WASHINGTON — Maj. Gen. Joe Di Salvo has been in the Army for 33 years. As Commanding General of the Army South in San Antonio, Texas, he came to the local Army Ten-Miler feeling supremely confident. He brought four teams here to race.
“We’re going to win,” Di Salvo says with a laugh.
This is his 10th time running the race.
“It’s fun,” he continues. “It’s a good time for camaraderie. You see a lot of folks that you haven’t seen in 20 years.”
Mark Todd, who’s been in the National Guard for 27 years, was competing in his first Army Ten-Miler.
“First one,” he says, “probably the last one.”
The 30th running of the Army Ten-Miler took place Sunday morning under perfect weather conditions. Some 35,000 runners came to the area from around the world and across the United States.
A majority of the joggers were local because of the area’s big military presence. Of the runners, 63 percent are active duty. The Army Ten-Miler began and ended at the Pentagon.
Other people, like Army veteran Barry Winnegan, says it’s been a decade since he last ran the race. He took part in the 30th running to show support.
For Len Goldman of Potomac, Maryland, this is the first time he’s running this race. He says he was recruited at the last minute after a friend’s brother didn’t show up.
“I’ve never done more than a 5k, so this is a fun experiment for me,” says Goldman, who didn’t train for the race. “So there was an extra bib, I’m like what the heck.”
Follow @WTOP on Twitter and WTOP on Facebook.
