The fab foursome
Will Brown, 63, Raleigh, N.C.
Served on active duty in the Marine Corps for four years with one in Vietnam, spent 26 years in the Marine Corps Reserve, retiring as a colonel.
Matthew Jaffe, 68, Rockville
Said the best part about being a ground pounder is the reserved parking space near the starting line.
Alfred Richmond, 70, Arlington
Helped put on the first MCM. Doesn’t want to be the first ground pounder to break the group’s streak.
Mel Williams, 71, Norfolk
Has finished at the top of his age group every year, is honored in the Marine Corps Marathon hall of fame.
Matthew Jaffe has completed all 34 Marine Corps Marathons since the race began in 1976. The 68-year-old Rockville resident is one of only four men to do so, a group known as the “Ground Pounders.”
Jaffe started running when he was in college at Bucknell in central Pennsylvania to supplement his wrestling training. After college, he gave up on wrestling, but continued running as a hobby.
The farthest Jaffe had ever run was 10 miles when he threw himself into his first 26.2-mile race, the first Marine Corps Marathon in 1976.
“It was horrible on the body,” Jaffe recalled. “I didn’t train enough.”
Jaffe said he didn’t remember what made him run his first marathon; he thought it might have been a friend’s long-distance running that sparked his interest. But once he hit the course, Jaffe said he was determined to complete the race.
“I pretty much have this attitude of never give up. Once I start something I have to finish it.”
And he kept at it. After his first painstaking marathon, he began training more seriously and was running between 80 and 90 miles per week and competing in four to five marathons each year by his 30s.
Today, Jaffe has slowed down since his early 40s, when he hit his peak time of 3 hours and 1 minute. He runs about 40 miles a week and competes in just one marathon per year — the Marine Corps Marathon. His time has slowed to about six hours.
“I’ve never really gotten that competitive,” Jaffe said. “I run to have fun. If its not going to be fun I’m not going to do it.”
Jaffe is more laid back about training than most long-distance runners, many of whom adhere to strict schedules that dictate their lives.
“I try to avoid letting it become compulsive,” Jaffe said. “Now it’s like skip a day — no big deal.”
Jaffe crossed the finish line in last month’s Marine Corps Marathon with two of his sons in tow, Paul, 36, and Marc, 33. The pair stuck with Jaffe the whole way to “keep an eye on” him, he said.
But Jaffe said he’s in good enough shape to ensure he doesn’t suffer during a race and feels fine afterward. He doesn’t limp or collapse after a race, nor has he ever had to skip work the day after.
Jaffe has run about 100 marathons to date, including the famous Boston Marathon. Despite that, the Marine Corps Marathon remains his favorite.
“They treat … all the runners very well,” he said. “It’s not like [other marathons] where they seek out celebrity runners and they get special treatment. [The Marine Corps Marathon is] a very welcoming marathon and I really like that.”
Jaffe intends to continue running the Marine Corps Marathon consistently in the years to come and hopes to make it to the 50th annual marathon in 2025.
“Thirty-four down, 16 more to go.”
