CRYSTAL CITY, Va. -- News anchor Chas Henry and Olympian Jeff Galloway were inducted into the Marine
Corps Marathon Hall of Fame during a dinner and ceremony at the Hyatt Regency
Reagan National Airport in Crystal City, Virginia, Oct. 23, 2015.
Henry
and Galloway were inducted for their respective contributions to the marathon
over the years.
“There are many individuals over the 40 years of the
history [of the marathon] who have done outstanding things, apart of the event
as a runner or a organizer or a contributor,” said Marc Goldman, marketing
manager for the Marine Corps Marathon.
Henry, a retired Marine and
celebrated news anchor, has been volunteering for MCM weekend since
1990.
He serves the Marine Corps Marathon as a member of the Ad Hoc
Committee, guest announcer, Runner’s Conference moderator and co-host of the
Comcast SportsNet live show the morning of the event.
“I love the fact
that the Marine Corps, which is known for physical fitness, can create this
opportunity for the rest of the country to feel apart of that,” said Henry. “To
think you’ve helped these people achieve a personal goal is very
rewarding.”
Galloway, a retired Navy lieutenant and founder of the
Run-Walk-Run program, has been involved with the marathon for 20 years and has
completed 12. He travels the nation hosting running clinics and encouraging
runners to be safer and easier on their bodies.
“[Runners] say, ‘Well I
can’t run 26.2 miles,’ and Jeff says, No, but you can run, walk, run and get a
time better than you would have imagined,’” said Henry. “It’s very humbling for
me to be considered worthy of induction the same year that someone like Jeff
Galloway gets in.”
He was added to the hall of fame for his passion
for running and enabling countless participants of all skill levels to complete
distance events.
“To help people accomplish this goal without pain is a
huge deal for me, and that’s why I’m here,” said Galloway.
Galloway ran
this year’s marathon in honor of Staff Sgt. David Wyatt. Wyatt lost his life in
the Chattanooga shootings earlier this year.
“I have known a number of
parents who have lost their children in combat or other situations, and its one
of the toughest situations in life that anybody has to deal with,” said
Galloway. “I had to do this, it’s just a wonderful way of supporting who he
was.”
Other honored guests, or “ambassadors,” at the hall of fame diner,
included Bonnie Carroll and Bob and Kirsten Elling and marathon “Groundpounders”
Alfred Richmond and Will Brown.
“Ambassador is a ceremonial title that
we bestow upon individuals who have been apart of the event in interesting
ways,” said Goldman.
Carroll, a retired Air Force major, brings more than
200 runners every year to the marathon through her charity, Tragedy Assistance
Program for Survivors.
TAPS is a non-profit organization, which provides
support and care to friends and families of fallen service members and has been
a long-time MCM Charity Program.
Bob and Kirsten Elling were married at
the start line of the 1996 MCM and have completed it annually ever
since.
Alfred Richmond and Will Brown, both Marine veterans, are
considered “Groundpounders” for running all 40 Marine Corps Marathons.