19-Year-Old MCM Mark Might Be Challenged

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By Rachel Zavala

Special to The Washington Post
Saturday, October 28, 2006

The 31st annual Marine Corps Marathon is hosting its largest field, with 34,000 registered runners taking off early tomorrow morning in Arlington. Two male runners are expected to challenge the 19-year-old event record, race director Rick Nealis said at a news conference yesterday. Tamrat Ayalew, 32, of Ethiopia, ran a marathon in 2 hours 12 minutes in 1994, two minutes faster then the MCM record of 2:14.01 set in 1987 by Jeff Scuffins. Jared Nyamboki, 30, of Kenya, ran a 2:14 at the Lena Marathon in Kenya in 2004.

Last year's winner, Ruben Garcia, 35, of Mexico City, who won in 2:22:14, is returning to try to become the second runner in the marathon's history to win back-to-back titles.

Other top projected male finishers include Belay Teka Kass, 25, of Ethiopia, and Carl Rundell, 38, of Michigan, who finished second last year, a mere eight seconds behind Garcia, the closest finish in MCM history.

The top projected female finishers include Janeth Alder, 32, of Ecuador; Eve Besant, 25, of Washington; and Hilary Cairns, 36, of Washington.