Spc. Frankline Tonui crosses the finish line ahead of Army Sgt. Evans Kirwa, taking first place at the 2018 Army Ten-Miler held in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, Oct. 7, 2018. (Michael S. Darnell/Stars and Stripes)
Spc. Frankline Tonui crosses the finish line ahead of Army Sgt. Evans Kirwa, taking first place at the 2018 Army Ten-Miler held in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, Oct. 7, 2018. (Michael S. Darnell/Stars and Stripes)
Spc. Susan Tanui celebrates after becoming the first woman to cross the finish line at the 2018 Army Ten-Miler held in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, Oct. 7, 2018. (Michael S. Darnell/Stars and Stripes)
Brant Ireland was the first handcyclist to cross the finish line at the finish line of the 2018 Army Ten-Miler held in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, Oct. 7, 2018. (Michael S. Darnell/Stars and Stripes)
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley shakes hands with soldiers at the finish line of the 2018 Army Ten-Miler held in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, Oct. 7, 2018. (Michael S. Darnell/Stars and Stripes)
Tisha Knickerbocker crosses the finish line at the 2018 Army Ten-Miler held in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, Oct. 7, 2018. (Michael S. Darnell/Stars and Stripes)
Evans Kirwa, far left, Girma Mecheso, center, and Frankline Tonui (who placed second, third and first respectively) shortly before the Mile 4 marker during the Army Ten-Miler. (Meredith Tibbetts/Stars and Stripes)
Runners shortly before the Mile 4 marker during the Army Ten-Miler on October 7, 2018. (Meredith Tibbetts/Stars and Stripes)
Runners shortly before the Mile 4 marker during the Army Ten-Miler on October 7, 2018. (Meredith Tibbetts/Stars and Stripes)
Runners shortly before the Mile 4 marker during the Army Ten-Miler on October 7, 2018. (Meredith Tibbetts/Stars and Stripes)
Runners pause for a cup of water shortly after the Mile 4 marker during the Army Ten-Miler on October 7, 2018. (Meredith Tibbetts/Stars and Stripes)
Devin Ruic of Arlington, Va., left, running for Team Red, White and Blue, stops to do some pushups with Gretchen Apgar during the Army Ten-Miler in Washington, D.C., Oct. 7, 2018. (Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes)
Soldiers carry the colors during the Army Ten-Miler in Washington, D.C., Oct. 7, 2018. (Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes)
Spectators at the Army Ten-Miler in Washington, D.C., Oct. 7, 2018. (Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes)
A very young spectator at the Army Ten-Miler in Washington, D.C., Oct. 7, 2018. (Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes)
Runners pass the Department of Agriculture headquarters in Washington, D.C. during the Army Ten-Miler, Oct. 7, 2018. (Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes)
Band members from Pope Paul VI High School in Fairfax, Va., cheer on the runners during the Army Ten-Miler in Washington, D.C., Oct. 7, 2018. (Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes)
Members of Team Fisher House cheer the runners on during the Army Ten-Miler in Washington, D.C., Oct. 7, 2018. (Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes)
The Army Ten-Miler in Washington, D.C., Oct. 7, 2018. (Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes)
The Army Ten-Miler in Washington, D.C., Oct. 7, 2018. (Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes)
Hunter Jutras carries a flag a flag honoring his older brother Pfc. Dillon Jutras, who was killed in Iraq in 2005, during the Army Ten-Miler in Washington, D.C., Oct. 7, 2018. (Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes)
Eventual winner Frankline Tonui trails fellow World Class Athlete Program runner Evans Kirwa, who would go on to finish second, near the six-mile mark of the Army Ten-Miler in Washington, D.C., Oct. 7, 2018. (Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes)
The Army Ten-Miler in Washington, D.C., Oct. 7, 2018. (Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes)
Dianne Leigh Summer of Newton Grove, N.C., was the second female finisher in the handcycle category at the Army Ten-Miler in Washington, D.C., Oct. 7, 2018. (Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes)
Dianne Leigh Summer of Newton Grove, N.C., was the second female finisher in the handcycle category at the Army Ten-Miler in Washington, D.C., Oct. 7, 2018. (Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes)
ARLINGTON, Va. — Army runners once again showed up strong at the service’s premiere race event, taking the top spots in both the men’s and women’s categories at the 2018 Army Ten-Miler.
Last year for the men it was an Army electrician who brought home the gold. This year it was Spc. Frankline Tonui, who finished nanoseconds ahead of Sgt. Evans Kirwa to claim the top spot. Tonui and Kirwa, both soldiers from the Army's World Class Athlete Program at Fort Carson, Colo., finished with an official time of 50 minutes, 23 seconds.
But it was Tonui, a first-time participant in the race, who earned ultimate bragging rights.
“This means everything to me,” Tonui, 25, said after the race. “I’ve never run a big race … so this was a big meet for me.”
On the women’s side, it was yet another Fort Carson soldier winning it all, with Spc. Susan Tanui crossing the finish line in an official time of 56 minutes, 33 seconds.
There was no photo finish there, as Tanui broke tape more than 30 seconds ahead of the next closest runner, 36-year-old Julia Roman-Duval. It’s a finish race fans should be familiar with, as Tanui was last year’s female champion. Behind her in 2017? Roman-Duval.
Some things never change.
“I know many soldiers are not able to run the ten-miler this year, but I’m so grateful I was here and I was able to represent the Army,” Tanui, 31, said. “It’s an honor.”
Tanui is also part of the World Class Athlete Program, an Army Morale, Welfare and Recreation sponsored program that readies top military athletes to compete in major competitions, including the Olympics.
Rounding out the top three for men was Girma Mecheso, 30, who finished with 50 minutes, 29 seconds. The third place in the women’s category was Emily De La Bruyere, 25, who edged in under an hour with 59 minutes, 4 seconds.
