by Doug Kopp

This feature is a continuation of the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon coverage in the June 2003 issue of Runner Triathlete News. To get complete recap of the race, pick up a copy of the June issue of Runner Triathlete News. Subscribe to RTN today!

A special run was held in the Egypt's Sinai Peninsula on April 19 as a part of this year's Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon.

Due to the military conflict in Iraq, a number of Oklahomans who had run in at least one of the two previous Oklahoma City Memorial Marathons were not able to run in Oklahoma City this year because of the military call-up.

A military support group based in the Sinai Peninsula, including many troops from Oklahoma, organized and ran a marathon event called A Desert Run to Remember with the race held at the Sinai military base.

Over 100 military personnel did the race, all but one in either two- or five-person relays. The lone individual, Mirko Zaia of Lucca, Italy, finished the course in 3:10:10, which would be good enough in U.S. races to qualify for the Boston Marathon.

In honor of the April 19 A Desert Run to Remember, race organizers of the OKC event included the Desert Run results as a separate section in the Oklahoma City race results.