Legionnaire, active-duty Marine runs for his mental health and to help others

Even after completing a likely unprecedented feat when he finished the London Marathon on April 21, Master Sgt. Clinton Firstbrook IV was looking ahead to his next race.

“Even with what I accomplished, part of me feels empty and unfulfilled and I’m already looking forward to the next challenge in a couple months with a 70.3 Ironman, because that’s something I’ve never done before. In some ways it’s going to take a lot more effort and mental fortitude to get through that,” Firstbrook said, just a few days after returning home to Virginia where he’s stationed at Marine Corps Base Quantico.

Firstbrook is one of the few U.S. servicemembers, and possibly the first active-duty enlisted Marine, to earn the Six Star Medal for completing each race in the Abbott World Marathon Majors.

A member of American Legion Buck Keyes Post 28 in Triangle, Va., Firstbrook completed the Chicago Marathon in 2021, the Berlin Marathon in 2022, and the Tokyo, Boston and New York marathons last year.

“I was a cross country and track athlete back in the high school days. Nothing to write home about, decent times, but running was always my way of helping out with my mental health,” Firstbrook said. “It’s funny, I can jog a marathon, no problem, but if I do a hard physical fitness test, my back is hurting for weeks. So marathoning is allowing me to continue to be active and set goals for myself and challenges, just because it’s not easy getting out there because I have, whether it’s my shoulders, my back, my knees, degenerative disc issues, arthritis.

“After 20-plus years of wearing combat boots, there’s definitely some wear and tear. And I’m not even out there like some other occupations,” added Firstbrook, who works in communication strategy and operations.

Before 2019, Firstbrook’s marathon experience consisted of running the Marine Corps Marathon in 2010 and Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, Minn., in 2012.

But his running picked up as he began to address mental and physical health issues stemming from his experience in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Long runs = therapy sessions

Firstbrook served in the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines, which was involved in heavy combat in Fallujah in 2004 — just weeks after Firstbrook was a Spirit of Service recipient from The American Legion. He was also coping with the after-effects of a head-on collision with a drunk driver while on combat leave in 2005.

“It came to a point whether I had to address my medical and mental health situations or I wasn’t going to be able to serve any longer,” said Firstbrook, who failed the standard as he wasn’t properly addressing his medical issues.

Not wanting to fall short of reaching 20 years of service, Firstbrook sought to challenge himself.

“My family are big marathoners, so that’s why I decided to pursue that route. And after I did it and completed it, I wanted more. I didn’t want to regress physically or mentally, and this is my way. You can’t just jump off the couch and run a marathon.”

Coming from a family of runners — his father, Clinton III, and sister, Alicia Firstbrook-Stott, have run multiple marathons — Firstbrook set out to run multiple marathons.

Since 2019, he’s completed marathons in Wilmington, N.C.; Rochester, Minn.; Kansas City, Mo.; Des Moines, Iowa; and Philadelphia, among others.

“Those long runs are almost like therapy sessions in themselves,” Firstbrook said. “Some marathons obviously you get a lot of distractions, the noise, but for me, I try and go internal.

“… My mental health provider says putting myself through pain is part of my own process to deal with all the previous trauma and PTSD I have from Iraq and Afghanistan. The marathon itself is quite the obstacle, and being able to get through that, you can get through a lot of other things you’re dealing with in life.”

Next challenges

Just weeks before this year’s London Marathon, Firstbrook ran the Coast Guard Marathon.

“I joked with my dad, that was my last training run before the London Marathon. Unless you’re an elite athlete, there’s not a lot of people that go out there and do marathons that close to one another,” Firstbrook said.

Firstbrook wants to use the Coast Guard Marathon as a step toward completing the Armed Forces Series Challenge.

Launched in 2023, the Armed Forces Series Challenge includes the Coast Guard Marathon, Air Force Marathon, Army Ten-Miler, Marine Corps Marathon and Space Force T-Minus 10-Miler.

“One of my goals is to be one of the first active-duty Marines to complete the Armed Forces Series Challenge,” said Firstbrook, who won’t just be running the Air Force Marathon in September. He’ll be doing the Fly! Fight! Win! Challenge — a 5K the evening of Sept. 20, a 10K the next morning, and the marathon immediately after that.

“It’s going to be a unique experience, to say the least,” Firstbrook said.

For Firstbrook, the challenges of so many long runs aren’t just to address his own health concerns. He raises money for charities through his runs, including Semper Fi & America’s Fund and SSAFA (the Soldiers’, Sailors’ and Airmen’s Families Association), the United Kingdom’s oldest armed forces charity.

Firstbrook credited Post 28 and American Legion Post 72 in Warrenton, Va., for their support of his efforts, which also include a 24-hour walk-run for charity at Quantico in September.

“So I’m pretty lucky. Even with my medical issues and my struggles and the adversity I face, there’s a lot of people out there who have it worse than I do. Whether it’s issues with their kids or their spouses or other family members, I’m pretty lucky. I have three healthy, wonderful kids, a loving wife, that are my biggest supporters, in addition to my dad and my sister and other relatives that are running enthusiasts. Even my neighbor, he received assistance from Semper Fi & America’s Fund due to some TBI issues.

“The war isn’t being shown on TV anymore, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t still people out there who are suffering, that are going to require lifelong care and commitment. And we owe it to them to take care of them. … This is my way of, while being able to take care of myself I’m also able to take care of somebody else,” Firstbrook said.

A member of the VFW and Marine Corps League as well, Firstbrook acknowledged he’s looking forward to more involvement with veteran service organizations upon his retirement from the Marine Corps in 2025.

In the meantime, he’ll continue to push himself, for his own benefit and others.

“If I can tell my story and it helps somebody or gives them or if it enables them to get help, then I consider that a success,” Firstbrook said.

“Once upon a time, there were certain stigmas. But now you’re allowed to go and find the help that you need.”