Wounded vets conquer Marine Corps Marathon - Marine Corps News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Marine Corps Times

Wounded vets conquer Marine Corps Marathon

Before Cpl. Dan Lasko lost his left leg from the knee down as a result of a 2004 bomb blast in Afghanistan, he didn’t consider himself a runner. He didn’t spent much time distance running, and preferred team sports to the open road.

That all changed after Lasko, 25, joined Team Semper Fi, a group of injured Marines who raise money for the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund.

Sunday, Lasko completed the Marine Corps Marathon on his prosthetic leg, finishing in 5 hours, 30 minutes, 43 seconds. He can add it to a post-blast resume that includes several triathlons, the Army Ten-Miler and the Bataan Memorial Death March, a marathon-length march through White Sands Missile Range, N.M.

“My friends think I’m nuts,” said Lasko, who was medically retired by the Corps in 2005. “Before I got injured, I was never a runner.”

Lasko’s was one of many inspiring stories to take stage at the People’s Marathon, as 30,000 runners traveled a loop from Arlington, Va., into Washington, D.C., before finishing near the Marine Corps War Memorial near Arlington National Cemetery. First-time marathoners won the men’s and women’s division at the race, with Andrew Dumm of Washington finishing in 2 hours, 22 minutes, 42 seconds and Cate Fenster of Wooster, Ohio, leading the women’s field in 2:39:32.

For many, though, the race was simply about finishing — whether it was on foot or not.

Retired Gunnery Sgt. Andy Robinson completed the marathon’s 10K race for the first time by cycle. He was a staff sergeant when his Humvee was hit by a roadside bomb on June 20, 2006, killing three other Marines and leaving him a quadriplegic.

“It’s really cool to see all the people who come out for this,” he said of the marathon. “Even though these guys get jacked up in Iraq or Afghanistan, they’re able to get out afterward and have a successful life.”

Lasko, of Bethlehem, Pa., said the marathon was a challenge, especially about halfway through.

“Once we turned the corner around mile 15, though, you could hear the crowd, and that motivates everybody,” Lasko said. “I never would have done this before, but when you get injured like that, you realize what you really can do.”