Operation Two Coasts• San Diego → Elizabeth City • Spring 2027
Four dudes. Two coasts.
Still zero interest in that bus.
The Marine Corps Marathon is in the books. Now the crew is going after the Armed Forces Series medal — one race for every branch of the military. First up: ten miles on the San Diego waterfront for the Navy. Five weeks later, 26.2 in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, for the Coast Guard, where you hold 16:00 a mile or the sweep van gives you a ride. Four regular guys. Still not Marines. Still not really runners.
T-minus to the Navy Ten-Miler
The situation
The Navy Ten-Miler. A flat loop along San Diego Bay, and the Pacific leg of the series. No cutoff. No excuses either.
The Coast Guard Marathon. The Atlantic leg, five weeks after San Diego — and the one with teeth.
Hold it or get picked up: the Coast Guard sweeps anyone who falls off the pace and drives them back to the start. The bus is a van now. It is still the villain of this entire website.
Marine Corps Marathon • Sun Oct 25, 2026 • Washington, DC
Honor roll
26.2 miles through the capital, across the bridge before it closed, and up the last hill to the finish. They beat the bridge. They earned the medal.
Chair Force6:02:3513:50/mi • finisher
Cletus6:02:3313:50/mi • finisher
The Kid5:59:4213:44/mi • finisher
Official chip times, still marked preliminary by the race.
The crew
Not Marines. Not runners. (Yet.) Just four dudes who signed up for The People's Marathon to support the Corps — and then, apparently, for every other branch's race too. Twenty-two weeks at a time.
First Sergeant, United States Air Force Reserve. Finished the Marine Corps Marathon to earn a Marine’s respect; the Marines are still reviewing his application. Big fan of guns — both kinds.
Co-mastermind: this whole thing was his and Zack’s idea, a fact he reconsidered somewhere around mile 22. Finished anyway. Stays because Gunny knew where he lived, and Top inherited the file.
Ran the Marine Corps Marathon in 2025, so his Marine Corps leg is already in the bank. Owns a chest strap, a foot pod, and opinions about cadence.
Stepson of a Marine — heard the plan and threw his hat in the ring. Insisted he could run it “right now, no training.” Trained anyway, ran 5:59:42, and has brought it up at every meal since.
Series board
one race per branch • six for the medalThe Armed Forces Series: finish one race for every branch, in any order, and the six-branch medal is yours. Finishes from 2024 on count.
- NavynextFEB 28 ’27
- Coast GuardnextAPR 4 ’27
- Air Force—
- Army—
- Marine CorpsMCM 20266:02:35
- Space Force—
- NavynextFEB 28 ’27
- Coast GuardnextAPR 4 ’27
- Air Force—
- Army—
- Marine CorpsMCM 20266:02:33
- Space Force—
- NavynextFEB 28 ’27
- Coast GuardnextAPR 4 ’27
- Air Force—
- Army—
- Marine CorpsMCM 20255:53:26 watch
- Space Force—
- NavynextFEB 28 ’27
- Coast GuardnextAPR 4 ’27
- Air Force—
- Army—
- Marine CorpsMCM 20265:59:42
- Space Force—
Roster order, not a ranking. Times are official chip times (MCM 2026 results are still marked preliminary); “watch” means the runner's own watch until the official time is in.
Meet Top
The new man in charge. A Master Sergeant — “Top” to anyone who wants to keep their weekend — who took the crew over from Gunny after the 2026 build. Gunny yelled. Top writes it down. He keeps the plan, keeps the clock, and grades every week, and he has never once raised his voice, which somehow makes it worse. He mocks effort, never bodies.
- “I don't yell. I write things down. You do not want to be written down.”
- “The plan says one thing, your watch says another. One of them is lying, and it isn't the plan.”
- “Race week. Nothing new. No new shoes, no new food, no new ideas. Execute the plan.”
Gunny's farewell, and the whole 2026 build he ran, are in the archive →
Training HQ is invite-only. Crew sign-in →
The road to Elizabeth City
Every mile of Operation Two Coastsso far, day by day: miles banked, and each runner's pace over their last five runs.
Crew telemetry
NOV 2four-week window, streaming day by day like a heart monitor
table view
| Week ending | Chair Force | Cletus | The Old Man | The Kid |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NOV 8 | 0.0 mi | 6.2 mi · 9:25/mi | 0.0 mi | 2.0 mi · 9:00/mi |
| NOV 14 | 0.0 mi | 6.2 mi · 9:25/mi | 0.0 mi | 6.1 mi · 10:08/mi |
The whole 18-week Marine Corps Marathon build, replayed run by run — plus the finishers and the final numbers.