RSS
Home
Mentzer finishes first in Marine Corps Marathon
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
Mentzer at the Men's Olympic Marathon Trials, New York City 2007
John Mentzer, who runs for Navy, placed first in the 34th Annual Marine Corp Marathon in Arlington Virginia, breaking the tape with a chip time of 2:21:46.
Mentzer felt great in the first part of the race—strong, focused and fast. With just a few miles to go, he was comfortable with his lead but fatigue hit hard and Mentzer struggled through miles 25 and 26. “This race’s finish was the hardest on me physically. At the end was the worst I’ve ever felt in a race.”
Mentzer, 33, began running as a junior high student in Bozeman, Montana to maintain his fitness for the cross-country ski season. Soon it was obvious that Mentzer’s talent ran deep and running became more than an off-season cross-training activity. He attended the United States Naval Academy, running cross country and the mile, 3,000m, 5,000m and 10,000m track events. It was six years after graduating from Annapolis that Mentzer ran his first marathon. “It’s hard to train on a ship,” he says with a smile.
From 2001-2003 Mentzer was stationed in Bremerton. At the time it was difficult to maintain a consistent training schedule. He would be underway for 3 months at a time and had a demanding schedule. Mentzer says he would like to return to Seattle in the future, “It is certainly one of the nicest places we’ve lived and we’d love to return if it works out with my Naval career.”
Mentzer’s marathon performance curve is black diamond class—fast and steep. In 2004 Mentzer decided to train for his first marathon, The Boston Marathon. He trained alone, with coaching advice and support from a former Navy teammate, Jon Clemens. His coach from the Naval Academy obtained an entry to The Boston Marathon for Mentzer and in his marathon debut, Mentzer ran 2:30:50.
Mentzer ran Marine Corp Marathon in 2005, finishing 4th in a time of 2:24:26. In 2006 he ran the Chicago Marathon, finishing in 2:19:33 and qualifying for New York’s Olympic marathon trials. In New York Mentzer was seeded 53rd and finished 24th in a time of 2:18:23.
Currently Mentzer is stationed in Portsmouth New Hampshire. He and his wife, Amanda, had their first baby in August. Mentzer admits that baby Stella is factor in his training as sleep is something he can only dream about these days. However, it doesn’t look like Mentzer is slowing down to rest on the race course.
Related Articles:
Comments
