Photo credit: Ben Garvin, Marathon Moment
MCM50K Male Overall Winner Shatters the Ultramarathon Course Record
QUANTICO, VA (October 30, 2023) – Despite the unusual warm and humid weather, over 20,000 finishers accomplished their mission during the 48th Marine Corps Marathon (MCM) events on Sunday, October 29.
Of the 20,539 finishers, 13,824 earned their Eagle, Globe and Anchor medal by completing the marathon, another 1,280 went the extra distance to successfully finish the MCM50K and 5,435 completed the MCM10K.
Due to the conditions, the hard decision was made to implement two course gauntlets earlier than planned to keep participants healthy and safe. Gauntlets are time cutoffs at strategic locations along the course put in place to allow the route to reopen when determined by permits as well as to assist in emergency needs, such as today.
Earlier in the morning, spectators witnessed the MCM50K course record get shattered as Calum Neff, age 39 from Fulshear, Texas, crossed the finish line as the overall ultramarathon champion with a time of 2:55:56. When asked if he knew he broke the record, Neff stated, “That was the goal. It was a hot day, humid.”
Neff was followed by Michael Wardian, age 49 from Arlington, Va., and Steve Mance, age 39 from Washington, D.C., who came in second and third at 3:10:18 and 3:13:34 respectively.
The top three MCM50K women were Anna Staats, age 24 from Arlington, Va. in first at 3:35:57; second place was Christina Couper, age 31 from Charleston, S.C. at 3:49:00; third was Hannah Jeter, age 27 from Brooklyn, N.Y at 3:55:32.
The 48th MCM overall champion was Julius Kogo, age 38 from Durham, N.C., completing the marathon in 2:25:55. “This was my second Marine Corps Marathon,” expressed Kogo. “I loved the views.”
Patrick Hearn, age 33 from Kailua, Hawaii, came in second with a time of 2:26:19 and Isiah Kosgei, age 48 from Eldoret, Kenya crossed third with a time of 2:27:14.
Bonnie Keating, age 38 from San Deigo, Calif, was the female MCM champion with a time of 2:50:49, while Anna Cruser, age 26 from Washington, D.C., finished second with a time of 2:58:13 and Shauneen Werlinger, age 38 from Fairfax Station, Va., crossed third with a time of 2:58:21.
Other notable 48th MCM finishers include SgtMaj Carlos Ruiz, the 20th Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps who served as the official MCM Duo starter with a time of 5:25:37.
General Eric Smith, 39th Commandant of the Marine Corps, served as the MCM ceremonial starter. Other event starters included Brad Washabaugh, Beirut Veteran in honor of the 40th anniversary of the Marine Barracks bombing in Beirut, Lebanon, who completed his 20th MCM
today after firing the starter pistol for the MCM50K and Matt Cavanaugh, retired Army Lt Col who is currently on a mission to complete 12 marathons with 1 kidney and dispel the misperception that kidney donation imposes physical limits on donors.
Unofficial events are available on marinemarathon.com and on the MCM app.
The running events kicked off on Saturday with the MCM Kids Run, which celebrated over 2,000 aspiring runners as they completed the one mile fun run.
