In the male division, Spc. Samuel Kosgei came in first with a time of 2:22:11, and fellow Soldier Spc. Laban Sialo clocked 2:23:48. After the race, when Kosgei learned that a female Soldier also won, he beamed and said simply, "that's awesome." That female Soldier would be Curran, a field artillery officer. She too has an interesting story. This was her first marathon, she said, and it was totally unexpected.
She explained that there were some injuries on the female Army team and she was asked to fill in for someone just two weeks prior to the race. "I wasn't expecting that." Curran simply willed herself to win. "You can't quit because you're wearing 'Army' and you don't want to let your team members down," she related. But Curran didn't describe the race as brutal. It was actually a lot of fun, she said in a chipper voice immediately after winning. She added that the Marines did a good job running the marathon and the entire experience made her especially "proud to be an American." Read More