MCRD/ERR PARRIS ISLAND, S.C. -- Twenty-six point two miles is the number that anyone who participated in the Marine Corps Marathon was thinking about long and hard while they trained and prepared themselves for the race.
The Tri-Command area is home to many who participated in the 26.2-mile marathon, including three who work and train at the Depot's Drill Instructor School.
Running an average of 65-100 miles a week, depending on each runner's experience level, Maj. Keith Burkepile, Drill Instructor School director, 1st Sgt. L.P. Fineran, Drill Instructor School first sergeant and chief instructor, and Gunnery Sgt. Steven Hall, Drill Instructor School drillmaster, trained and prepared mentally for the challenging run.
The race began and ended at the United States Marine Corps War Memorial located at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington and took the competitors on a course that wove its way through historical downtown Washington, into and out of the National Mall and past many inspiring sites of our country's past.
The history of the race dates back to Col. James L. Fowler, the race director for the first two competitions, in 1976 and 77.
"After the Vietnam War, popularity of the military services declined in the eyes of many," said Fowler. "At the same time, distance running was gaining considerable positive attention."
According to the Web site, www.marinemarathon.com, hosting a competition open to all would bring the Marine Corps closer to its primary constituent group; the public it defends.
Although the run moves past many historical sites, some competitors were solely focused on the task at hand.
"I am not site seeing," said Fineran. "I want to run fast as I can and get done as fast as I can. I have run it once, but I will run it again some day when I get older. I am still pretty young."
One thing to remember is that there are other Marines on the Air Station and on the Depot who ran this, said Burkepile.
"We are not the only ones, and since this is the Marine Corps Marathon there were a lot of Marines running this thing, there were a lot of civilians too. We are obviously not anything special."
Burkepile said he has been around marathon runners enough to know that anyone who goes out and runs a marathon and breaks the four-hour mark is in the elite class of runners.
Each competitor has a preconceived goal that they would like to achieve during the race.
Fineran sought to come in under the three hour mark, as did Hall, while Burkepile set a more personal goal with himself, of finishing the race without having to endure any cramping.
When a person is at the level that the first sergeant is at, and you have a chance at breaking three hours for your time, that's really fast, said Burkepile, a seven-time participant of the race.
"Gunnery Sgt. Hall, this is his first marathon period," said Burkepile. "He has a chance to run this thing in 3 hours 10 seconds or less which will qualify him for [the] Boston [Marathon]. If you can at least say that you have qualified for the Boston Marathon, then you have achieved something. Because you have to have a qualifying time to make it into that marathon."
Over the years the Marine Corps Marathon has been dubbed, "The People's Marathon," because of the Marines, sailors, volunteers, staff and spectators that know how to cater to first-time marathoners as well as the veterans of the road.
"That is why they call it the 'Peoples Marathon, it is not a pay out race so you will not see the Kenyans and world class runners run it and win it," said Fineran. "As a matter of fact, most of the time a military person wins the marathon."
Though the competitors did not achieve thier goals outright, the fact that they trained for and participated in the event in conjunction with their daily activities and physical training at the school says a lot about their Marine Corps mentality.
A mentality that led Fineran to finish at 3 hours, 21 minutes, 47 seconds, while Hall completed the course at 3 hours, 26 minutes, 37 seconds and Burkepile came in at 4 hours, 54 minutes, 17 seconds.