| On Sunday, October 28'th, SVRS members Dean Gallup and Jim Lehnert traveled to northern Virginia to support the 33'rd running of the Marine Corps Marathon. The 26 mile course ran through Arlington, across the Key bridge and north along the C&O Canal before reversing course and continuing back through Georgetown. From there, it continued down the Potomac waterfront and around Hains point, and then up one side of the National Mall to the Capital. From there the runners returning down the other side of the mall before crossing the 14'th St bridge into Crystal City, before heading north past the Pentagon to the finish at the Marine Corps Memorial, aka the Iwo Jima Memorial.
The day began early with a 02:00 wakeup call, allowing the crew to get to RS4 and head north for a 04:00 mustering near the Naval Annex. After a short briefing, the team picked up supplies while the truck was swept for bombs by canine units from the Arlington PD and Virginia State PD. From there they proceeded to Aid Station 1/2 in Georgetown at the end of the Key Bridge. After all the runners had passed, the unit was reassigned to one side of the mall, and then later moved to Rt 110. As the final runners finished the course, the truck was moved into downtown Rosslyn to assist with any post race injuries. After being release, they arrived back in quarters at 17:30.
Being blessed with almost perfect weather for running, injuries and illnesses were very light this year. Neverless, around 40 transport units were on-site, along with around 20 ATVs/Gators/golf carts and 15 bicycle units. The Marathon is an excellent example of a large scale MCI exercise. Kudos to Arlington County Fire who took the lead in organizing the EMS response. |
