Photo above: Four miles into the marathon, going past the Pentagon, eventual winner Elizabeth Scanlon runs comfortably in a group - #9029 is Clifford Gallant of New York City, age 31 (place 380, time 3:17:51); #8811 is Christopher Newman, age 38 (place 125, time 3:00:59)
Next photo: Wisdom Comes with Age 57 year old Mike Toolen (#3746)of Missouri (at the one mile mark)outran younger men to finish in 3:46:12. #16879 is Jesus Estrada of Massachusetts, who finished in 3:14:25 and #11819 is Chuck Parker of Chesapeake, Virginia, who ran 3:15:59.
Photo below: Marine One At the one mile mark: Aaron Nichols, right, and Billy Edwards (#84) ran for the U.S. Marines team in the challenge with Britain's Royal Navy. Nichols of Arizona was the first Marine to finish with a time of 2:35:53; Edwards of California ran 2:39:58. #18311 is Sergio Perez of Washington, D.C.; he placed 13th with a time of 2:35:49.

Patient Confidence Brings Victory To Local Runner Elizabeth Scanlon
For a profile of Elizabeth Scanlon click here

The marathon is a highly challenging event because it requires consistency over the entire distance of 26.2 miles. An athlete must run within individual capability over the first 20 miles and resist the temptation to chase after fast rabbits. The true test of the event comes during the final 10K of the run, when mental fatigue and a weary body become a big factor in one's ability to finish.

The men's and women's top finishers this year played a patient game and eventually caught and passed the early leaders. Alisa Harvey had a significant lead past the halfway mark as she ran with experienced marathoner Darrell General, but Elizabeth Scanlon closed the gap to claim first place and Harvey dropped out of the race near mile 18. Scanlon of Alexandria, Virginia, ran strong in the closing miles (1:27:02 for the first 13.1 miles and 1:30:25 for the second 13.1 miles) to achieve her goal of breaking 3:00 and a top five finish. Scanlon smiled broadly as she enjoyed her first Marine Corps Marathon victory in 2:57:27, which put a disappointing bout of injuries in 2001 behind her. A busy work schedule at the National Institute of Health limits Scanlon's mileage to 90 miles/week in training. Last weekend, she placed third in the Army Ten Miler with a time of 1:00:19.

United States Air Force Captain Christopher Juarez of Las Vegas, Nevada, also avoided an impatient rush to challenge the leaders in the early miles. Juarez caught one of the early leaders, Retta Feyissa of Ethiopia, and the other fast starter, Mike Farrell, faded to the middle of the pack. John Sence of Ohio, a favorite to win, provided counsel to Juarez to run a sensible and endurable race, according to the Washington Post. Juarez surpassed his previous top marathon finishes in sixth place (Burlington, Vermont in 2000 and Las Vegas in 2001) to win this year's Marine Corps Marathon in 2:25:01. Sence followed him to claim second place in 2:26:31.

The wheelchair division was won by 42 year old Holly Koester of Cleveland in 3:06:32.

Almost 14,000 men and women finished the Marine Corps Marathon on Sunday, which took place under sunny and cool skies with a noticeable wind on exposed areas of the course. The toughest part of the course for women's winner, Elizabeth Scanlon, came on an isolated stretch of 14th Street bridge past mile 22. Both Scanlon and Juarez admitted to digging deep to find the strength to finish; Scanlon credited words of encouragement from a male runner for providing a needed boost to keep running well in the spirit of team effort. Group camaraderie was evident in the high percentage of military runners who participated in the Marine Corps showcase road race; the grassy area near Iwo Jima was populated with fit but spent runners who achieved a marathon finish in fine fashion - a wonderful sight to see so many individuals dedicated to a healthy choice!

Top 25 Men and Women Finishers

Place	Name	 	Hometown	 	Country	Age	13.1 Mi	10K	18 Mi	Chip	Clock Time	Age Pl.
1	Christopher Juarez Las Vegas	NV		32	1:10:10	0:33:20	1:36:36	2:25:01	2:25:01         1
2	John	Sence	Cincinnati	OH		32	1:10:18	0:33:21	1:37:17	2:26:31	2:26:31 	2
3	Benjamin Sandy	Fort Riley	KS		27	1:12:33	0:34:20	1:40:02	2:29:20	2:29:20 	1
4	Mark	Croasdale Stubbington	United Kingdom	37	1:12:33	0:34:30	1:40:19	2:30:46	2:30:46 	1
5	Juan	Lopez	Washington	DC		35	1:12:33	0:33:46	1:42:04	2:31:57	2:31:57 	2
6	Chris	Farley	Arlington	VA		26	1:16:09	0:36:01	1:44:24	2:33:01	2:33:01 	2
7	Hipolito Sandoval Washington	DC		27	1:16:45	0:36:13	1:44:36	2:33:13	2:33:13 	3
8	Steve	Payne	Stubbington	United Kingdom	46	1:16:09	0:36:00	1:43:53	2:33:35	2:33:35 	1
9	Teddy	Mitchell Ft. Carson	CO		30	1:13:13	0:33:45	1:43:28	2:33:57	2:33:57 	3
10	Patrick	Reed	Loma Linda	CA		33	1:13:11	0:34:32	1:40:47	2:34:43	2:34:43 	4
11	Mark	Cucuzzella	Denver	CO		36	1:16:08	0:36:00	1:44:14	2:34:46	2:34:48 	3
12	Rafael	Cueto	Santo Domingo	Dominican Repub	37	1:16:11	0:36:00	1:44:32	2:34:57	2:34:58 	4
13	Sergio	Perez	Washington	DC		27	1:16:46	0:36:13	1:44:40	2:35:48	2:35:49 	4
14	Aaron	Nichols	Yuma    	AZ      	25	1:16:53	0:36:25	1:44:54	2:35:53	2:35:53 	5
15	Bryan	Smith	New Orleans	LA		40	1:15:20	0:35:20	1:43:56	2:35:53	2:35:54 	1
16	Alexander Hetherington San Clemente CA		35	1:16:09	0:36:00	1:45:00	2:36:04	2:36:05 	5
17	Blake	Benke	Emerald Isle	NC		26	1:16:47	0:36:12	1:45:39	2:36:12	2:36:14 	6
18	Andrew	Bartle	Jacksonville	NC		26	1:16:47	0:36:12	1:45:28	2:36:39	2:36:41 	7
19	William	Swick	Monterey	CA		28	1:16:08	0:36:08	1:44:03	2:36:40	2:36:42 	8
20	Benjamin Palafox Washington	DC		29	1:16:36	0:36:14	1:44:37	2:36:53	2:36:54 	9
21	Jeffrey	McCarthy Arlington	VA		24	1:16:50	0:36:28	1:45:17	2:38:34	2:38:34 	1
22	Todd	Bibb	Woodstock	GA		30	1:17:57	0:36:33	1:47:34	2:39:17	2:39:25 	5
23	Pete	Belcher	Stubbington	United Kingdom	27	1:17:14	0:36:25	1:46:39	2:39:45	2:39:45 	10
24	Billy	Edwards	San Clemente	CA		24	1:16:48	0:36:23	1:45:18	2:39:57	2:39:58 	2
25	Jon	Schoenberg Crofton	MD		39	1:16:49	0:36:11	1:46:14	2:40:00	2:40:02 	6
												
												
Place	Name      	 	Hometown	 		age	Half	10K	18 Miles Chip	Clock	overall
1	Elizabeth Scanlon	Alexandria	VA		31	1:26:59	0:40:54	1:59:51	2:57:27	2:57:27	90
2	Jacaquline Chen 	APD	AE	         	40	1:30:20	0:42:53	2:03:11	3:00:53	3:00:53	126
3	Mary Kate Sullivan-Bailey Stafford	VA		27	1:29:36	0:42:02	2:03:26	3:02:24	3:02:24	133
4	Brenda	Schrank 	Winchester	VA		31	1:29:37	0:41:43	2:03:33	3:04:39	3:04:39	148
5	Jamie	Stensland	Waverly 	IA		37	1:31:16	0:43:02	2:05:37	3:04:56	3:04:56	153
6	Sherry	Thompson	Charlatte	NC		42	1:29:36	0:42:01	2:03:37	3:06:39	3:06:39	170
7	Kristin	McCann  	Quantico	VA		30	1:31:33	0:43:09	2:06:16	3:07:00	3:07:00	174
8	Lisa	Thomas  	Alexandria	VA		26	1:31:39	0:43:26	2:05:41	3:07:15	3:07:15	175
9	Heidi	McKenna 	Colorado Springs CO		35	1:31:33	0:43:10	2:05:40	3:07:44	3:07:44	182
10	Tatiana	Arriagada	Santiago	Chile    	31	1:30:54	0:42:52	2:05:33	3:09:25	3:09:25	199
11	JenniferKieley  	Arlington	VA		24	1:30:40	0:43:00	2:05:35	3:09:53	3:10:15	211
12	Cheryl	Buhre   	Marietta	GA		46	1:30:00	0:41:29	2:05:27	3:09:54	3:09:54	212
13	CatherineGlamkowski	Bridgewater	NJ		32	1:32:54	0:44:01	2:08:37	3:10:08	3:10:29	221
14	Amy	Nesbitt 	Monterey	CA		24	1:31:17	0:42:15	2:06:45	3:10:51	3:10:54	232
15	Pam	Reed    	Tucson   	AZ		41	1:32:17	0:43:21	2:07:30	3:10:56	3:11:10	233
16	Faye	Hutchison	Carlsbad	CA		25	1:32:05	0:43:09	2:07:59	3:11:26	3:11:29	242
17	Britton	Stackhouse	Arlington	VA		23	1:27:57	0:41:32	2:04:17	3:12:11	3:12:13	257
18	Jolene	Vanyo   	Virginia Beach	VA		24	1:28:48	0:40:21	2:06:16	3:12:16	3:12:30	258
19	Jennifer Herrmann	Pasadena	MD		26	1:36:59	0:46:56	2:12:44	3:13:06	3:14:44	272
20	Cary	Kemp    	Arlington	VA		23	1:36:03	0:44:39	2:11:03	3:14:04	3:14:38	291
21	Susan	Volpe   	Herndon 	VA          	33	1:38:46	0:47:56	2:14:04	3:14:50	3:15:33	310
22	Janet	Urbanski	Frederick	MD		32	1:33:35	0:43:03	2:10:51	3:16:41	3:16:46	354
23	Michele	Nanna   	Falls Church	VA		36	1:29:23	0:42:30	2:04:18	3:16:46	3:18:21	358
24	Abigail	Stiles  	Newport 	RI	 	22	1:34:18	0:44:16	2:11:20	3:17:05	3:17:12	363
25	Christa	Koot    	Mira Loma	CA		43	1:38:12	0:47:17	2:14:45	3:17:13	3:18:18	366

American Khalid Khannouchi, world record holder in the marathon, quietly awaits the top male finishers with their marathon medals in his hand