2,545 Finishers Met the Run Amuck Challenge

QUANTICO, Va. – The Marine Corps Marathon's (MCM) muddiest event, Run Amuck, challenged 2,545 finishers to complete the 3.5 mile course through grueling obstacles, steep hills and deep mud pits in the event held Saturday, June 16 on Marine Corps Base Quantico.

Some runners not only met the challenge but faced the mud-packed adventure head first as they shimmied through the mud crawl, took to the berm climb and made their way through two giant mud pits, sometimes needing assistance from U.S. Marines to be pulled out from the muddy depths.

"It was awesome and the mud pits were the most fun," said 8-year-old Tyler Abele, who ran Run Amuck for the first time as the event's youngest male participant. Abele of McLean, Va., ran Run Amuck with his father Marine Maj. Craig Abele and Tyler's nine-year-old sister Hannah, who said the crawl was her most difficult challenge. "Crawling through the mud and running through those giant tubes was the hardest part for me."

"It was a lot of fun and these hills were some of the biggest I've ever run," said Desiree Earl of Springfield, VA who took Run Amuck by storm with her father Ret. Navy Cmdr. Jim Earl and her brothers Michael, 11, and Thomas, 16. Desiree Earl recently finished high school and has enlisted in the Navy. "I definitely feel like I'm prepared for Navy boot camp now," she said.

"I think it was harder than last year with bigger hills and more mud," said veteran Run Amuck runner Eleanor Canty, who was the event's oldest participant at age 73. "I guess I'll go home and jump in the shower," she added.

Charlie Plaskon, a blind runner from Long Island, NY confronted even a greater challenge running the event for the first time with his guide Marine Master Sgt. Donald Ogden of Quantico. "Did I love it? Heck yeah, I want to sign up right now to do it again next year," said Plaskon who was extolling his appreciation for U.S. Marines while covered in mud at the finish.

"I didn't realize the Rockies were located this far East," exclaimed Rear Adm. Sam Cox, Director of Intelligence for U.S. Cyber Command, who finished Run Amuck with Navy Capt. Vernon Bashaw. The steep hills were their biggest obstacle. "But it was a lot of fun and I challenge the rest of the Navy flag officers to come out and join me next year," Cox added. Bashaw who ran with Cox and his son Peter chose Run Amuck as the site of his formal retirement after serving 29 years in the Navy. "This was an appropriate event to retire from today," he said. "I began my career at OCS running from the Marines in the woods so it's right to finish my career this way too."

Run Amuck unofficial results are available online at www.marinemarathon.com with top finishers and age-category winners being acknowledged by the MCM later this week.

Not to be out-run by the adults, kids ages 6 to 10 participated in their own muddy adventure at Kids Run Amuck, held just prior to Run Amuck. Three hundred kids ran one mile while climbing up hills, through a mud plunge and rode hippity hop balls to the finish!

The 2012 MCM Event Series is sponsored by Brooks, Geico, Holiday Inn Quantico Center, Marine Federal Credit Union, MarathonFoto, USO-Metro, JK Moving Services, Mix 107.3 FM, Michelob Ultra, Scion, VA Runner, Warrior Chip, Wiley X and Discovery Prince William County /Manassas, Va. No federal or Marine Corps endorsement implied.