Houlton native runs marathon in memory of 1st Lt. Zimmerman

ARLINGTON, Va. — The fact that Houlton native Marne (Boutlier) Deranger shaved a whopping 40 minutes off her previous best marathon finish matters little in comparison to the money she helped raise for the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors.
Deranger was one of 20,895 runners to complete the 36th annual Marine Corps Marathon Oct. 30 in Arlington, Va. She placed 8,988th in the race (2,740th for women), with a time of 4:28:58.
    The Marine Corps Marathon is a 26.2-mile race held in Arlington and Washington D.C. It was established in 1976 and has grown in popularity ever since. It is known as the “People’s Marathon” because it is open to all  runners ages 14 and older, without a qualifying time requirement.
“The weather was perfect: sunny, dry and about 35 degrees,” she said. “The crowd support was phenomenal, including Katina (Long) Serra, who was there to watch her husband run.”
While she was happy with her finish, she was even more proud of her efforts raising money for TAPS.
“I’m thrilled with the $780 I raised for Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) as part of Team Zimmerman,” she said. “A majority of the money I raised came from Houlton and a majority of that was from the great folks at the First Baptist Church. In fact, I heard they prayed for me during the marathon itself. No wonder I had so much fun.”
Deranger ran with a group of people supporting the memory of Marine 1st Lt. James Zimmerman, 25, of Smyrna. Zimmerman was killed Nov. 2, 2010 during combat operations in Afghanistan. He was a 2003 graduate of the Greater Houlton Christian Academy, where he was a runner, and also a graduate of the University of Maine.
Team Zimmerman, which featured Zimmerman’s widow Lynel Winters, raised $13,870 for the TAPS cause. Deranger, a 1989 graduate of Houlton High School, said she did not personally know the Zimmerman family, but wanted to run for a cause that she believed in.
She is the daughter of Paul and Sharon Boutlier of Houlton. Deranger entered the Air Force from the Reserve Officer Training Corps program at the University of Maine in 1993. She has served as a missile combat crew commander, instructor, flight commander, executive officer, speechwriter, and squadron commander during her assignments at F.E. Warren AFB (Wyoming), Vandenberg AFB (California), Patrick AFB (Florida), and Peterson AFB (Colorado). She is currently assigned to the Joint Staff at the Pentagon, in the Nuclear Operations Division.
Her husband, Chad, is also an active duty member of the Air Force. The two met and married on their first assignment.