Running Athwart History

History has stopped.

At least for the time being, after National Review’s Jack Butler smoked the competition at the 2025 ACLI Capital Challenge in Washington, D.C.’s Anacostia Park Wednesday morning.

Captaining the team “Running Athwart History,” Butler, who sported a Hillsdale College singlet and trademark short black shorts, ran the three-mile course in 15:45 to win first place. The runner-up wasn’t close. Before the race, Butler ran a 2.5 mile warm-up. After the race, Butler ran a 2.5 mile cool-down during which he passed teammates still finishing the race.

“This represents a win for the manly, vigorous conservatism that National Review stands for,” Butler said. At the awards ceremony, Butler went up to the stage twice for being the fastest runner overall and the fastest in the print media category.

Butler later took to X to thank the ACLI Capital Challenge for holding the race and shoutout his NR teammates who competed alongside him.

National Review’s Dominic Pino, James Lynch, Natan Ehrenreich, and Haley Strack also ran in the race. Ehrenreich was a last-minute substitution and still performed well, finishing with a 27:55 race time. He completed the race soon after Pino’s 27:29 finish and Lynch’s 23:21 score. Strack was the lone woman running for NR and scored a 32:52, a better finish than Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s 36:00 time.

Montana Senator Tim Sheehy (R), who was joined by his wife and unbelievably athletic children, was the fastest male senator at 31:04. A former Navy SEAL, Sheehy ran impressively while holding one of his children on his shoulders.

West Virginia Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R) was the fastest female senator at 33:23 in her 18th year running the race. Solicitor General Dean Sauer came in as the top male sub-cabinet official at 24:54 and Census Bureau Chief Deb Stempowski was the top female sub-cabinet official at 22:19.

Representative Greg Casar (D., Texas), a far-left lawmaker, easily held onto his crown as the fastest member of Congress with a 20:34 time. Representative James Comer (R., Ky.), chairman of the House Oversight Committee, and Senator Thom Tillis (R., N.C.), were among the other lawmakers to compete in the race.

“This is Washington working,” ACLI President David Chavern said, celebrating the bipartisan and cordial nature of the race.

The ACLI Capital Challenge is an annual run to support Junior Achievement USA. Congressional members and staffers, federal judges, print and digital media, and cabinet officials participate in the charitable event.