Legionnaires, allies rally together for Marine Corps Marathon

As an announcer signaled the start of the 40th Marine Corps Marathon Oct. 25, doves flew overhead while more than 30,000 runners hailing from the U.S. and more than 50 countries took off from the start line together.

Dubbed “The People’s Marathon,” the race began in Virginia and led participants donned with American flags and draped in red, white and blue along a scenic course through the nation’s capital.

Once on the course, the participants’ reasons for running the marathon became increasingly more evident.

Marine Sgt. Courtney White, an avid runner and college student who recently completed her active-duty contract, made the trip from South Carolina to run in memory of fallen comrade Cpl. Sara Medina, who tragically passed in a helicopter crash last May while supporting relief efforts in Nepal following an earthquake.

“I was honored to run for Sara because it was a way to remember her,” White said. “It’s been less than six months, but I want to make sure her memory lives on. She was truly an incredible person who was loved by so many. Although I’ve run the Marine Corps Marathon twice before, this time was even more special because I had more motivation to run.”

Legionnaire Kevin Gross, a member of Post 28 in Triangle, Va. said he also had plenty of motivation pushing him to participate. “It was a bucket list thing for me,” he said.

Gross is no stranger to marathons. He participated in several other Marine Corps-sponsored races throughout the year, including the Half Marathon.

“This year I got really ramped up,” Gross said. “Two of my friends and I joined a challenge called 2,015 in 2015. That gave me a lot of motivation to get out and do more running.”

Training for the race proved to be a small challenge for Gross, who serves in the Army on active duty. He did not let that stop him from attaining the goal he set with his friends. During the race Gross added to his personal mileage, surpassing more than 900 miles run this year alone.

The grueling 26.2-mile course took participants on a journey filled with highs and lows.

It was an extra push from the crowd that helped Gross when he felt like he was ready to slow his pace to a brisk walk. “Everywhere we went, there were people cheering and holding signs,” he said. “That really helped get through that distance.”

One of those points was the blue mile, Gross said. At that particular point on the route people held pictures of fallen servicemembers while standing among a sea of American flags.

“I ran through that mile and I was thinking, ‘I’m going to run this mile for all these guys that can’t run themselves – just one foot in front of the other, one mile at a time,’” he said.

Similar to the runners, spectators also came from all corners of the globe to make it to the event and support participants from all walks of life. The athletes represented different causes, military branches and countries and included Marine Corps Marathon Hall of Famers Will Brown and Al Richmond, both retired Marine colonels who have participated in every race since the inaugural event 40 years ago.

Dave Wallace, first vice commander of Lorton, Va., Post 162, sat out this race after running the Army Ten-Miler earlier in the month to show support and cheer on foreign allies who took a break from their training schedules and everyday lives to run beside their American counterparts.

“It was a great experience because I got to talk to different people,” Wallace said, adding that the day meant a lot to him. After running the marathon seven times, he had the opportunity participate as a spectator for the first time.

“Just being around all the camaraderie and seeing together people cheering was amazing,” he said. “I wanted to be able to give back so the runners could experience what I experienced when people cheered for me while I was running other events.”

For one runner in particular, the presence of Wallace and the other onlookers meant a lot.

Angel De Sade, an Australian Army paratrooper, said that when he stepped foot on American soil for the first time he didn’t know what to expect.

As a smile illuminated his strong, chiseled facial features, he compared Australian spectators to the masses that came to watch the Marine Corps Marathon. He said he envied how outgoing and patriotic the spectators were along the route.

When De Sade first put in his application to come to the marathon, he was inspired by American troops and how similar they are to Australian troops who oftentimes don’t get the recognition they deserve.

Fueled by the desire to want to honor fallen servicemembers, veterans and those in uniform, the soldier traveled to the U.S. with several of his battle buddies to run in the race. As tears welled in his eyes, De Sade recalled a stretch of the marathon that reminded him why he came to the states to run in the race.

“Seeing relatives standing along the blue mile holding pictures of their family members who were taken away was gut-wrenching,” De Sade said. “It tore me apart.”

Sporting his paratrooper tattoo along the route, De Sade rubbed elbows with fellow paratroopers, other participants and their family members.

“I appreciated being able to interact with them while at the same time also knowing how they felt,” he said. “It was good to get that Army family connection, even if it was from another Army family across the seas.”

De Sade said the experience resonated with because both his mother and father were also in the military.

Following the Marathon, Wallace and other Legionnaires welcomed De Sade and members of other foreign military branches into Post 28 on Monday with open arms. While they fellowshipped together over a meal, they found a new appreciation for each other while swapping stories around a fire pit.

Legionnaire Douglas Taggart began hosting the event several years ago as a way to give back to allies who made the journey to the U.S. to participate in the marathon.

“We wanted to give back and extend to these soldiers – many of who have come to American for the first time – that we recognize the sacrifices they have made, and it is appreciated by us here in the states,” Taggart said.

Tucking his hands in a brand new U.S. Marine Corps hoodie he purchased while staying in the barracks aboard Marine Base Quantico, De Sade said the experiences he lived during his time in the states will stay with him for a lifetime.

“We got such a warm reception from the American people,” he said. “It was amazing.”