This video is no longer available.
The 50th Marine Corps Marathon is less than a month away, and 海角精品黑料 is highlighting some of the inspiring people getting ready to take part in what鈥檚 known as 鈥淭he People鈥檚 Marathon.鈥�
On Monday, 海角精品黑料 spoke to a nurse who’s chosen to run the 26.2-mile distance for the first time. But this Virginia man is preparing to run it for the 40th time.
鈥淚鈥檝e run it in rain, I’ve run it in wind, I’ve run it with Oprah,鈥� John Cox told 海角精品黑料 while sitting at the Caboose Brewing Company & Tavern in Vienna, Virginia.
Cox has pretty much seen it all during the running of the Marine Corps Marathon over the past 39 years.
He started in 1986, running it with his father who was a Marine veteran of World War II and fought in Okinawa. He was a law student at the University of Virginia at the time.
鈥淚t’s funny because that year, when I ran in ’86, my dad was as old as I am now. So he ran his first one at 62 with me,鈥� he said.
The race is a family tradition. Cox鈥檚 father and mother would come down for the race every year and stay at a hotel in Arlington. Since that first year, Cox has run with his father, brother, sister and his two daughters. One of his daughters qualified for the Boston Marathon when she was a teenager.
鈥淏ut overall, I think our family has well over 115 (entries), maybe even higher,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t’s tradition for me. It’s feels like it’s more like a cleansing experience. When you finish it, you feel like you’ve accomplished something.鈥�
He has seen the race grow from a few thousand runners to now over 40,000. He has also seen the course and preparations for the race change.
鈥淲hen they had the D.C. sniper, that was scary only because the sniper had been shooting in Maryland and been shooting in D.C. and been shooting in Virginia, and you just didn’t know,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey definitely amped up security.鈥�
He also ran just a few weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the Pentagon, describing the massive hole he and other runners saw as they passed by.
Over his 39 races, the conditions have varied dramatically. He’s run in snow, heat, humidity, hurricane-force winds and even gruesome injuries.
鈥淚 stepped on a nail and it went into my foot. And I’m sitting there, and I’m like, ‘Oh, this hurts. This hurts a lot,’ but I couldn’t bend down to do anything, so I had to ask a spectator, ‘Hey, can you please take this nail out of my foot?’鈥� Cox said with a laugh.
One of the worst races he participated in on the streets of D.C. was in 2023, when the heat reached the upper 70s and the humidity was extreme.
“The clothes were sticking to me, and then you just started hearing sirens, and people were collapsing. They were running out of water, and they started closing the course because they didn’t have enough medical personnel,鈥� Cox said. 鈥淚t was the right choice.鈥�
Though each one represents a “cleansing experience” for him, there are just too many medals to hang. Instead, he keeps his 39 medals in a shoe box. He said his favorite thing to do while he鈥檚 running the course is to spot a familiar face.
鈥淚 always try to see one person that I recognize from just life in general,” Cox said. “That makes my marathon experience.”
His advice to newer runners is to not “go crazy on the first hill, you’ve got 24 miles after that.”
“That first hill can break you. And if you’re at all concerned about it, I would conserve your energy there, knowing that you have a long downhill and then just let the crowd take you,” Cox said.
While his streak may one day break, it won鈥檛 be this year. He said he never takes the opportunity to run the race for granted.
鈥淚t’s well supported, and it’s a privilege to run with the Marines,” he said.
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
漏 2025 海角精品黑料. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
