DLA Joint Reserve Force chief of staff leads inaugural charity run from Pentagon to ground zero

One night at a bar after having a drink with a fellow runner, Joint Reserve Force Chief of Staff Navy Capt. Onofrio Margioni pulled out a pencil and there on the back of a napkin, the two devised a plan for the 9/11 run.

"9/11 was something personal for me - being from and going to college in New York, having spent numerous 9/11s in Manhattan - I thought it would be kind of fun to memorialize the heroes like the police officers, firefighters, and everyone else with something cool like a run," Margioni said. "A run of this size is something you can't do alone because it hard and requires a core group."

After seven months of planning, surrounded by hundreds of supporters and the tunes of patriotic music, Margioni led around 50 members of the group as they passed American flags instead of batons during a more than 270-mile relay race that started at the Pentagon on Sunday, Sept. 8. Runners charted a path from Virginia, through the District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, before arriving in New York City at ground zero on Wednesday, Sept.11, to honor the heroes of 9/11.

People clapped and cheered after the playing of the national anthem, a reading, and a military send-off at the Pentagon as Old Town Run Club's inaugural "Pentagon to Ground Zero Run," convened, challenging the group of avid runners over a period of four days to promote resilience, remembrance, and unity.

Stacey Pilling, DLA Energy's deputy director of Carbon Pollution-Free Electricity, runs an average of 25 miles a week and ran on the first day of the race.

"I ran from the Pentagon to the Lincoln Memorial and did another seven-and-a-half-mile stint midday with three other people. It was super exciting to see the motorcycle leads," she said. "The run was a great idea and for a great cause. To see it come to fruition was incredible, knowing the amount of work that they put into it."

On the first day of the run, Margioni said the group ran a total of 108.6 miles.

"The next few days, we ran about 90 miles a day through the day and night for three days on small country roads that were safe for our runners."

Navy Capt. Raymond Piechowicz, deputy Navy senior service integrator, ran two to three miles daily while providing logistical support and serving as a shuttle van driver for the runners.

"The beginning of the run from the Pentagon to the Lincoln Memorial was very exciting and inspiring … the next couple of days on the road were long and tiring as we snaked our way from Pennsylvania to New Jersey," he said. "As we got into Northern New Jersey, we could feel the energy pick up whenever we would make a stop at a local sponsor - there was a lot of enthusiasm and patriotism displayed - so you started to get re-energized."

The final day, escorted by the New York Police Department and armed with flags, the runners rode the ferry from Staten Island to Manhattan, where they passed by the Statute of Liberty, before running the final 3.5 miles to ground zero, something Piechowicz described as a very energizing, inspiring and a gratifying accomplishment.

Margioni started the Old Town Run Club nine months ago to raise money for charitable organizations after joining a local running club when relocating to the area in 2020.

The Old Town Run Club includes people from all experience levels and walks of life, to include veterans, active-duty service members, reservists, government employees, contractors and private industry, Margioni said.

Margioni stated proceeds from the run went to support the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, an organization with a mission to honor the memory of firefighter Stephen Siller, who laid down his life to save others on Sept. 11, 2001, and to military and first responders who continue to make the ultimate sacrifice of life and limb for the United States.