With over 30,000 registered runners and over 540 teams from around the world, the 27th Army Ten-Miler took place Oct. 9 at the Pentagon, the day before the 2011 Association of the United States Army Annual Meeting and Exposition.

The first male runner crossing the finish line, Tesfaye Sendeku Alemayehu, from Antioch, Calif., completed the run in 47:51.

Second place went to Spc. Robert Cheseret, from the Army World Class Athlete Program, Fort Carson, Colo., and a member of the All Army Team, with a time of 48:21.

Third place runner, who tied with Cheseret, was Spc. Augustus Maiyo, also from the Army World Class Athlete Program and the All Army Team with a time of 48:21.

All Army Team, for the second consecutive year, captured the Ten-Miler’s International Trophy with a time of 3:16:05, followed by teams from Brazil, 3:16:09, and Canada, 3:49:21.

A member of the All Army Team went on to win the 36th Marine Corps Marathon Oct. 30.

1st Lt. Charles "Chad" Ware, U.S. Army Reserve, from Wheeling, Ill., won the marathon.

Ware, a native of South Bend, Ind., is assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 452nd Combat Support Hospital, in Milwaukee, Wis.

He began his running career at Butler University, where he ran cross-country and indoor track before he entered the Army. He is planning to go on active duty in January.

Ware crossed the marathon’s finish line at the Marine Corps Iwo Jima Memorial in Arlington, Va., with a time of 2:19:16, reportedly the best finish time since 1997.

If he had finished in 2:19 — just 16 seconds faster — he would have qualified for the 2012 Olympic trials.

In addition, the Male United States Army Team finished first in the Men Open Division with a time of 2:27:04, followed by the All Marine Corps Men, 2:35:42; the U.S. Navy Men, 2:37:14, and the U.S. Air Force Men, 2:46:20.

Lt. Col. Liam Collins, U.S. Military Academy at West Point, who coached the All Army Team for the Ten-Miler, finished the marathon in 2:34:34, coming in 13th overall.

Ware, 27, placed 12th overall in the Army Ten-Miler, finishing with a time of 49:46.

The Ten-Miler’s first female finisher with a time of 56:35 was Tezata Dengera; second place went to Serkalem Biset, with a time of 56:40; and the third place female finisher was Shiferaw Tiringo-Getachew, with a time of 56:44.

Special recognition was given to the wounded warriors from Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Brooke Army Medical Center, San Antonio, Texas, before the race began, to include a personal visit at the start line from the Army vice chief of staff, Gen. Peter Chiarelli, who started this portion of the race.

Called the "Strength of the Nation," the wounded warriors — the Missing Parts in Action Team — left the start line at 7:50 a.m. to the cheers of the crowd of spectators who honored their heroism.

The Army’ s elite precision parachute team, the Golden Knights, put on a dramatic demonstration, landing on a mark at the start line prior to the start of the race that was divided into three waves.

The first wave was started by Secretary of the Army John McHugh, the second by the Army chief of staff, Gen. Raymond Odierno, and the third by Sgt. Maj. of the Army Raymond Chandler.

Fort Bragg Active Duty Men fielded the winning Active Duty Men’s team and Fort Bragg Women won the Active Duty Women’s category.

Both teams won the coveted Commander’s Cup.

The Sergeant Major of the Army’s Challenge Cup was won by the Fort Sill Sergeants Major Team.

The Commander’s Cup and the Sergeants Major’s cup were presented on site at the race awards ceremony and were again presented at the opening session of the Association of the United States Army’s Annual Meeting and Exposition at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.

The International Trophy was presented at the AUSA International Reception at the Annual Meeting.

Runners came from all 50 states and Washington, D.C., as well as from 10 foreign countries.

Thousands of spectators at the Pentagon’s start and finish lines and along the race course were there to support their family members, friends or co-workers and they stayed to enjoy the HOOAH tents, exhibits, food, bands and entertainment that were located in the Pentagon’s south parking lot.

Military posts and organizations such as Fort Bliss, Texas; Fort Carson, Colo.; Fort Drum, N.Y.; Fort Lee, Va.; Fort Campbell, Ky.; Fort Lewis, Wash.; Fort Shafter, Hawaii; U.S. Army South; U.S. Army Europe; U.S. Army Korea; U.S. Army Cadet Command; the Army National Guard and the Army Reserve also fielded teams, and many units and posts manned HOOAH tents to showcase their installations and missions.

Entertainment was provided at the award’s stage by Down Range from The U.S. Army Band, "Pershing’s Own."

These soldiers also performed at the GEICO Pre-Race Pasta Dinner the night before the run.

The stage was then turned over to Maj. Gen. Mike Linnington, commanding general, Joint Force Headquarters – National Capital Region and the U.S. Army Military District of Washington, and his command sergeant major, Michael Williams, who presided at the awards’ ceremony.

Linnington and Williams, along with representatives from the Association of the United States Army’s George Washington and Fairfax-Lee Chapters and KBR presented awards to the race winners.

In support of the Army Ten-Miler, 11 shadow races, sponsored by the Army ten-Miler were run around the world to include events in Afghanistan, Iraq and Korea.

Wrapping up the running portion of the Ten-Miler were more than 400 children participating in their own version of the Army Ten-Miler — the Health Net Federal Services Youth Runs.

Children K-3 ran a 100-meter sprint to the finish and kids in grades four through eight participated in the 200-meter competition.

Each runner received a special T-shirt and a finisher’s medal.

For complete race coverage and results go to: www.armytenmiler.com.

The 2012 Army Ten-Miler will take place on Oct. 21.

The race’s co-lead sponsors are AUSA and KBR.

Major sponsors include: Health Net Federal Services, PricewaterhouseCoopers, GEICO, Navy Federal Credit Union, MiO, DRS Technologies, NAVISTAR Defense, Dell, and Adobe.

Marathon Photos Photo, G&G Outfitters, Focus-N-Fly, Mythics Consulting, and the Washington Examiner are supporting sponsors.