WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Oct. 27, 2014) -- The Army took ownership of the Marine Corps Marathon Sunday, with Soldiers finishing in first and second place in the male division and first place in the female division.
In the male division, Spc. Samuel Kosgei came in first with a time of 2:22:11, and fellow Soldier Spc. Laban Sialo clocked 2:23:48.
Capt. Meghan Curran was the first female finisher with a time of 2:51:46.
Kosgei said he was surprised he won. "I knew I'm good but I wasn't sure how good. In a marathon, anything can happen," he said.
It's especially surprising that he won, considering that Kosgei said he stayed relaxed the first 10 miles and "didn't begin to race" until the next 16.2 miles -- a marathon is 26.2 miles, with the Marine Corps Marathon held annually in Washington, D.C., and Arlington, Virginia.
His intent, he said, was to compete as an Army team, so he stayed with them the first part of the race. But the pace was just too slow for Kosgei, so he notched it up a few and took off ahead of them, finishing more than a minute ahead of fellow team member Sialo.
Kosgei glided along, relaxed and not even tired during the whole race and not a bit sore afterwards, he related.
The only drama came during the last mile, when he faced an unusually strong headwind. It was so strong, he said he had this strange sensation of "running in place" and was sure someone would quickly snap past.
But of course that moment never came.
Kosgei grew up in Uganda, and came to the U.S. in 2006, on a college athletic scholarship. He said that as a child he would run everywhere he went and really enjoyed it and knew even then that he had a natural ability.
He later joined the Army as a medic, a job he loves and is currently still doing.
But, he said he hopes that winning the marathon will get him a place on the Army's World Class Athlete Program. In the meantime, he will continue his duties as a medic.
Kosgei hopes to qualify for the 2016 Olympics but right now, he's traveling home to Kansas to be with his wife and son who are "excited" about his win.
His command at Fort Riley, Kansas, was very supportive of giving him enough training time for the marathon, he added.
He said he's especially proud to be a Soldier, and was thrilled to be on the team that represented the Army at the marathon.
After the race, when Kosgei learned that a female Soldier also won, he beamed and said simply, "that's awesome."
That female Soldier would be Curran, a field artillery officer.
She too has an interesting story.
This was her first marathon, she said, and it was totally unexpected.
She explained that there were some injuries on the female Army team and she was asked to fill in for someone just two weeks prior to the race. "I wasn't expecting that."
Curran simply willed herself to win. "You can't quit because you're wearing 'Army' and you don't want to let your team members down," she related.
But Curran didn't describe the race as brutal. It was actually a lot of fun, she said in a chipper voice immediately after winning.
She added that the Marines did a good job running the marathon and the entire experience made her especially "proud to be an American."
BEST TIMES (ALL SERVICES)
Men:
1 - Spc. Samuel Kosgei, Army (Fort Riley, Kansas); 2:22:12
2 - Spc. Laban Sialo, Army (Joint Base San Antonio, Texas); 2:23:48
3 - Petty Officer 2nd Class Justin Turner, Navy (Fleet Readiness Center SW, California); 2:25:05
Women:
1 - Capt. Meghan Curran, Army (Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey); 2:51:47
2 - Lt. Gina Slaby, Navy (Little Creek, Virginia); 2:52:32
3 - Lt. Susan Richardson, Navy (Pax River, Maryland); 3:02:06
Some 30,000 runners registered for the Marine Corps Marathon this year, and nearly 4,000 of them were Service members.
MARATHON WITHIN MARATHON
The All-Army Men's Marathon also swept the Armed Forces Marathon Championship, which is a rivalry among the services competing in the Marine Corps Marathon. The Armed Forces Championship has been held in conjunction with the Marine Corps Marathon, since 1998.
This makes the fourth consecutive year the All-Army Men's team has won the Armed Forces Marathon.
The 2014 Armed Forces Championship will serve as the selection process for the 2015 Conseil International du Sport Militaire, aka CISM Marathon Championship, which will be held as part of the CISM Military World Games, Oct. 2-11, in South Korea.
The 2015 World Games are projecting 110 nations and more than 6,500 athletes.
Results of each of the service teams are:
MEN'S DIVISION
Men's Division:
Army - 1st Place: 14 points
Spc. Samuel Kosgei, Army (Fort Riley, Kansas); 2:22:12
Spc. Laban Sialo, Army (Joint Base San Antonio, Texas); 2:23:48
Spc. David Kiplagat (Fort Carson, Colorado); 2:32:11
First Lt. Bryce Livingston (Fort Eustis, Virginia); 2:40:16
Lt. Col. Liam Collins (West Point, New York); 2:40:50
Air Force - 2nd Place: 39 points
First Lt. Timothy Richard (Little Rock AFB, Arkansas); 2:33:53
Capt. Jason Brosseau (Peterson AFB, Colorado); 2:40:48
Lt. Col. Douglas Wickert (Las Vegas, Nevada); 2:44:11
Lt. Col. Mark Cucuzella (Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio); 2:49:48
Capt. Joseph Czabaranek (Eglin AFB, Florida); 2:50:19
Capt. Brian Dumm (Ramstein AB, Germany); 3:08:43
Navy - 3rd Place: 41 points
Petty Officer 2nd Class Justin Turner, Navy (Fleet Readiness Center SW, California); 2:25:05
Cdr. Conrad Orloff (Detroit, Michigan); 2:41:49
Lt. Kevin Sorrell (USCG MSC, Texas); 2:43:34
Cdr. Gene Severtson (Washington, D.C.); 2:52:03
Lt. Mark Cook (MCB Camp Lejeune, North Carolina); 3:10:29
Marine Corps - 4th Place: 53 points
Sgt. Richard Powell (Austin, Texas); 2:33:56
First Lt. Calum Ramm (NAS Oceana, Virginia); 2:49:21
Staff Sgt. Michael Wood (Cincinnati, Ohio); 2:51:15
Lt. Col. Joseph Galvin (MCB Camp Lejeune, North Carolina); 2:52:44
Staff Sgt. Tyler Hubbard (West Lafayette, Indiana); 3:14:57
WOMEN'S DIVISION
Navy - 1st Place: 5 points
Lt. Gina Slaby, Navy (Little Creek, Virginia); 2:52:32
Lt. Susan Richardson, Navy (Pax River, Maryland); 3:02:06
Lt. Rebecca Adams (Puget Sound, Washington); 3:43:22
Seaman Jackie Lewis (Atsugi, Japan); 3:54:10
Army - 2nd Place: 8 points
Capt. Meghan Curran, Army (Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey); 2:51:47
First Lt. Elizabeth Spangler (Fort Wainwright, Alaska); 3:09:19
Capt. Nicole Solana (Fort Rucker, Alabama); 3:10:11
Capt. Margaret Smith (Fort Meade, Maryland); 3:17:13
Marine Corps - 3rd Place: 11 points
Capt. Angelica Valdez (NAS Oceana, Virginia); 3:05:15
Capt. Christine Taranto (Monterey, California); 3:08:00
Staff Gt. Sara Pacheco (MCRD San Diego, California); 3:15:13
Lt. Col. Kristin McCann (MCB Quantico, Virginia); 3:29:16
Air Force - 4th Place: 15 points
Lt. Col. Brenda Schrank (JB Andrews, Maryland); 3:03:49
Tech Sgt. Nadia Fisher (Darmstadt, Germany); 3:18:51
Maj. Elissa Ballas (Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio); 3:21:38
Capt. Jennifer Richard (JB San Antonio, Texas); 3:43:40
SOLDIERS IN LEAD
Incidentally, Soldiers have been winning a lot of races recently.
For example, Capt. Kelly Calway, won the female division at the Marine Corps Marathon, Oct. 27, 2013, with a time of 2:42:16, which qualified her for the Olympic trials in 2016.
And this year, the Army won the international team title Oct. 12, during the 30th anniversary running of the Army Ten-Miler.
(Steven Dinote contributed to this article. For more ARNEWS stories, visit www.army.mil/ARNEWS, or Facebook at www.facebook.com/ArmyNewsService, or Twitter @ArmyNewsService)
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