WASHINGTON 鈥� Lots of people are running in the Marine Corps Marathon next weekend to raise money for a variety of causes. An Army lieutenant from Alexandria, Virginia, is among them, but how much he raises is going to solely depend on how many people he passes.
That鈥檚 why 29-year-old Garrett Guinivan is going to start at the back of the pack. When he finally takes off, Guinivan hopes to raise money for a who died in a helicopter crash earlier this year.
鈥淚鈥檓 running for my buddy, (Lt.) Clay Cullen,鈥� said Guinivan. 鈥淗e died on Jan. 20 of this year at the National Training Center at California. His Apache went down.鈥�
Guinivan and Cullen became friends through the ROTC program at Indiana University.
鈥淭he thing that sparked my memory was I remember we did quite a few runs to raise money 鈥� I believe it was through the Under Armour app 鈥� for Wounded Warrior project where we logged miles and they donated so many cents per mile,鈥� said Guinivan. 鈥淚 figured this would be a good way to honor him and keep his legacy going at Indiana even though he鈥檚 now passed. This scholarship basically provides scholarships for future Army officers going through the program at Indiana for years to come. 鈥�
Guinivan is about halfway to the $25,000 goal that would make the scholarship carry on in perpetuity. The bet he makes on himself is the motivation to do as well as he can next Sunday.
鈥淚鈥檓 hoping to pass about 5,000 people or so,鈥� said Guinivan.
The race has about 30,000 entrants, so he鈥檚 hoping to raise a penny or two per person he passes.
Guinivan聽said it鈥檒l provide 鈥渕otivation to pass an extra person or two.鈥�
And he wants to make clear that he鈥檚 a big guy. Standing 6 feet, 4 inches tall, and weighing 220 pounds, Guinivan isn鈥檛 going to run like a gazelle through the race.
鈥淚鈥檓 not a secret, closet marathon runner,鈥� he confessed. 鈥淚 had a cross-country coach who told me 鈥榶ou鈥檙e way too big to run marathons, you probably shouldn鈥檛 do this.鈥欌��
But Guinivan will do it anyway.
And he鈥檒l be carrying the American flag when he runs, something he did when he ran the Philadelphia Marathon in 2011.
鈥淭hat was some pretty good motivation because I was like 鈥榳ell I can鈥檛 stop and I can鈥檛 look bad doing it,鈥� so I have to keep going and that gave me the motivation,鈥� said Guinivan. 鈥淟ooking for something here鈥� he added.
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