Medical student wins half marathon competition

Story Date: Mon, 21 May 2012 09:58:00 EDT

Courtney Chapman, a member of the EVMS MD Class of 2015, beat out thousands of runners Sunday, May 20, to win the women's component of the Marine Corps Historic Half Marathon in Fredericksburg, Va.

Ms. Chapman's time of 1:21:56 was just 20 seconds off the course record for women; she placed first among women and 13th overall among nearly 6,000 runners who completed the race.

Ms. Chapman began running competitively and training consistently a few months after her mother's death as the result of brain cancer in 2010.

These days, she frequently competes in running competitions, and she's used to being at the head of the pack. In April, she beat all competitors — men and women — in the 5k and 10k races at Fort Eustis to benefit the Wounded Warrior project.

To do justice to her medical studies and her training regimen, she often combines the two.

"All my 'free time' is [spent] running," she says. "I listen to books and lectures on tape while running and I do A LOT of my mileage on eliptical machines while reading textbooks."

Next up for her is another half marathon, this one at the USA track and field national championships June 16th in Duluth Minnesota.

"I have dreams of making the Olympic team in four years, but right now I'm just working on building speed and strength and taking each day as an opportunity to train and grow as a runner," Ms. Chapman says.