From Marine Corps Marathon Organization:
Jonathan Ladson, age 31, from Dale City, Va. was the first to cross the finish line of the Devil Dog Double with a new course record of 1:41:22. “My goal for today was to come back and defend my title,” said Ladson. “I felt really good and came through the 13.1 way ahead of the course record so I wanted to push harder.” The previous record was 1:43:56 set in 2019 by Matt O’Neil.
Over 3,700 runners from 48 states and 5 countries conquered the streets of Fredericksburg, Virginia and Hospital Hill for the 2023 Marine Corps Historic Half Events, which encompasses the 13.1 mile Marine Corps Historic Half, the five mile Semper 5ive and the 18.1 mile Devil Dog Double.
The Historic Half had 2,910 total finishers. The Semper 5ive had 506 finishers, while 327 people completed the combined distance of 18.1 in the Devil Dog Double.
The “Greatest Half in History” was won by Eric McMillan, 25, from Goldsboro, N.C with a time of 1:07:30. “Feels good to win overall and compete with all the runners,” explained McMillan.
Coming in just about a minute behind McMillan was Luke Gilman, 29, from New Bern, N.C. with a time of 1:08:585. Rounding out the top three males was Ashton Blackwell, 21, from Vienna, Va. coming in at a time with 1:10:51.
Bridget Abbatiello, 25, from Fredericksburg, Va., came in with a time of 1:30:24, finishing as the top female for the Historic Half, “Positive mindset. Nothing less. Keep grinding,” expressed Abbatiello.
The second place female was Abby Seigel, 20, from Bristow, Va., followed by Pamela O’Brien, 23, from Davidsonville, MD. coming in third. Their times were 1:31:00 and 1:31:33 respectfully.
Coming in second behind Ladson for the Devil Dog Double was Liston Pennington, 34, from Stafford, Va. with a time of 1:47:30. He was followed by Heraldo Echeverria, 45, from Fredericksburg, Va. who finished in third place with a time of 1:47:46.
The overall female Devil Dog Double winner was Molly Robinson, 20, from Stephens City, Va. completing the 18.1 mile distance in 2:11:52. Dawn Bryant-Kuhar, 52, from Vineland, N.J. and Liz Mills, 32, of San Francisco, Calif. finished in second and third place with times of 2:16:14 and 2:24:03 respectfully.
The Semper 5ive winners were Samuel Yakulis, 19, from Stafford, Va. coming in at 26:34 and Madeline Howell, 14, from Spotsylvania, Va. crossing the finish line with a time of 36:48 as the male and female champions.
All results are currently unofficial and will be available at www.marinemarathon.com.
Additional event highlights include:
- Virginia Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs Craig Crenshaw served as the ceremonial starter for the Marine Corps Historic Half and Devil Dog Double.
- Other officials in attendance include Colonel Michael L. Brooks, commanding officer of Marine Corps Base Quantico and Charlie L. Frye, Jr., vice-mayor of Fredericksburg.
- This year marked the first year all three events started at 6:00 a.m. to assist with the historical warm temperatures of the weekend.
Another almost 400 runners across the United States and world are also registered to complete one of the distances virtually. Participants in both the in-person and virtual events received a specially designed technical shirt, finisher medal and more.
Runners can #RunWithTheMarines next on August 26 at the Quantico12K aboard Marine Corps Base Quantico. Like the Marine Corps Historic Half Events, the Quantico 12K is a part of the 2023 Distinguished Participant program. Interested runners can register at marinemarathon.com.
