A group of eight Ohio State students from the OSU Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps will be heading to Washington, D.C., Sunday to participate in the 29th Annual Marine Corps Marathon.

The group of men have been training over the past couple months for what will be for some of them one of the biggest challenges they have ever faced.

“I’ve never ran in anything like this before,” said Lane Perkins, an undecided sophomore. “Earlier in the year, I would go out and run two or three miles and I would start getting pretty tired. Now, I have really noticed a difference in my endurance. I can run four to five miles about three days a week and I want to keep on going.”

For Staff Sgt. Regan King, a sophomore in psychology, marathons are nothing new. He has participated in four marathons prior to this one.

“Running marathons is a good way for me to stay in shape,” King said. “They give me a goal to look forward to and then I get out there and train for it. When I don’t have a race to compete in, I tend to get lazy.”

King has been the primary reason why most of the eight individuals from the NROTC have decided to run in the Marine Corps Marathon.

“I’m running it because I couldn’t come up with a good enough reason not to when asked by Staff Sgt. King,” Perkins said.

Others, like Sgt. Eric Roby, a junior in finance, have also been persuaded by King to take part in the marathon.

“(King) came up to me and was like ‘Hey, if I run in it, will you join me?” Roby said. “That was all it took for me to decide to run – my other friends are doing it, so will I.”

Many of the runners have different motivations for running in the marathon. For the less experienced, they just want to finish the race.

“I’ve never ran a complete marathon before, so I just want to see if I have what it takes,” Roby said. “I’m just doing my same routine as I usually do. I run a couple miles every other day and continue to lift weights. I’m just winging it.”

Meanwhile, Perkins’ motivation to finish the marathon is in keeping the promise he made to King and himself.

“I said I would run this marathon and I don’t want to give up on that,” Perkins said. “I would like to be known as a person that keeps his word. Also, I will take pride in knowing that I will be representing OSU in the race.”

For some the marathon is about training and keeping fit.

“I’m running the marathon to stay in shape for the Marine Corps,” King said. “I’ve done this so much that I don’t notice any changes in my body anymore besides for being extremely sore after marathons, which is normal. I guess my body has adapted to it.”

King says that the marathon should be exciting and enjoyable because the route goes right through the heart of the nation’s capital.

“The Marine Corps Marathon is a good race to begin with because it keeps you interested when you run by the White House, the Washington Monument, and all of the other historic buildings and museums along the way,” King said. “I’m really looking forward to it.”

The Marine Corps Marathon is open to all – not just military personel – and is expecting nearly 20,000 runners this year.