AF Marathon results announced: Team McChord finishes in top form at the annual race

  • Published
  • By Derek Kaufman
  • 88th Airlift Air Base Wing Public Affairs
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. --  Runners here during Saturday's U.S. Air Force Marathon were treated to crystal blue skies, cool temperatures and a new record set. 

The official results, announced Wednesday, confirmed 32-year-old Josh Cox from San Diego and Mammoth Lakes, Calif. as overall winner in the men's full marathon. Cox's winning gun time of 2 hours, 20 minutes, 57 seconds -- now official -- is a new record for the U.S. Air Force Marathon and qualifies him for the U.S. Olympic Team trials to be held in New York City this November. 

Cox called the route "a great course - definitely challenging." 

"I ran this race for my dad, who passed away this year," Cox said. "I'm very thankful for the gifts God has given me. I'm not the owner of the gifts, just the bearer." 

Karissa Goodrich, a 22-year-old who hails from Annadale, Va., was the top finishing overall female marathon runner at 3:06:54. She is currently assigned as military intelligence student with the 17th Training Wing at Goodfellow Air Force Base, Texas. 

Wheelchair racer Glen Ashlock, 46, from Dexter, Mich., took the honors in the men's wheelchair marathon with an official time of 1:54:05. 

"It felt great," Ashlock said shortly after his first place finish. "The last few hills were tough, but that's where you win the race, in the tough parts." 

Holly Koester of Walton Hills, Ohio, was the top female wheelchair racer, crossing the line at 3:39:58. 

The top finishing military male marathoner was Dr. Mark Cucuzzella a physician at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. Cucuzzella, from Shepherdstown, W.V., won the 2006 Air Force Marathon and finished fifth overall this year with a gun time of 2:34:26. Initially, the electronic timing system unofficially identified Michael Haugen of Roy, Utah as the top placing military male marathoner. However, once official results were determined, Haugen finished second among military runners and seventh overall at 2:36:00. 

McChord was well represented at the race as Miguel Colon, 62nd Aerial Port Squadron; Christian Delgado, 62nd Logistics Readiness Squadron; Lori Fiorello, 62nd Comptroller Squadron; Jeremy Baxter, 62nd Mission Support Squadron; Justin Curtis, 62nd Civil Engineering Squadron; and Marty Goins, 62nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, all made the trip to Wright-Patterson to compete in the event. 

Fiorello, who ran in the half marathon, said the overall Air Force environment really added to the excitement of the race. 

"There were multiple fly-bys while we were running -- it was really motivational," she said. Race organizers also placed multiple static aircraft facing each other near the finish line, creating a hallway effect down the final stretch, she said. 

Fiorello finished the race in 1:53:19, coming in 513th out of the 948 female runners in the race. 

Colon (1:41:13) also ran the half marathon, finishing 195th out of the 2,075 runners while Curtis finished 241st with a time of 1:43:52. 

"Everyone along the route of the race was very supportive," said Baxter, who finished the full marathon with a time of 4:07:07, coming in 677th out of the 1,651 runners. "At nearly every mile point there were people cheering you on by your first name. It was just a really good race." 

The top finisher in the group was Goins (3:25:26), who finished in 171st place. Delgado also ran the marathon, finishing with at time of 6:01:11. 

Weather conditions at Wright- Patterson Air Force Base for Saturday's 7:30 a.m. start were clear skies, temperature 47 degrees Fahrenheit with winds from the northwest at 3 knots. 

The marathon course started and finished at the National Museum of the Air Force, tracing a path around the historic Huffman Prairie Flying Field where the Wright-Brothers mastered the art of flying and trained the military's first aviators. Runners were treated to a steady stream of flyovers by U.S. Air Force aircraft during Marathon events which included a wheel-chair marathon, marathon, 4-person relay and half-marathon. 

Including an affiliated 5K road race held Friday in partnership with Wright State University on their campus, a total of just over 6,300 runners participated in all marathon events, said Marathon director Molly Loudon. In addition, nearly 2,000 volunteers supported this year's five events. 

The 11th annual race, an official Boston Marathon qualifier, is one of the capstone events to commemorate the U.S. Air Force's 60th Anniversary as a separate military service.

For complete results, visit www.usafmarathon.com. 

[62nd Airlift Wing public affairs contributed to this article.]