Marathon Marks Anniversary for Couple

ARLINGTON, Va. — While the purpose of 33rd Marine Corps Marathon may have been to promote a healthy and active lifestyle, adrenaline and speed alone were not the only things making hearts pound during the wheelchair and hand-cycle portion of the race. For one special couple, the race will always signify a bit more than the simple love of competition but a special human connection that began almost exactly one year ago.

We met last year and I’ve been chasing her ever since,” said Michael Sprouse, 48, a former Marine staff sergeant and drill instructor who served the Corps from 1978-1985, about his wife, Peggy Flobeck, 45. Both currently race on the Achilles Freedom Team of Wounded Veterans. The marathon not only marked the year anniversary of first meeting each other, but also threemonths of marriage.

While Michael had already been hand-cycling for two years, last year’s marathon was a first for Flobeck, who was looking for another sport to complement her kayaking. She explains how they met just before the race began when she was having some difficulty with her hand-cycle during a tune-up.

As Sprouse tells it, another gentlemen helping Flobeck ‘‘had no clue what he was doing,” and so like the former drill sergeant he was, he, in no uncertain terms, told the other guy to get out of the way and fixed the problem himself.

Although both sensed a special connection had been made, Sprouse had to leave immediately after the race for family reasons and they were prevented from interacting further. Instead of writing it off as a missed opportunity, he instead realized he had a new mission and that the race was not over yet.

Through diligent investigation Sprouse discovered that Flobeck would be participating in the Miami Marathon scheduled for Jan. 23. He quickly made arrangements to participate and was finally able to meet up with her again.

‘‘I was like ‘Hey girl, what’s up?’” Sprouse said laughing. ‘‘I made my intentions real clear.” Although he had been told that Flobeck might be involved with someone else, he claims he came to Florida to ‘‘screw that up.”

‘‘I was playing hard to get,” she explained slyly. ‘‘I was letting him chase me.”

Sprouse must have been up to the chase, as of now they’ve completed five marathons together on the Achilles Freedom Team of Wounded Veterans and were married July 26. They now live in Cedar Town, Ga.

Despite the other races, the Marine Corps Marathon will always stand out for both of them. Besides being the place where they first met, Sprouse also dedicates the race to his father, another Marine, who died in the Vietnam War. For Flobeck it got her ‘‘more involved with sports and people with disabilities.”

Sprouse finished the race in overall sixth place, second in his division, with a time of 1:49:09. For Flobeck, it was 2:21:09, placing 17th overall, second for her gender and first for her division, knocking an hour off her time from last year.

Although racing a marathon is often a solitary venture where the goal is just the finish, this couple now partnered to continue that race long past the finish line.