MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va. - Marine Corps Marathon held hosted the Crossroads 4-miler, which started at the Quantico Corporate Center in Stafford and continued north on Jefferson Davis Highway finishing outside the National Museum of the Marine Corps on Sept. 7, 2013.
“At the start of the race, I felt fresh and ready to go, but I knew there were some fast guys who were participating,” said Jeff Klemmer, who finished first with a time of, 22 minutes, 58 seconds. “I would not consider myself a runner, just the guy who likes to run.”
Klemmer is a regular MCM-Series runner and places at the top 10 percent of every race he has been in. The 42-year-old retired master sergeant has been running for more than 25 years.
“I felt pretty good to see Jeff at the start of the race. It is always fun to race with him, so it made this race kind of special. It also added a little motivation into the run,” said Alex Hetherington, who finished second with a time of 23:03.
“I would have liked to beat him, but I was closer this time than usual. I don’t think I have ever beaten him,” said Hetherington.
Hetherington was not the only person who had his mind set on victory.
“I have known Jeff [Klemmer] for more than six years and he has always beaten me, so this time I thought I would try and beat him, but he has got Superman legs. You just can’t beat him,” said Ken Parisi, third place winner at 23:34.
For these three runners, what may have started as friendly competition quickly became a
lung-burning race to the finish line.
“The course was very challenging, but at the same time [it was] very inspiring because of the locations that we ran to, said Hetherington. “The race was very motivating because, as a retired Marine, it reminded me of what the Marine Corps does for the country.”
After the race, the three racers got together and talked about what a great time they had during the four-mile long race.
“I just love the course because of all the great energy and support you get,” said Klemmer.
Combat Correspondent: cuong.le@usmc.mil