FORT BENNING, Ga., (March 9 2016) -- More than 200 runners competed in the annual Chesty Puller half-marathon trail run March 5 which took participants through the woods of Kelley Hill before ending back at Dickman Field where the race began.

For the overall open male group, Fort Benning's James Miller took first place with a time of one hour, 39 minutes, and 47 seconds. Theresa Edwards took first place in the overall female group with a time of 1:54:46. Team Battle Hard claimed first place in the team division with a time of 1:55:02. Team Battle Hard consisted of Duane Patin, Ben Bower, Justin Jones and Zack Miller.

After completing the half-marathon, competitors had the option of taking on another challenge, the Marine Corps PFT Challenge that consisted of pull-ups and sit-ups, said Lori Smith, sports specialist and co-event director. The PFT Challenge winner for the male group was James Miller and the female group winner was Jennifer Schneider.

James Miller, winner of the men's group for both the half-marathon and the PFT Challenge offered advice to future Chesty Puller competitors.

Go run, you've got to run. You've got to be in running shape to compete in this race, regardless of the hills or the mud. If you're in good running shape even on the road, you can run this race," said Miller.

The event is an annual trail run co-hosted by the Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation and the Marine Detachment on Fort Benning. The trail takes participants through the woods and is loaded with several hills, water and consequently, mud.

The trail run is not for the fainthearted, according to the DFMWR webpage for the Chesty Puller. The event is named after Chesty Puller, a Marine who was known for being one of the toughest Marines around. The name was chosen after the decision was made that this wasn't going to be a normal trail run but a rather tough trail run, said Smith.

"It's worth going back and reading who Chesty Puller was. He's famous for finding himself surrounded and someone would come up and report and say 'Sir, we're surrounded, we've got enemy at every side,' and he says, 'good, we can attack at any direction and win', " said Maj. Gen. Scott Miller, MCoE commanding general, as he congratulated the winners and participants at the award ceremony.

The event is in its fourth year with this year boasting the most participants yet, said Smith. The event was Family friendly and featured a 1 and 2-mile race for kids as well as bouncy houses, prizes and food for Families to enjoy while waiting for the half-marathon to finish up.