MCRD/ERR PARRIS ISLAND, S.C. -- Depot Marines celebrated the Marine Corps' 228th Birthday, not by cutting a cake or reading Gen. John A. Lejeune's birthday message, but by running 228 miles collectively - one mile for each Marine Corps year.Drill instructors from Golf Co., 2nd RTBn., paid homage to the Marine Corps by running 228 miles, beginning Sunday afternoon and ending Monday morning, split up between 23 runners over 19 consecutive hours. Each Marine ran at least nine miles, some as many as 21 miles, to complete the event. The run helped the Marines celebrate the birthday in a slightly different way than the traditional birthday ceremony - in physical training gear vice Dress Blues. "It seemed like a unique way to celebrate the birthday," said Sgt. Brian Villiard, Golf Co. drill instructor. "It's a little different that the cake-cutting ceremony and the events that follow after that.""I have never done it before, so I thought it would be a good way to build unit camaraderie," added Staff Sgt. Douglas Mrusek, series gunnery sergeant. "I'd seen other units do it, and I had always wanted to do it. It's a nice way to celebrate the birthday and the hard work former Marines have done ... this was a good way to pay them back." Additionally, H&SBn. Marines ran 228 miles over the course of 14 hours Nov. 6-7, to honor the Corps, the Marines who fought and died in the wars of yesteryear and the Marines who continue to fight and die for their country today.Marines ran the three-mile course in groups of three continuously throughout the night, starting and ending at the Iron Mike statue, and passed off a symbolic baton until the 225-mile mark had been reached. Afterward, the entire battalion formed up to run the final three miles. Even with runners waking up at "zero-dark-thirty" to participate, no one complained about running the three miles ... they simply remembered why they chose to run in the first place."We have to think about the Marines before us who died, and the Marines dying for us now," said Sgt. Bo Boston, legal specialist for the Depot Law Center. "Whenever I get tired, I think we only have to run three miles while other Marines are over there dying." It was not hard to find participants for the event, said Staff Sgt. Brenda Clark, Service Co. gunnery sergeant. Within an hour-and-a-half, the sign-up sheet for the time slots had filled up completely with the names of 75 Marines who wanted to participate in the run, along with a waiting list of participants willing to run in another runner's absence. With segregation among the Marine Corps balls, split up between sergeants and below, staff NCOs and officers, the run gave the Marines an opportunity to commemorate the birthday together, regardless of rank, said Clark. "This is the only way we could celebrate the birthday together as a battalion since we all have our separate ball celebrations," said Clark. "It was about camaraderie and motivation ... in memory of the Marines at Iwo Jima and Guadalcanal."