(Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes)
(Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes)
Hand cycle athlete Andrew Kinard moves toward a 20th-place finish. (Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes)
Holding the lead near the 10-mile mark were Kurt Michels (350) and Gurmessa Megerssa. The quick pace took its toll, though, as Michels ended up 425th and Megerssa failed to finish. (Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes)
Running together near the 10-mile mark are four competitors who would finish in the top ten. They are, left to right, Jose Miranda-Diaz (10th), Sean Barrett (third), Ronald Kurui (second) and John Mentzer (fourth). (Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes)
Army runner Joshua Keena is surrounded by a group of airmen led by Brian Dumm (143). (Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes)
Janet Cherobon, left, of Rome, Ga., holds the lead in the women's race near the 10-mile mark. Cherobon won in a time of 2:42:38. (Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes)
Daniel Colameco of Ardmore, Pa., acknowledges the cheers near the 10-mile mark. (Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes)
(Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes)
(Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes)
(Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes)
(Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes)
A Marine offers a drink to a hand cycle competitor near the 16-mile mark. (Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes)
The lead runners grab a drink as they approach the 16-mile mark near the Lincoln Memorial. At left is Air Force 2nd Lt. Jacob Bradosky, the eventual winner; second place went to Ronald Kurui (20) and third went to Marine Corps 1st Lt. Sean Barrett (second from left). (Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes)
Jose Miranda-Diaz cools off at a water stop near the 16-mile mark, on his way to a 10th-place finish. (Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes)
Runners approach the Lincoln Memorial, having made it through 16 miles of the race. (Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes)
(Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes)
Jose Garza of Eagle River, Alaska, runs past a spectator who's ready for Halloween night. (Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes)
(Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes)
(Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes)
(Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes)
Runners on Constitution Ave. pass the White House, 17 miles into the race. (Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes)
With the race held a few hours before Halloween, costumes were very much in evidence. (Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes)
(Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes)
The Marine Corps Memorial, the Washington Monument and the Capitol provided some impressive pre-dawn scenery for runners in the Marine Corps Marathon, which started and finished near the famed monument to the World War II flag raising on Iwo Jima. (Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes)
(Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes)
(Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes)
(Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes)
(Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes)
(Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes)
(Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes)
(Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes)
The start of the hand cycle race. (Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes)
(Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes)
Christiam Mihelich of St. Louis Park, Minn., appears to be looking for a little extra boost from above just before the start of the Marine Corps Marathon in Arlington, Va. Mihelich finished 57th. To his right is the eventual winner, Air Force 2nd Lt. Jacob Bradosky, and to his left is the third place finisher, Marine Corps 1st Lt. Sean Barrett (90). (Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes)
Elite runners break from the starting line. Among those who stayed among the leaders all the way are eventual winner Air Force 2nd Lt. Jacob Bradosky, (172, at far left), runner-up Ronald Kurui (20) and third-place finisher Marine Corps 1st Lt. Sean Barrett (90). (Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes)
(Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes)
Runners pour across the starting line, adjacent to Arlington National Cemetery. (Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes)
ARLINGTON, Va. — Active-duty servicemembers dominated this year’s Marine Corps Marathon, coming in first and third in a race rife with elite runners.
Air Force 2nd Lt. Jacob Bradosky was the first runner to cross the finish line with an unofficial time of 2 hours, 23 minutes and 30 seconds.
“I’ve been training hard for this race and my goal was to win it,” he said a few minutes after crossing the finish line. “I became more confident with each mile and I was just fighting through it at the end, trying to pick it up after the 20-mile mark.”
Bradosky said he developed his strategy after listening to runner Ryan Hall on Saturday.
“He said run the first 20 [miles] with your mind and the last 10 [kilometers] all heart, so that’s exactly what I tried to do and I think it worked well.”
Sunday’s marathon was held as the FBI is looking for someone who shot at the Pentagon, the National Museum of the Marine Corps and a Marine Corps recruiting station in Chantilly, Va.
Bradosky said he was not concerned that the shooter might target a runner in Sunday’s marathon.
“The security was great and I saw the helicopters flying around and felt very safe the whole time, no concerns whatsoever,” he said.
Ronald Kurui came in second place with an unofficial time of 2:23:41, followed by Marine 1st Lt. Sean Barrett, whose unofficial time was 2:24:08.
After Barrett finished the race, he told Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Amos that he would win the marathon during Amos’ tenure as commandant.
“I’ve got two more years while he’s on deck to win it for him,” said Barrett, who got back from Iraq this spring and is headed to Afghanistan in January.
Barrett said he had a lot of support from his fellow Marines, “although that means you can’t let them down, so you got to keep moving.”
Janet Cherobon, the first woman to cross the finish line, found the last two miles excruciating, but she was determined to complete the race.
“When I crossed the finish line, I could not believe [it]; I was very excited about it,” said Cherobon, whose unofficial time was 2:42:38.
Runners braved the cold and pre-dawn darkness early Sunday to make their way from the Pentagon to the marathon’s start line in Arlington National Cemetery.
It was still frosty after the sun came up, so many were wearing sweat shirts and pants, but Prasad Gerard was shirtless with the hair standing up on his bare chest.
“It’ll be warm in a few minutes,” said Gerard, who was running the marathon for the 16th time on Sunday.
Alex Ewald brought his bulldog Smedley along to watch the race on Sunday. The dog was shivering, but Ewald said that was because he was nervous with so many people around, not cold.
Like others waiting for the event to begin, Ewald said he was not concerned that the marathon might be targeted by whoever has taken pot shots at the Marine Corps museum and recruiting station.
One California woman, who declined to give her last name, said the shootings were on her mind, but she felt there were a lot of people in place to protect the runners.
“I have confidence in our military,” she said.
