ACLI Capital Challenge

1 When was the first Capital Challenge race held?

The first Capital Challenge race occurred on Sept. 10, 1981. Ronald Reagan was President, Tip O’Neill was Speaker of the House, and the Miss America pageant was the top-rated TV show that week.

Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) finished 35th out of 201 finishers with a time of 18:15. This remains the fastest time ever by a U.S. Senator.
Finishing 41st with a time of 18:36 was Juan Williams, then with the Washington Post. Williams has been a Fox News contributor since 1997.
Ed Markey finished 175th with a time of 26:13. Then a Representative and now a Senator from Massachusetts, Markey is the only member of Congress from the 1981 race still in office.

2 When did ACLI begin sponsoring the Capital Challenge?

ACLI began sponsoring the Capital Challenge in 2004.

Of the 11 Senators who ran that year, three remain in the Senate: Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island.
Of the 18 Representatives who ran that year, three remain in the House: Tim Ryan of Ohio, Earl Blumenauer of Oregon and Peter DeFazio of Oregon.
Rep. DeFazio’s team, the Rogue Runners, had the overall race winner, Philip Huspeth, and won the Best Spirit award.

3 Which three current state Governors ran in the ACLI Capital Challenge while serving in Congress?

Tim Walz of Minnesota ran in 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017 when he served as the Representative from Minnesota’s 1st District.
Jay Inslee of Washington ran in 2004 when he served as the Representative from Washington’s 1st District.
Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas ran in 2000 when he served as the Representative from Arkansas’ 3rd District.

4 Which member of President Biden’s Cabinet ran with us?

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough ran in the race in 2014 and 2016 when he served as Chief of Staff to President Obama.
His 2016 team, West Wing Runners 1, finished 2nd out of 36 teams in the Executive Branch division.
His 2014 team, Camp David’s Counselors 2, finished 29th out of 39 Executive Branch teams.

5 Who were the fastest members of Congress in 2021?

Rep. Kathleen Rice of New York (28:08 in 2021) was the fastest female member of Congress.
Rep. Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin (18:28 in 2021) has been the fastest male member of Congress the last four races.

6 Which three-time Olympian was the celebrity runner for the 2019 race?

Deena Kastor was the official race starter at the 2019 race.
She won the bronze medal in the marathon at the 2004 Athens Olympics and held the American marathon record from 2006 until 2022.
In March 2019, she broke the American masters record for the fastest 8K by a woman 45-to-49-years-old.

7 Which former White House press secretaries ran with us?

Mike McCurry ran in 1983 for Rep. Dave McCurdy’s team. McCurry was President Clinton’s press secretary from December 1994 to August 1998.
Tony Snow ran in 1992 with a team from President George H.W. Bush’s White House staff. Snow was President George W. Bush’s press secretary from May 2006 to September 2007.
Sean Spicer ran in 1999 for Rep. Mark Foley’s team. Spicer was President Trump’s press secretary from January 2017 to July 2017.
Jake Siewert ran in 2000 with a team from President Clinton’s White House staff. Siewert became President Clinton’s press secretary later that year, serving from September 2000 to January 2001.

8 Which famous athletes ran in the Capital Challenge?

Three-time Olympian and former mile world-record holder Jim Ryun ran several times when he served as a Kansas congressman. His House office team was the fastest in the House of Representatives six times between 1999-2005.
NFL Hall of Fame wide receiver Steve Largent ran several times when he served as an Oklahoma congressman. His House office team finished 3rd in 1999, trailing only the teams of Ryun and former Tennessee Representative Bart Gordon.
Former Olympian and NBA player Tom McMillen ran in 1993-1995 when he served as co-chair of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.

9 NEW How many White House Chiefs of Staff ran with us?

John Podesta ran in 2000 as President Clinton’s Chief of Staff and in 2014 as a counselor to President Obama.
Denis McDonough ran in 2014 and 2016 as President Obama’s Chief of Staff.
Mark Meadows ran in 2013 while serving as a North Carolina congressman. He was President Trump’s Chief of Staff in 2020-21.

10 NEW How many Supreme Court Justices have run with us?

Associate Supreme Court Justice-Designate Ketanji Brown Jackson (pictured below in 2018) ran in the race in 2018 and 2019 while serving as a judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court John Roberts ran in 1984 and 1985 when he worked in the White House Counsel’s office during the Reagan administration. He also ran in 1990 and 1991 while working in the office of the U.S. Solicitor General, Kenneth Starr.
Anthony Kennedy ran in 1990 when he was a Supreme Court justice.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh has participated every year since 2010, first while he served as a judge on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals and now as a Supreme Court justice. He was the fastest federal judge five times (2010-13 and 2015). His Supreme Court team was the fastest judiciary team in 2019.

11 Which 2020 Democratic presidential candidates ran in the Capital Challenge?

Beto O’Rourke ran in 2016, when he was a member of Congress from Texas. O’Rourke was the fastest male runner from the House of Representatives.
Rep. Eric Swalwell of California ran in 2015. He was the fastest male runner from the House of Representatives.
Jay Inslee ran in 2004, when he was a member of Congress from Washington.
Also in 2004, Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio participated. He beat Inslee by 2:04, but Inslee’s team finished 4th out of 17 House teams, while Ryan’s team finished 7th.

12 Which father and son representing the same House District ran in the Capital Challenge?

Ray LaHood ran 11 times between 1995-2008 while serving as the House member representing the 18th District of Illinois. He also ran as a House staff member in 1992 and as the Secretary of Transportation in 2009 (seen below). His best time was 25:47 in 1999.
His son, Darin LaHood, the current House member from the 18th District of Illinois, ran in the race in 2016 with a time of 23:35.
But the fastest LaHood was Sam LaHood, Ray’s other son and Darin’s younger brother. He ran on his father’s team in 2002-2005 and in 2008, with his best time of 22:50 coming in 2002.

13 Which former Vice President ran in the Capital Challenge three times?

Vice President Mike Pence participated in the ACLI Capital Challenge three times (2007, 2009-10) while he served as an Indiana congressman.
Several members of Vice President Pence’s family also competed in the race including his wife Karen (2007 and 2010), son Michael (2007), and daughter Charlotte (2007).
Vice President Pence visited ACLI in June 2018 to address ACLI members during their fly-in to Washington D.C.

14 Which former Vice President ran in the Capital Challenge 10 times, including four times while he was the VP?

Al Gore participated in the Capital Challenge 10 times between 1985-1998 - six times as a Senate member and four times as vice president.
In his final Capital Challenge appearance in 1998, his five-person team from the office of the vice president finished 16th out of 30 teams from the executive branch.
Gore’s time in 1998 for the three-mile course was 27:04. Among the 170 people he beat were Andrea Mitchell (NBC News) and Norah O’Donnell (now anchor of the CBS Evening News, then with Roll Call).

15 Which celebrity runner broke a prestigious running record in 2022 that had stood for more than 15 years?

Keira D’Amato, our 2021 celebrity runner, broke the American women’s marathon record on January 16, 2022.
Her time of 2:19:12 at the Houston Marathon was 24 seconds faster than the old mark set at the 2006 London Marathon by 2019 Capital Challenge celebrity runner Deena Kastor.
A mother of two and a Realtor, D’Amato broke the 10-mile women’s record in 2020 at Washington D.C.’s Anacostia Park where the Capital Challenge is held.

16 Did you know Pulitzer Prize winners ran with us?

Dana Priest ran in 2003-05 with Washington Post teams. She won Pulitzers in 2006 and 2008 while at the Post.
Eli Saslow ran in 2006 on a Washington Post team. He won a Pulitzer in 2014 while at the Post.
David Fahrenthold ran on Washington Post teams in 2010 and 2011. He won a Pulitzer in 2017 while at the Post.