JOINT BASE MYER-HENDERSON HALL, Va. (Nov. 12, 2013) - The team Navy Lt. Alexandra "Allie" Bailley assembled to participate in the 2013 Marine Corps Marathon raced more than 26.2 miles Oct. 27.
Bailley and six teammates lobbied and hurried to gain entry to the people's marathon, went through the rigors of condensed pre-race training and dedicated their runs to the 12 people who were fatally shot and the three injured during the mass shooting at the Washington Navy Yard Sept. 16.
Bailley and her colleague Navy Lt. Ken Bond both were present at the Navy Yard that day and explained their joint mission of remembrance at the MCM press conference held Oct. 25.
In a month's time, a team of seven, including six from the Navy Yard, were driven to remember the fallen.
"We formed this team 35 days ago," Bailley said during the press conference. "I had written an e-mail to the Marine Corps Marathon staff asking them to grant us late entry into the marathon, so we could run on behalf of the victims and survivors of the shooting that day. I really wanted to do something for the 12 victims even though they weren't active duty. They really did support the fleet in a large way."
Bond recalls the sequence of events put into motion by Bailley following their return to work at a Navy Yard building diagonal to building 197, where the majority of workers were murdered.
"The next day after we got back to work, Allie asked me what can we do and how can we start this team," Bond said. "She started gathering people and talking to the Marine Corps about the race. Together, we got the team together, and we tried our best to get one month's worth of marathon training under us."
Bailley, who was taking part in her first-ever marathon, finished the MCM in three hours, 46 minutes and 56 seconds while Bond conquered the course in 5:50:04.
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