Academy Airmen finish strong at Air Force Marathon

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Raymond Hoy
  • U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs
Two Airmen assigned here won big at the Air Force Marathon Sept. 18 at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.

Capt. Brian Dumm, an Academy English instructor, was the overall male and active-military male winner. Capt. Anne Marie Sibal, a judge advocate here, was the active-military female winner.

Although this was Captain Dumm's first Air Force Marathon, it was the fifth marathon in which he's participated. He used his previous experience to guide him through this year's event.

"This is one of the smarter races I've run," he explained. "I didn't make a move until mile 16 and didn't take the lead until mile 23. It's better to go out slow and come back quicker. I always go out with the intention of doing that, but you get really excited on race day and it hasn't worked out for me that way."

Captain Dumm arrived at the Academy in June and had to try and maintain his training regimen throughout his move.

"My department has been very supportive," he said. "It's a very busy life being an instructor, but I got a lot of support from the faculty staff."

Contrary to Captain Dumm's marathon experience, this was Captain Sibal's first marathon. Not only that, but she ran a little more than the 26.2 miles for the marathon.

"I'd say I ran 26.4 miles," she said. "At the starting gun, I was a bit late. So I had to run to the starting line and continue from there. I started about three minutes behind the pack.

"I had no idea what I was doing," Captain Sibal added. "I kept trying to find my pace group and just kept running up to the next group."

Training at 7,000 feet above sea level gave Captains Dumm and Sibal a bit of a race-day advantage.

"Two things up here really help you out," Captain Sibal said. "The elevation obviously helps out, but running on these hills is a big advantage. They told us there were some hills on the route, but then I saw them and thought, 'No, these aren't hills. Come out to the Academy and see what hills really are.'"

Winning the race automatically qualified Captains Dumm and Sibal for the Marine Corps Marathon Oct. 31 in Washington D.C. The MCM is the armed forces championship.

For a complete listing of race results, visit www.usafmarathon.com.