All three branches of government gathered for friendly competition last week at Anacostia Park in Southeast D.C. for a three-mile showdown to raise money for the next generation of leaders.
Hosted by the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI), the “Capital Challenge” is annual event to raise money for the Junior Achievement League.
“Thanks to generosity of our sponsors and the more than 660 people who participated in this year’s ACLI Capital Challenge, we’re making a difference in the lives of millions of kids,” said the ACLI President and CEO Susan Neely. “We always enjoy the friendly competition between our nation’s leaders at the Capital Challenge. But the true champions are the 4.4 million kids in all 50 states served by Junior Achievement.”
Each team is required to have one member of Congress, the Cabinet, the vice president, a Cabinet sub-agency head or equivalent, federal judge, on-air radio or TV journalist, or print journalist. They must have five runners and one must be a woman. All five count in scoring. This year, participants ranging from federal judges to journalists raised $200,000 at the 42nd ACLI Capital Challenge.
The D.C. staple also shows running is quite the hobby for many high-ranking officials.
“I think it’s good for you. But the few days that I miss, I feel crappy. I don’t know if that’s physical or psychological, but I feel crappy,” White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients, who participated this year, told The Economic Club’s David Rubenstein in an interview last month. “I have my four shots of espresso, do some reading. And then I go.”
Jack Miller of The Washington Post finished as the fastest overall with a time of 14:30 while Morgan Foster of Rep. Greg Stanton’s office placed as the top female finisher, earmarking a blazing 16:49.
This year Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) gave the audience a show as he prevailed in claiming the title of the speediest man in Congress with a time of 19:33. Arizona independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, who has consistently run the Capital Challenge, ranked as the fastest woman in Congress, clocking in at 23:07.
Barrier-breaking Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson managed to run a time of 33:24 for her first time on the race track, but was defeated by Justices Amy Coney Barrett (26:09) and Brett M. Kavanaugh (24:20) and his team “Running Circuit,” placed first among all judicial teams. This was the first time three Supreme Court Justices participated.
Jamaican District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan’s team was called “Cool Runnings,” named after the famed movie. United States Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigeg’s team was named “Running on time & on Budget.” Jackson called her squad the “Junior Justice League.”
