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King Runs into Marine Corps Marathon History and Barrett Captures First Win

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By George Banker

The theme for the 49th Marine Corps Marathon (MCM), held on Sunday, October 27, 2024, was “Celebrating Women in Service–A Bond that Bridges Generations.”

This year was a matchup between the 2019 winner, LCDR Jordan Tropf (2:27:43) and the 2022 winner, Major Kyle King (2:19:19). In the field was Air Force Captain George Crist  (2022 Grandma Marathon 2:19:49) and Army Captain Kyle Smith (2024 Grandma Marathon 2:19:52).

It was going to take the 26.2 miles to determine the winner among the capable athletes. Each represented themselves and their branch of service.

Leading through 10K was Tropf (34:14) followed by Crist and Smith (34:81), and King (34:91). The pack stayed in close contact through the half marathon with Smith leading (1:12:06) with Crist following (1:12:14) and Tropf (1:12:15), and King (1:12:16).  Going into 35K (21.7 miles) King was leading (2:00:14) followed by Crist (2:00:35). Smith was trailing in 2:01:13. Tropf had dropped back to 2:03:23.

King was in the position to gain a second win and to become the first active-duty Marine to be crowned the winner. The winning time was 2:25:06. Crist was the runner-up with a time of 2:26:20 followed by Smith with a time of 2:27:03. Tropf finished in 14th place with a time of 2:32:58.

“Leading into the race, I knew based on my fitness, I’d need to take a much more conservative approach than 2022. I visualized a race of attrition, doing my best to relax and hang off the back end of the lead pack, ideally not letting anyone get over 30 seconds in front of me throughout the first half of the race,” stated King.

King added, “My body finally calmed down and settled into the race at about the blue mile on Hains Point this year. At this point, I was feeling confident that I could cover moves made by the other competitors and would even have thoughts of winning creep into my mind. Similar to my negative thoughts earlier in the race, I do my best to immediately replace those thoughts about winning the race with, “Can you keep up with the pack for one more mile? Yes.”

In the women’s race, Tessa Barrett, Penn State alumni and member of the Georgetown Running Club established distance early in the race, going through 10K with a time of 36:52 followed by Jessica Smith of Philadelphia with a time of 39:26. Trailing in third was Laurel LeMoigne, a member of the Capital Area Runners (40:04).

As the race progressed, the runners thinned out. Going into the 35K mark, Barrett crossed with a time of 2:11:38 followed by Smith with a time of 2:17:03 and LeMoigne with 2:19:19.

Barrett was able to maintain the lead to win with a time of 2:39:38 (5th fastest winning time). Smith was the runner-up with a time of 2:46:07. LeMoigne was third with a time of 2:49:31.

In other performances, the Challenge Cup, the competition between the Royal Navy/Royal Marines and the US Marine Corps, the Marines took the win with a combined time of 7:24:05 to 7:36:06. The female Marines took the win with a time of 6:09:43 to 6:33:17.

In the 10K, Mark Hopely of Fredericksburg VA, defended his 2023 title with another win in 34:19. Elizabeth Sullivan of Portsmouth, RI, took first place with a time of 36:32.

In the 50K, Mark Neff of Fulshear, TX defended his 2023 title with a winning time of 2:56:36 and Anna Staats of Arlington, VA, defended her 2023 title with a winning time of 3:44:40.

The Marines won first place in the men’s Armed Forces Marathon Championship with 24 points (top four runners score). The Navy was runner-up with 29 points followed by the Air Force with 46 points. The Army scored 57 points.

The Navy won first place in the women’s Armed Forces Marathon Championship with 4 points (top 2 score). The runner-up was the Marines with 10 points. The Army was third with 13 points, followed by the Air Force with 16 points.

The top push-rims were Dustin Hawk of San Antonio, TX with a time of 5:35:42 and Heather Sealover of Clermont, FL finishing in 2:21:49.

The marathon had 16,180 finishers.

Marathon Top Men

  1. Major Kyle King, 36, 2:25:06, Yucca Valley, CA
  2. George Crist, 26, 2:26:20, Davis, CA
  3. Kyle Smith, 36, 2:27:03, Colorado Springs, CO
  4. Connor Roche, 2:27:45, Waynesboro, VA
  5. Capt. Luke Gilman, 30, 2:28:17,Stafford, VA
  6. John Bowers, 2:29:50, Corpus Cristi, TX
  7. Daniel Soltys, 2:29:54, Falmouth, GBR
  8. Christopher Bourke, 2:30:22, Arlington, VA
  9. Anthony Malatesta, 30, 2:30:42, New Bern, NC
  10. Zach Jowers, 2:31:16, Topeka, KS

Marathon Men Masters

  1. Tesfaye Wosene, 43, 2:33:11, Temecula, CA
  2. Christopher Ostoich, 2:44:43, San Diego, CA
  3. Israel Martincez Gonzales, 2:47:34, Monterrey, MEX
  4. Aaron Schwartzbard, 2:47:57, Washington, DC
  5. Shaun Evans, 2:48:56, Middle Grove, NY

Marathon Top Women

  1. Tessa Barrett, 29, 2:39:38, Arlington, VA
  2. Jessica Smith, 36, 2:46:07, Philadelphia, PA
  3. Laurel Le Moigne, 2:49:31, Springfield, VA
  4. Mary Reiser, 2:49:39, Baltimore, MD
  5. Stephanie Cichosz, 2:51, 23, Kirkland, WA
  6. Savannah Peppenhorst, 2:53:33, Suwanee, GA
  7. Megan Walsh, 2:54:01, San Diego, CA
  8. Bonnie Keating, 39, 2:54:04, San Diego, CA
  9. Gabby Skopec, 2:54:22, Coralville, IA
  10. Jonel Rodina,2:54:33, Virginia Beach, VA

Marathon Women Masters

  1. Sarah Hallas, 45, 2:55:04, Cotati, CA
  2. Michele Villalobos, 41, 2:59:53, Park City, UT
  3. Jilane Petrie, 3:00:37, Washington, DC
  4. Mia Link, 3:03:11, Jenkintown, PA
  5. Lauren Rosenthal, 43, 3:03:12, N. Potomac, MD

Marine Corps 50K Men

  1. Calum Neff, 40, 2:56:36, Fulshear, TX
  2. Steve Mance, 40, 2:58:48,Washington, DC
  3. Jonathan Ladson, 32, 3:12:53, Woodbridge, VA
  4. Matt Donnally, 3:21:57, Chevy Chase, MD
  5. Michael Stevens, 3:24:40, Baltimore, MD
  6. Oleksandr Skorokhod, 3:29:48, Arlington, VA
  7. Gary Gold, 3:32:10, Washington, DC
  8. Montana Klingsporn, 3:32:27, Cape Coral, FL
  9. Richard Reinhardt, 3:38:43, Columbia, MD
  10. Carter Houseknecht, 3:38:58, Elysburg, PA

Marine Corps 50K Women

  1. Anna Staats, 25, 3:44:40, Arlington, VA
  2. Siena Morlatt, 3:48:06, Blacksburg, VA
  3. Lauren Cramer, 3:52:40, Hagerstown, MD
  4. Paula Porras, 3:56:57, San Jose, CA
  5. Daphne Panayotatos, 4:02:03, Washington, DC
  6. Katlyn Howard, 4:02:22, Boston, MA
  7. Sophia Van Leeuwen, 4:09:53, Washington, DC
  8. Hannah Sprung, 4:13:04, Chicago, IL
  9. Sangeetha Rajasekeran, 4:16:08, Jersey City, NJ
  10. Adrianna Anderson, 4:18:54, Woodbridge

Marine Corps 10K Men

  1. Mark Hopely, 35, 34:19, Fredericksburg, VA
  2. Spencer Conti, 34:23, Arlington, VA
  3. Typer Cooper, 35:01, Arlington, VA
  4. Riley Robinette, 35:16, Washington, DC
  5. Rob Morhard, 35:53, Washington, DC

Marine Corps 10K Women

  1. Elizabeth Sullivan, 24, 36:32, Portsmouth, RI
  2. Sarah Bishop, 42, 38:18, Fairfax, VA
  3. Sophie DeBode, 38:51, Washington, DC
  4. Sophia Sandy, 39:40, North Bethesda, MD
  5. Meghan Tveit, 39:50, Washington, DC
Tessa Barrett, the first female finisher of the 49th Marine Corps Marathon, runs through the finish line of the MCM course in Arlington, Virginia, Oct. 27, 2024.
(U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Darien Wright)
Maj. Kyle King, Coupeville, Washington, poses for a photo with the finish line banner after winning the 2024 Armed Forces Marathon Championship and the 49th Marine Corps Marathon Oct. 27, 2024.
(Department of Defense photo by MC2 Colby Mothershead)
Tessa Barrett, the first female finisher of the 49th Marine Corps Marathon, poses for a photo after completing the MCM course in Arlington, Virginia, Oct. 27, 2024.
(U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Darien Wright)
Jessica Smith, of Philadelphia, PA, finished in 2nd place out of 6,169 females during the 49th MCM with a time of 02:46:04 held in Washington, DC on Oct 27, 2024. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by civilian Tarnish Pride)
Stephanie Cichosz, of Kirkland, WA, finished in 5th place out of 6,165 females during the 49th MCM with a time of 02:51:19 held in Washington, DC on Oct 27, 2024. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by civilian Tarnish Pride)
Anna Staats crosses the finish line as the fastest female runner with an unofficial time of 03:44:40 during the Marine Corps Marathon 50K in Arlington, Virginia, Oct. 27, 2024. (Photo courtesy of Marine Corps Marathon, Cpl Darien Wright, Photographer)
Calum Neff, the winner of the 49th Marine Corps Marathon 50k, receiving an unofficial time of 2:56:35, poses for a photo in front of the finish line after completing the MCM course in Arlington, Virginia, Oct. 27, 2024. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Darien Wright)
Elizabeth Sullivan, a participant in the 49th Marine Corps Marathon, crosses the finish line receiving an unofficial time of 35 minutes and ten seconds during the 49th Marine Corps Marathon 10K in Arlington, Virginia, Oct. 27, 2024. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Darien Wright)
Mark Hopely, a participant in the 49th Marine Corps Marathon, crosses the finish line receiving an unofficial time of 34 minutes and 18 seconds during the 49th Marine Corps Marathon 10K in Arlington, Virginia, Oct. 27, 2024. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Darien Wright)
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