Valor Run ends at Women's Memorial

By Jim Dresbach, Pentagram Staff WriterOctober 27, 2014

Valor Run ends at Women's Memorial
1 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Navy Reserve Capt. Nancy Lacore smiles following the completion of the Valor Run, a 160-mile excursion through Virginia Oct. 18, near Memorial Bridge. The six-day run completed by Lacore was a memorial run to remember 160 service women killed in Afgh... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Valor Run ends at Women's Memorial
2 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Flanked by daughter Evelyn, husband Pat and daughter Lillian, Valor Run lead runner Navy Reserve Capt. Nancy Lacore walks the final third of a mile of the 160-mile run from Memorial Bridge to the Women in Military Service for America Memorial the mor... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Valor Run ends at Women's Memorial
3 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Valor Run ends at Women's Memorial
4 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Valor Run ends at Women's Memorial
5 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

ARLINGTON, Va. - Navy Reserve Capt. Nancy Lacore's final two days of the 160-mile Valor Run were both the easiest and the hardest miles of her six-day trek to honor the 160 service women killed in Afghanistan and Iraq during the war on terror. The cross-state run commenced in Chesapeake, Va., and each mile represented a fallen U.S. uniformed female lost in battle during the past 13 years.

"I'm feeling much better than I did yesterday [Friday, Oct. 17]," said Lacore. "I found my wall on Friday, but I woke up today and felt like a different person. Plus I knew all these people were waiting for me."

Hundreds of followers joined Lacore and her family in a symbolic walk during the final third of a mile from the Virginia side of the Memorial Bridge to the Women's Memorial Plaza, where she was greeted with accolades and cake.

During the final segment of her multi-day run, Lacore started in the Pentagon parking lot and ran a District of Columbia 10-miler concluding at the Women in Military Service for America Memorial near the gates of Arlington National Cemetery.

Greeting Lacore at the base of the memorial pool were retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Wilma L. Vaught, Women's Memorial Foundation Board of Directors president, and Vice Adm. Robin R. Braun, Chief of Navy Reserve, Commander, Navy Reserve Force.

"What a wonderful idea to pay tribute to these 160 women who gave so much to our nation," Braun told the crowd. "Nancy, I know this has been an all-out effort from your family and your friends."

The run took Lacore and her entourage - many who joined in the daily pacings - through historic sites such as Williamsburg and northern Virginia's Quantico Marine Corps Base. But the adrenaline reached new heights with the sight of the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial and Memorial Drive.

"What a journey," Lacore told the gathering. "It took my breath away when I saw this crowd of people."

Lacore averaged 25 miles a day during the excursion.