Marine Corps events like the marathon. Chesty XIV is the Marine Corps mascot.
Chesty XIV, a bulldog, is named for perhaps the most famous leatherneck in the Corps' illustrious history: Lt. Gen. Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller Jr. Puller fought gallantly in Haiti, Nicaragua, World War II and Korea, collecting five Navy Crosses in the process, as well as a Distinguished Service Cross, which the Army bestowed on him. There have been 13 bulldogs named Chesty prior to Chesty XIV.