Just a couple days prior to the tenth anniversary of the Marine Corps Historic Half, 63 runners took off on a 13.1-mile run through the Afghanistan desert participating in Historic Half Forward in Kabul.

These runners completed a much different course than the event held annually in Fredericksburg, VA. Historic Half Forward participants ran their event in a war zone and on a course strewn with dirt, sand and rocky terrain.

In the early morning hours Afghanistan time, Marine Brig. Gen. Edward D. Banta gave a motivational talk energizing the field of runners about to head out on their journey.

Raul Almaraz, 46, captured the first-place win at Historic Half Forward with a finish time of 1:16:00. Vo Loan, 35, was first place among female participants, completing the Forward course in 1:44:00.

The Historic Half Forward is sponsored by Military Benefit Association and Navy Federal Credit Union.

Thanks for visiting this archived blog. The content and details are specific only for the event year highlighted in this article. For current information, please visit the event page within the MCM website.