remains having completed every marathon since the inaugural running in 1976: Al Richmond of Arlington, VA. Fittingly, Richmond is a retired US Marine. At the 25th running of the MCM, this elite group was given the name "Ground Pounders" at a ceremony at the Washington Post. Sold Out! The 15th running of the MCM was the first to sell out with a field of 13,000 runners. In 2011 the MCM sold out within 28 hours of registration opening, filling the 30,000 runner capacity. For the 2012 MCM, all 30,000 registration sold out within 2 hours 41 minutes. In 2014, a lottery was introduced for the first time for those applying to run in the Marine Corps Marathon. RACE IT, race services division of Competitor Group, Inc., was awarded a multi-year agreement to provide registration services to facilitate online entries for the MCM. ("Race IT Awarded Marine Corps Marathon Contract." PR Newswire Oct 15 2013. ProQuest. Web. 25 Nov. 2014.) Challenge Cup The Challenge Cup competition was initiated at the MCM in 1978. The Challenge Cup is a competition between the United States Marine Corps and the British Royal Navy/Marine running teams. An 1897 Victorian silver cup, donated by the British in 1978, is awarded to the winner each year. A female division was added in 1998. The finish time for the top three runners for each team are added and the lowest total running time is declared the winner. MCM Mascots Miles the Bulldog and his sister Molly are faithful MCM companions, cheering on and entertaining runners at all MCM events. Miles models bib number 1775 to honor the year the USMC was founded, while Molly proudly displays bib number 1943, a nod to the year in which the Marine Corps Women's Reserve was created. In 2011, Miles added "10K Finisher" to his resume when he impressively completed all 6.2 miles of the MCM10K. USMC Runners The first female active duty Marine MCM winner was 1st Lieutenant Joanna Martin at the 1979 MCM. Martin, a native of Woodbridge, VA and stationed at Camp Pendleton, CA at the time, finished with a time of 2:58:14. Four years later, the first male active duty Marine won the MCM. Sergeant Farley Simon of Alea, Hawaii finished with a time of 2:17:46. 2001 Marine Corps Marathon The status of the 2001 MCM was in serious question until three weeks prior to the scheduled event