The political bigwigs were out in full force on Wednesday morning, as hundreds of members of the U.S. government and D.C. media competed in the 41st Capital Challenge. The three-mile race in Washington’s Anacostia Park is an annual chance for politicians to duke it out for bragging rights and see who is the fastest member of Congress.
Kyrsten Sinema took home the honor for the women’s race, finishing in 22:10. The senator from Arizona owns the women’s course record for members of Congress, and she’s been a regular at the event since 2013. Representative Mike Gallagher, of Wisconsin, took home the men’s congressional win with a time of 19:51. Both politicians won last year, as well.
After the race, Gallagher said his time wasn’t up to par with his standards. “On paper this was a victory,” he said in a statement. “In reality, my time was slow. Like America after the fall of the Berlin Wall, like Senator Tom Cotton after the 2016 ACLI, victory is defeating me. Let this be a lesson to all past-their-prime-politicians raging against the dying of the light: complacency kills.”
A pair of Supreme Court justices also laced up: Brett Kavanuagh and Ketanji Brown Jackson. Kavanuagh clocked a 23:57 while Brown Jackson came in at 37:59.
Senator Raphael Warnock, a reverend from Georgia, was the top male senator. His team, Rev on the Run, took home the “Best Named Team” award.
Each year the race invites a celebrity runner to join the race, often someone in the running industry (Deena Kastor and Kiera D’Amato have made appearances in the past). This year, longtime Boston Marathon race director Dave McGillivray was the featured guest.
The event, organized by the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI), is a fundraiser for Junior Achievement USA—a nonprofit that teaches students “financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship.” All proceeds from race entries go to the cause.
“It was so nice to see folks from across the aisle running for such a great cause—to improve financial literacy,” said Warnock. “I look forward to building off the momentum we made to today and running through the finish line as we forge new paths to close the racial wealth gap in this country.”
Top Male Congress Members
- Rep. Mike Gallagher, 19:57
- Rep. Chris Pappas, 21:11
- Rep. Mike Levin, 25:02
- Sen. Raphael Warnock, 28:53
- Sen. Joe Manchin, 40:53
Top Female Congress Members
- Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, 22:10
- Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, 27:25
- Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, 28:58
- Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, 32:17
- Rep. Sara Jacobs, 40:30
Theo Kahler is the news editor at Runner’s World. He’s a former all-conference collegiate runner at Winthrop University, and he received his master’s degree in liberal arts studies from Wake Forest University, where he was a member of one of the top distance-running teams in the NCAA. Kahler has reported on the ground at major events such as the Paris Olympics, U.S. Olympic Trials, New York City Marathon, and Boston Marathon. He’s run 14:20 in the 5K, 1:05:36 in the half marathon, and enjoys spotting tracks from the sky on airplanes. (Look for colorful ovals around football fields.)
