By MC2 Shawn Stewart

NPS Graduate School of Business and Public Policy student U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Christine Taranto, left, is pictured with the 37th Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. Robert B. Neller at the finish line of the Marine Corps Marathon, Oct. 25. Taranto finished 2nd overall among all women runners and 1st overall within the U.S. Armed Forces Marathon Championships, which ran parallel to the event.

"I passed first place close to mile 19 and I just kept going strong," she said. "I think most Marines are type-A personalities, so we love a good competition."

While Taranto is ecstatic about her individual performance, she is just as enthusiastic for her coach Joe Puleo and three of her All-Marine Running Team teammates that ran with her, Staff Sgt. Sarah Pacheco, Capt. Danielle Pozun and Capt. Angelica Valdez, who collaboratively made history as the first female Marine Corps team to earn first place.

"For me, the best moments of the day were shaking the Commandant's hand and standing on the podium with my teammates," said Taranto. "The fact that the Marine Corps women's team took first place for the first time in history says a lot ... because we are all required to do our regular jobs and are making sacrifices to train."

Dubbed, "The People's Marathon," the Marine Corps Marathon is a 26.2 mile race featuring more than 20,000 international runners on a single course through rural Arlington, Virginia. Taranto says she will be taking a short break, then will continue to train and improve herself on the course, in the classroom, and in uniform.