See the Story on Peter Sherry and Heather Hanscom, winners of the 2003 Marine Corp Marathon

True Lies - Chasing Beautiful Women
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Louis Padilla of Washington, DC and age 29, finished in 3:02:04 while representing the Navy.

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He's no Tim Montgomery: Four men approached the finish together and a mad dash to the line ensued. It was a momentary thrill for David Herlihy, 42 of East Montpeilier, VT who ran 3:01:32 for 26.2 miles but won the sprint.

Arlingtonian Mark Allard (far left) and others run the final stretch around the Iwo Jima Memorial. The 38-year-old finished in 3:40:27.

Faarouk Elkassed (far left, #16835), 54 of Fairfax and Tracy Pritchard, 29 of West Seneca, NY finished the run in 3:41:26 and 3:40:34. The weather was warm, many runners were soaked in perspiration, but they made it all the way.

Mustard Seed - Friendships are Formed, Experiences are Shared
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Running a marathon takes heart; many participants joined a training group and some raised money for charity. Three-fourths of the runners are new to the marathon distance. But a long-term love affair develops for some finishers, after the muscles cease to ache and the mind recovers from the challenge of doing the difficult.

Red-shirted Jonathan Harris, 21, of Cambridge, MA slowly makes his way to a happy ending in 3:42:01. Deena Drossin and Darrell General make it look easy! (They were greeting runners at the MCM Expo Saturday afternoon and both will run the Olympic Marathon Trials next spring.)

John Galvin, 29, travelled from Chicago,IL but the journey that mattered took 3:47:54 while local Judy Grobstein, 30, finished in 3:47:48.

They guys look like pals and fun guests to invite to a party! Keith Stephenson (#14542), 46, of Blacksburg, James Chandler (#5389), 49 of Alexandria, and Valdo Vira (#17129), 34 of Arlington finished before the clock struck 3:49:00.

Evolution: Meet Me In St. Louis or March to Birmingham
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Brutal is the word Peter Sherry used to describe his marathon adventure at the front of the pack. Mark Croasdale, bib#1, was pleased to place in the top 5 after returning from war duty in Iraq, "it's been a difficult year." Croasdale is the pride of the British Navy and trains in the Scottish Highlands at home base. Others out on the course took a casual approach with dedication to finishing, not collapsing of exhaustion.

Mary Rimshaw, 49, of Duluth, GA kept spirits high and reached the Iwo Jima Memorial in 6:09:54; Winston Davis, 52, of Alpharetta, GA took a wee bit longer - it's attitude that matters.

Volunteers and Marines rose early Saturday morning to wait for runners at the Georgetown water station near Key Bridge

The race began under gray skies but later in the morning some sunshine came through the clouds.

Darius Deak, 33, of South Hadley, MA practices his right to free speech and the pursuit of a sub-3:00:00 finishing time.

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