May 25, 2016

The Navy once again won the coveted Richard G. Lugar Award as the fastest overall team at the 35th running of the ACLI Capital Challenge 3 mile on Wednesday, May 18 in Washington, DC. Racing to catch them was the second place West Wing Runners 1, led by White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough.

Senators Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) and Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Representatives Beto O'Rourke (D-TX) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) won individual congressional awards. Senator Ayotte ran 26:05 to gain another title as fastest female Senator, and Senator Cotton (18:35) took his second title as a Senator after previously being a House champion. He remains the fastest member of Congress. Representative O'Rourke ran 20:16 and Representative Sinema 23:01.

The overall race winner was Brandon Cherry (15:03) of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The overall female winner was Erin Taylor from GSA, who ran 17:56. Shannon Smith of the State Department broke her female sub-cabinet record by a second with a rapid 19:45.

The event featured over 700 runners and raised enough funds for the Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation to provide another life-changing guide dog and services to a blinded veteran.

Meb Keflezighi, one of the greatest runners of our time, was the 2016 celebrity runner (courtesy of John Hancock). Meb is the only athlete to win the Boston Marathon, New York Marathon and an Olympic Medal. In February, at age 40, he qualified again as a member of the US Olympic Team with his second place finish at the Olympic Trials. At the Capital Challenge, Meb served as the official "whistle blower" to start the runners on their way and then jumped in and ran from the back of the pack.

Garnering the coveted James B. Kenin Worst Named Team award was Rep. Tom Graves' "Make America Graves Again." The Best Named Team was the AARP's "Antique Roadshow."

All teams had to be captained by a US Senator, Representative, Cabinet member or Sub-Cabinet Presidential appointee, Federal Judge, On-air media personality or professional journalist.

The event is designed to highlight the fitness of many of the Capital's busiest leaders and tries to answer the question: which branch of government is the fittest? Supporting sponsors are Guardian, Hannover Life Reassurance Company of America, John Hancock, MassMutual, Metlife, Nationwide, New York Life, One America Financial Partners, Inc., Prudential, RGA, Transamerica, USAA, Western & Southern Financial Group and media sponsor CQ/Roll Call.

For full results visit: https://www.capitalchallenge.com/2001_cabinet/history2001.html

Note: Photos are available. Contact [email protected]