Hall of Fame

Bill Mayhugh, along with Herb Harmon, Jim Fowler and Buff Mundale are the co-founders of the Marine Corps Marathon. With an active career supporting social organizations and a radio career on WMAL spanning four decades, Mayhugh was obvious choice to serve as the "Voice of the Marathon" from 1975-2001.

JIM HAGE
Jim Hage has the honor of being the Marine Corps Marathon’s first back-to-back men’s winner. In 1988, Hage battled two-time marathon winner Brad Ingram to take the title, finishing with a final burst of speed at mile 26. He crossed the finish line in 2:21:59. The next year at the 12th annual MCM, Hage repeated his winning effort, crossing the finish line at 2:20:23. Hage’s marathon personal best is 2:15:51 and he ran on two U.S. World Cup marathon teams, in 1989 in Milan, and again in 1993 in Spain.  

Darrell General is a two-time MCM winner having topped all finishers in 1995, with a time of 2:16:34, and in 1997, with a time of 2:18:21. A local running hero from Hyattsville, MD, his marathon personal record is 2:14:42 (1989). 

Cynthia Lorenzoni has been running since 1972. She grew up in Farmington, CT where she went undefeated in cross-country and track during her four years of high school. She was the National High School Record holder for two miles in 1976 (11:03) and went on to compete for Michigan State University as a scholarship athlete and team captain in cross country, indoor and outdoor track. She added to her impressive credentials back-to-back victories at the 1981 and 1982 MCM with winning times of 2:50:33 and 2:44:51 respectively. 

MAJGEN MICHAEL PATRICK RYAN, USMC (RET.)
Major General Ryan grew up in Osage City, Kansas and enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve in 1933. He was called into action in 1940 where he went on to serve in World War II. For his efforts, Major General Ryan was awarded the Navy Cross. He went on to serve in Korea in 1954, Vietnam in 1966-1967 and several tours at the Pentagon and Marine Corps Base Quantico. Major General Ryan's final active duty assignment was as the Director of the Marine Corps Reserve. At the suggestion of Colonel Jim Fowler, the two founded the Marine Corps Reserve Marathon in 1976. Deemed "Ryan's Run" in its inaugural year, Major General Ryan and Colonel Fowler sought to promote the Marine Corps and draw publicity for recruiting purposes. Major General Ryan's other military awards included the Legion of Merit and the Presidential Citation with two bronze stars.

MARY ROBERTSON WITTENBERG
Mary Robertson Wittenberg grew up in Buffalo, NY. As teenager she took an interest in crew that would lead her into her running career. At Canisius College in NY, she served as a coxswain for the men's crew team. Part of her role as motivator and coach included daily runs. This was an unusual position for a woman to hold at that time, but her continuous efforts to keep up with the men's runs, started her running career. While working for a Richmond, VA law firm, Wittenberg trained for the 1987 MCM (2:44) and qualified for the 1988 Women's Marathon Olympic Trails. In October 1998, while living in New York, Wittenberg accepted the job of Executive Vice President of Administration with the New York Road Runners Club, the highest position held by a women in the history of the club until 2005, when she was promoted to President and CEO. 

KEN ARCHER
Ken Archer owns the most top finishes in MCM history--capturing the first place title in the wheelchair category a record ten times. Archer began his track career at age 17 when he ran cross country and track for his high school. On July 10, 1970, while serving in the US Army, Archer attempted to perform a good deed on a local highway while stationed at Andrews Air Force Base when his legs were smashed between two cars. He spent the next 18 months in military hospitals recovering and working out whenever he could. In 1979, after securing a Boston Marathon win, Archer won his first MCM, a feat he repeated until 1983. His winning streak began again in 1985 and continued until 1989. Archer won his final MCM title in 1994. In 2000, Archer began exploring new challenges by racing in a hand cycle. He quickly rose to the top, finishing first in the MCM unofficial hand cycle category in 2003.

COL H.C. "BARNEY" BARNUM JR., USMC (RET.)
Col H.C. “Barney” Barnum Jr., Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Reserve Affairs since 2001, has been involved with the MCM since 1985 serving on the MCM Ad Hoc committee. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U. S. Marine Corps in 1962 and later became the fourth Marine recipient of the nation’s highest honor, the Medal of Honor for valor in Vietnam. He retired from the Marine Corps in August 1989. As a Marine Officer for over 27 years, Col Barnum served multiple tours as an artilleryman with both the 3rd and 2nd Marine Divisions to include two tours in Vietnam; four years at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island as Commanding Officer, Headquarters Company; Chief of Current Operations, US Central Command where he planned and executed the first U.S./Jordanian joint exercise staff as the Commander of U.S. Forces and twice planned and executed operation BRIGHT STAR spread over four southwest Asian countries involving 26,000 personnel.

COLONEL PAUL R. PUCKETT, USMC (RET.)
Executive Director of the 1994 MCM, Colonel Paul Puckett was responsible for growing the marathon to a weekend long event, leading to its reputation as one of the largest and most popular marathons in the world. Puckett was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps in 1974. His distinguished military career included duty stations at Camp Pendleton, CA; Iwakuni, Japan; The Basic School, Marine Corps Development and Education Command, Quantico, VA; Okinawa, Japan; and Headquarters, Marine Corps, Washington DC. His personal decorations include the Legion of Merit with gold star, Meritorious Service Medal with gold star and the Navy Commendation Medal.

OLGA MARKOVA
A Sergeant in the Soviet Army, Markova set the record for fastest female finish at the 15th MCM with a time of 2:37:00, beating the previous record by more than five minutes. After winning the MCM in 1990, she won the Boston Marathon in 1992 and 1993. 

SERGEANT MAJOR DOMENICK IRRERA, USMC (RET.)
Sergeant Major Domenick Irrera is responsible for the creation of the team of Sergeants Major and retired Sergeants Major that have entered into the military team category for more than 20 years.

Sergio Micheli has donated his time and provided his restaurant to the MCM to serve as the location for marathon special events during race weekend and throughout the year. Most notably, The Portofino Restaurant in Arlington hosts the annual Challenge Cup Dinner, welcoming United States Marines and British Navy and Royal Marines to share a meal and enjoy the good spirit of this on-going friendly competition.

JEFF SCUFFINS
Maryland native Jeff Scuffins set the record for the fastest finish in MCM in 1987 with a finish time of 2:14:01. Scuffins time topped the previous record by more than two minutes and earned a victory in the first marathon he ever completed.

LtCol Alex Hetherington has served as an AH-1W pilot since his commissioning in 1991 and his distinguished career included multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. LtCol Hetherington has had an extensive running career with the USMC, as an eleven-time member and eight-time captain of the All-Marine Marathon Team, bi-annually competing against the British Royal Navy/Marine Corps. Finishing 10th in 1995 with his MCM PR of 2:29:30, Hetherington was also the 1998 Inter-Service Marathon Champion and has been a three-time top Marine finisher at the MCM. 

Kenny Moore entered the national running scene when he attended the University of Oregon as one of Bill Bowerman's finest distance runners. After college, Moore competed in the Olympic marathon at both Mexico City and Munich games, finishing fourth in 1972. In 1976, he was the first ever finisher of the MCM, winning the new race with a time of 2:21:14. Moore would later enjoy a 25-year career at Sports Illustrated as a senior writer. Moore also co-wrote and co-produced the movie ‘Without Limits’, based on the life and tragic early death of runner Steve Prefontaine.

Will Brown decided to run the very first MCM because it was being sponsored by the Marine Corps Reserves. Brown enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1967 and served active duty for four years, including a year in Vietnam. He spent 26 years in the Marine Corps Reserve and retired as a Colonel in 1998. Running MCM has special meaning for Brown who honors his father, a WWII Marine who fought and was wounded in Iwo Jima. Another family member, a distant cousin, PFC Rene Gagnon, is one of the Marines raising the flag that inspired the Iwo Jima Monument at the MCM finish line. He is one of the four Groundpounders who have participated in every MCM.

Matt Jaffe started running on the wrestling team at Bucknell University in 1962. In 1976, he decided to take on the challenge of a marathon as a means of staying in shape. Jaffe chose the first MCM as his event. He enjoyed the event so much that he has elected to return each year in hopes of reaching his goal to run and complete the first 50 MCMs. Jaffe enjoys being among the regular people running the MCM. He is one of the four Groundpounders who have participated in every MCM.

STUART M. "STU" GERSON
Stu Gerson is a longtime member of the Marine Corps Marathon Ad Hoc Publicity Committee.  During the 1988 Presidential election, Gerson served as a senior advisor to the George H.W. Bush campaign and then at the start of the Clinton administration, he had the distinct honor of becoming Acting Attorney General of the United States. Gerson also served during the presidential transition of President George W. Bush. Prior to his law career, he was a U.S. Air Force counter-intelligence officer. As an avid MCM Ad Hoc Publicity Committee member, Gerson supports the Challenge Cup competition, providing history and ground rules for this competition, while underscoring the importance of the meaningful and unifying contest between military members from United States and Great Britain.

SUSAN MALLERY
Dr. Susan R. Mallery, DDS, Phd., was the first female winner of the Marine Corps Reserve Marathon in 1976, completing that event with a finishing time of 2:56:33. Mallery successfully defended her title the following year, finishing in first place with a time of 2:54:04. Prior to her MCM wins, she was a Hall of Fame student athlete for the Ohio State University track and field and cross country teams. During her collegiate career, Mallery took three top ten finishes at the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women national meets. In the same year of her first MCM win, she earned a second-place finish at the inaugural Women’s Big Ten Track and Field Championships in the three-mile. Dr. Mallery is a professor in the College of Dentistry at Ohio State University and Oral Pathology Consultant at the Ohio State University and James Cancer
hospitals where she has developed new strategies for preventing oral cancer.

BRAD INGRAM
Former U.S. Marine artillery officer Brad Ingram is one of the most successful runners in Marine Corps Marathon history finishing first, second and fourth two times each over a seven year period. Ingram completed his first MCM in 1979 with a time of 2:35:01. Three short years later, his tenure as a leading runner in the MCM began when he placed fourth with a time of 2:22:49. In 1983, he repeated his fourth place finish, this time running in 2:20:36. In 1984, Ingram secured his first MCM win, improving his time from the previous year by nearly a minute to finish in 2:19:40. In 1985, he added only seven seconds to his winning time from the previous year, but took second place. In 1986, Ingram again assumed the role of MCM top finisher with a time of 2:23:13, becoming the first male repeat winner. In his final top performance at the MCM in 1988, Ingram earned a second second place finish with a time of 2:22:18.