It didn’t take much to convince Josh Maarleveld ’02 to join the group of 18 New Jersey Police and Port Authority officers, and Marines, in their 600+ mile run from the Purple Heart Memorial in Jersey City to the Beirut Memorial in Camp Lejeune, N.C.

“The Jersey City Police Department President contacted me asking if I wanted to reenact what the Beirut Marines did in ’85. I said ‘Okay, what is it?’ And he said ‘We’re going to run from Jersey City to North Carolina’,” said Maarleveld, who served with the Police Department President in the Marines. “I didn’t even need anything else, it was exciting.”

The “Honor Courage Commitment Run” (HCC Run), named after the core values of the Marines, was inspired by the 21 Liberty Marines of 1985. After returning from deployment in Beirut, they ran from Camp Lejeune to Jersey City in 24 hours to raise funds for the Statue of Liberty restoration. This time, though, the proceeds were split between the Marine Corps’ Wounded Warrior Regiment and the Wounded Warrior Project.

“At the end of the day, we’re doing it for the men and women who came back injured,” Maarleveld said. “I would say out of the 19 runners who went on the run, 15 of us spent some time in Iraq or Afghanistan.”

Maarleveld, who is a police officer for the Port Authority, Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves, and President of the Port Authority Police Marine Corps Association, served in Iraq as part of the first phase of Iraqi Freedom. Before that, though, he was a student at Aquinas, earning his Bachelor of Science in sports management and administration while competing on the cross country and track teams.

“I wanted something new, and Aquinas was a great place for me,” said Maarleveld, who grew up in Hoboken, N.J., and admitted to not even knowing where Grand Rapids was until he was recruited to run for Aquinas. “I still have great friends that I talk to all the time and I try to take a trip out there once or twice a year if I can. Aquinas had that family culture, it was a really close-knit group, and Michigan was like my second home.”

Maarleveld enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserves in 2000 and since then has travelled to Iraq, Norway, Japan, and Mongolia, just to name a few. But even his experiences overseas can’t match that of the HCC Run.

“Besides having my kids, [the HCC Run] is one of the greatest things I’ve done in a long time,” Maarleveld said. “Words can’t really describe it, the experience and the camaraderie that you have with these guys sharing in the journey.”

The 19 runners left New Jersey on April 16, 2012, for the six day, 600+ mile journey. Set up like a relay, the group was divided into four teams. Each team ran a leg (with each runner taking turns running 3 mile legs), before meeting up with the next team and leap-frogging to the next checkpoint.

“The whole thing should have been a reality show. We slept outside most days in sleeping bags or a tent, and then you woke up and got ready to run,” Maarleveld said. “There were people on the side of the road who just came out of work and heard about us on the radio and stood outside their offices cheering. You felt that sense of pride in what we were doing.”

And, as if taking part in the over 600 mile run wasn’t hard enough, Maarleveld frequently jumped in with, or replaced, his teammates who were hurting or tired. By the end of the six days, Maarleveld’s required mileage of 40 had jumped to 93, half of which he ran in Marine Corps utilities, camo pants, a 40-pound pack and boots.

“One wounded person is too many,” Maarleveld said. “And I [ran in the boots and pack] to pay homage to the guys who got wounded in their gear.”

The HCC Run, which ended on April 21, 2012, raised $13,000 for the Wounded Warriors. Although they are hoping to turn the Run into an annual event, Maarleveld is unsure whether he will participate and try to duplicate the memories he made.

“I couldn’t have had a better group of individuals to run with. It was a great experience to share with those guys who I had never met before, who all chose to be in the brotherhood of the Marines and police officers,” Maarleveld said. “They are great friendships that I hope to have for a long time.”