The Army Ten-Miler is the second largest ten-mile race in the United States. It is held every October in Arlington, Virginia and Washington, DC, sponsored by the U.S. Army Military District of Washington. The annual race weekend events also include a youth run, a youth activity fair, and a pre-race pasta dinner. The race draws a large number of civilian and military running teams. The most recent race was held on Sunday, October 13, 2019.
Race course
The race course is USA Track and Field certified and is mostly flat, fast and picturesque.
The course goes east on Pennsylvania Ave. to 1st Street where the U.S. Capitol is on the left.
The course turns west at Independence Avenue and then turns south on 14th Street where it takes the HOV lanes of I-395 for the last two miles of the course to the South Pentagon Parking Lot.
History
The race started in 1985 by fitness officials connected with the Army Headquarters staff in the Pentagon. In the early years, it was led by staff assigned to the Pentagon with the logistic support of the Military District of Washington. Subsequently, the program was reassigned to the Military District, where it is headed by a year-round, full-time professional staff.
DC Metropolitan Police identified a suspicious package under the HOV lanes of the 14th Street Bridge. Race officials decided to re-route runners at Mile Marker 7 to cross the Memorial Bridge instead. The DC Metro Police Explosive Ordnance Unit investigated the package and, at 8:55AM, determined that it was harmless. Because the course was modified, the official race was declared a recreational run and was not scored. The transponder timing mats were not relocated from the planned finish line to the end of the substitute route, which was estimated to be 11.2 miles long.
2007 race
The race was held on Sunday, October 7, 2007 with 26,000 runners entered, and a record 17,000 finishing the 10 mile route. At the 8 a.m. start time, the temperature was 70 degrees F and relative humidity was 94%, making running conditions difficult. Because of the heat, runners consumed more liquids than expected, and the aide stations ran out of water. Michael Banner, a 25-year-old runner from Fairfax, Virginia, collapsed near the finish line and subsequently died. The autopsy results revealed that he had coronary artery disease and ruled that his death was from natural causes.
2008 race
The 2008 race was held on Sunday, October 5, 2008. Local women fared well, as Veena Reddy, from Centreville came from behind to win the Open Female Competition. In addition, Alisa Harvey, from Manassas won the Female Masters. For the men, Reginaldo Campos Jr. of Brazil took first place in the Open Competition. He was one of four Brazilian Army finishers in the top ten. There were a total of 18,789 finishers in the mild October weather.
2009 race
The 2009 race was held on Sunday, October 4, 2009. There were course records set for both the men and women's race. Alene Reta, from Ethiopia, captured the men's race in 46:59 and Samia Akbar, from Herndon, Virginia, won the women's race in 55:25. 21,256 runners finished the race, making it the largest ten mile run in the United States. On the same day, nine-hundred runners from fifteen nations participated in a "shadow" run held on Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan.
2010 race
The 2010 race was held on Sunday, October 24, 2010. The race set Army Ten Miler registration records, with 30,000 runner slots being sold in only 35 hours. 21,636 runners finished the race, with Alene Reta, from Ethiopia, defending the men's title in 47:10 and Aziza Abate, from Ellicott City, Maryland, winning the women's race in 55:54. During race week, deployed servicemembers and civilians participated in "shadow" runs at six bases in Afghanistan, five bases in Iraq, and one camp in Djibouti, Africa.
2015 race
The 2015 race was held on Sunday, October 18, 2015. Paul Chelimo, a citizen of Kenya living in Beaverton, OR won the race in 48:19, and Tina Muir of Lexington, KY finished first among women, 64th overall, in 55:20.
2018 race
The 2018 race was held on Sunday, October 7, 2018. Frankline Tonui from Ft. Sam Houston, Texas won the men's division with a time of 50.23. The women's division was won by Susan Tanui from Ft. Sam Houston, Texas with a time of 56.33. WTOP provided coverage of the event as well as photos and videos of the race.
