For the third year in a row, Assistant Secretary of Labor Olena Berg blasted past five of her sub-cabinet rivals to remain one of the swiftest runners in the executive branch.
Ms. Berg and her team "The Reich Stuff" (for Labor Secretary Robert Reich) joined about 700 members in the executive, legislative and judicial branches and the press in the 15th annual running of the Nike Capital Challenge, a three-mile race in Washington.
On the cool and cloudy Sept. 20 morning, the assistant secretary turned in her second best time of 25: 03, the fastest pace for any female sub-cabinet level runner. Melissa Skolfield, acting assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Health and Human Services, finished just behind our protector of pensions at 25: 21. Sandy Perlmutter, executive director for the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, turned in a third place time of 28: 31, no match for Ms. Berg - a 1990 Marine Corps Marathon veteran.
The only true competition Ms. Berg saw at the race was from one not-to-be-mentioned member of the pension media, who in a last-minute dash for the finish line edged out the assistant secretary by a few seconds.
