Corporal Neil Schalk, a 20-year-old active duty Marine and Purple Heart recipient, is from the small town of Muscoda, Wisconsin. Neil has run several Marathons, and this is his second Marine Corps Marathon.

In August of 2005, Cpl. Schalk was deployed to Iraq as a PSD for the II MEF. "I was originally a combat engineer, but was on PSD while stationed in Iraq. A PSD is a personal security detail" said Neil. "We escorted the II MEF comanding general and other VIP's around Iraq."

On the 4th of November, 2005, Neil and 13 other Marines were hit by an IED (Improvised Exploding Devise) on the way to Ramadi to do a site survey. "It was a typical IED hidden in a spare tire on the side of the road" Neil said. The blast blew a hole through his left hand. Neil lost about a third of his right hand and two fingers. Neil has subsequently had several bone and tendon grafts. His left hand is not functional, but Neil says his right hand works just fine without all the parts. Cpl. Schalk remains on active duty with the Marine Corps.

When asked about training, Neil responded "I live in a great place in Wisconsin to train. Very big hills." When asked about his goal to finish the Marine Corps Marathon, he replied "Well under four hours!" When asked about the $22,000 goal for sending care packages to his fellow Marines in Iraq, Neil responded "These are Marines that aren't get letters and packages from home. We can raise the money."

The first photo is of Cpl. Schalk in Iraq, 2005. The second photo is Neil running in the Mad City Marathon (Madison, WI), in May of 2006.