WASHINGTON (Oct. 21, 2012) - - A cool, dry beautiful blue-sky day was the backdrop for 30-thousand scheduled runners during the U.S. Army Military District of Washington's 28th annual Army Ten-Miler Race.
The Army's premier running event is the third largest 10-mile race in the world. All race proceeds benefit Army Morale, Welfare and Recreation which supports Soldier and Soldier family programs.
The first man to cross the finish line was once again, Tesfaye Senedeku-ale from Ethiopia, beating his winning time from last year at the Ten-Miler Race by three seconds coming in at 47:48; the first woman was Kerri A. Gallagher, from Washington, D.C. at 56:09.
The race was preceeded by a two-day Health & Fitness Expo held at the D.C. Armory and hosted more than 75 exhibitors and 35,000 attendees.
Race day activities included live music, "Hooah" Tents from Army installations showing military pride, youth runs presented by Health Net, and interactive Army displays.
Starting Race Day in spectacular fashion was a jump by Army parachute team, The Golden Knights in front of thousands of runners and spectators waiting for the race to begin.
"We have two demo teams and we are doing something just about every weekend," said Lt. Col. Jose Enrique Melendez, Commander, U.S. Army Parachute Team, Golden Knights. "We do major events like this as well as games and even high school events."
The Golden Knights serve as "Ambassadors" of the Army performing live parachute demonstrations for the American public.
"The race continues to gain in popularity and sells out in record time year after year," said Jim Vandak, race director. "We are genuinely grateful to all of our loyal runners for supporting the Army's race. They are the true spirit of the sport."
Highlighting the race's growing popularity, priority registration opened on May 1 at 12:01 a.m. for all U.S. service members and runners who have participated in seven or more ATM races. Approximately one-third of the total 30,000 race entries were reserved for priority registration on a first-come-first-serve basis. This year, priority registration sold out in less than 19 hours exceeding last year's record of three days.
The remaining two-thirds of the race entries became available to the general public, on a first-come-first-serve basis, on May 15, which also sold out in record time in less than 9 hours.
Final race times and more information about the Army Ten-Miler race or the U.S. Army Military District of Washington is available at: www.mdw.army.mil and www.armytenmiler.com.
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