WASHINGTON, D.C. –
As he approached the mile 20 marker with grit and intensity in a pack, he decided to make a move. He kicked in his reserves, picked up a brutal pace and won the 49th Marine Corps Marathon and took gold in the Armed Forces Championship Men’s Division with a time of 2:25:06.
Maj. Kyle King, assistant fires lead, Tactical Training Exercise Control Group, Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, 29 Palms, California, was the first active-duty Marine to win the MCM back in 2022 in more than 30 years.
Running MCM
King said he was nervous in the first half of the race because of the hills.
“I was nervous because the pace didn’t feel comfortable early on, especially going uphill,” he said. “I’ve never been a great uphill runner.”
In 2022, he did hill repeats at least once a week to prepare for the race. For this race, he only had six weeks to train. He worked more on speed work this time.
He took the lead at mile 20 but didn’t want to do that.
“Usually, if you’re going to take the lead at mile 20, you want to make a big move and try to break people,” he said. “I wasn’t sure I was fit enough to do that. I was afraid I was going to break myself and not them. I wanted to wait until mile 23 but it just kind of happened at mile 20, so I just decided to go with it and hope for the best. Luckily, it worked out.”
King said when he was stationed in Colorado from 2018 to 2021, he learned to train at high volume, from 35 miles a week to 60 to 80 in a three-week period. He also ran his personal record time of 2:16.
He met his girlfriend of three years, Hope Sweetnam, while he was in Colorado. She was at the finish line this year to congratulate him and give him water.
“It made me cry. She lets my guard down,” King said. “She’s there for the majority of my struggles to get into running shape.”
“I wasn’t surprised he won because of the work he put in, but I’m so proud of him,” Sweetnam said. “I told him before the race, always leave room to surprise yourself. I think he did.”
King had said a goal of his had been to help the All-Marine Running Team to win the 2014 Armed Forces Championships at MCM, and he accomplished that. They took gold and the commander’s cup.
Call to serve
Growing up in Coupeville, Washington, King said he’s wanted to join the military since he was a child.
“Growing up on an island, I was always drawn to the amphibious nature of the Marine Corps and the opportunity to work on land and sea,” he said, laughing because he’s stationed in the Mojave Desert.
Love of sports
King joked that in sixth grade, he was one of slowest runners on the soccer team, so he had to play goalie. In middle school, he played football, basketball, baseball and track and field.
In seventh grade track and field, his love of competitive running sparked the flame.
“I really wanted to win whatever raced, but several of my friends were better sprinters than me,” he said. “My older sister was an accomplished distance runner, and I thought, I may have the same potential and could win the distance race if I were willing to run harder than anyone else.”
His high school was in the A Division; he won five state divisions. In college, he ran for Eastern Washington University, Washington, and his fifth year at the University of Oklahoma. He won the 2011 Big Sky Conference Indoor 5,000-meter Championship and the 2012 Big Sky Outdoor 10,000-meter Championship.
He placed 47th in the 2020 Marathon Olympic Trials in Atlanta, Georgia, and eighth in the 2019 Military World Games in Wuhan, China. He hopes to run the Boston and New York marathons for fun.
Mentors and support
King said he wouldn’t be as successful as he is without his mentor, family, leadership, girlfriend, and those who have supported him along his journey.
“My coach Chris Hammer is an inspiration as he just won gold at the Paris Paralympics in the triathlon,” King said. “My family and partner, Hope, are always an inspiration as they have been alongside me or supported me through my running journey.”
Sweetnam’s dad served in the Canadian Army for 30 years as an infantry and airborne officer.
They recently did the Joshua Tree Traverse hiking trail in California together. Kyle will run a trail for pace, and Hope, also a runner, will standby with gels, water and support, but can cover distance quickly, just not at the same pace.
“Doing the Colorado Trail and ultra marathons taught me your body can adapt to whatever you need to do in many cases,” Kyle said. “She’s always out there supporting me. We race in the pool. She’s a good swimmer. She beats me. It’s not even close. We’re looking into fast packing, maybe trail runs.”
“For the past 12 weeks, he’s been training in the desert at 3,500 feet, getting after it, training in that lack of oxygen,” Sweetnam said. “He hasn’t had much sleep. He’s such a competitor. He’s doing what he loves. It’s the Marine in him.”
Sweetnam said Kyle is the ideal athlete she hopes children look up to, other athletes look at and say, I can do what he does within the bounds of their day or week, they can accomplish their goals.
“And I hope they can see his kindness,” she said. “You could see the number of people he was hugging, coming across the finish line. People were just happy for him. It just reflects on his kindness, his openness, his friendliness, his absolute dogged competitiveness, but he’s also lighthearted and loving.”
Kyle said winning the Marine Corps Marathon is possible for anyone who works for it.
“When I won the race in 2022, I trained an average of 60 to 90 minutes a day in three months leading up to the race,” he said. “Prioritize what you want to be great at and dedicate an hour to it every day. You might surprise yourself!”