Deployed Air Force Marathon mirrors annual stateside race

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Melissa B. White
  • 451st Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan (AFNS) --  Nearly 300 coalition forces and civilians ran in the deployed Air Force Marathon here Sept. 11.

With a full 26.2-mile marathon starting at 4 a.m. and a half-marathon starting at 4:30 a.m., runners started the race before their biggest opponent would be in full force: the heat. With temperatures hovering around 100 degrees, the safest time to begin the marathon was before sunrise.

"All runs on KAF have to be done before 9 a.m. due to heat stress factors -- it's cooler early in the morning," said Tech Sgt. Eric Brown, the coordinator for this event who is assigned to the 451st Expeditionary Force Support Flight.

Despite the early morning start and high temperatures, Master Sgt. Chris Edgerton, from the 738th Air Expeditionary Advisory Group, was able to finish the marathon first with a time of 3:28:18. No females registered for the full marathon. Slovak Army Cpl. Gabriel Lovas came first in the half-marathon with a time of 1:40:53, and U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Karol Sucec was first in the female category with a time of 1:50:24.

"This went way better than I expected," said Sergeant Edgerton, who is deployed from the 342nd Training Squadron at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. "Towards the end, I really thought it would make sense for an Air Force member to win the Air Force Marathon, so I pushed it out. It was really motivating, and the support from all the spectators was great."

Winners were presented with plaques to acknowledge their accomplishments, and all others who completed the race were presented with a medal.

The Air Force Marathon is an annual event held at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, which is scheduled for Sept. 18. The race this year marks the 14th annual Air Force Marathon. This is also the fourth marathon at deployed overseas locations.

However, with events like this, there are also some challenges to cope with or overcome. With the constant operations at KAF, Sergeant Brown said the operation of a marathon in a deployed environment presented some unique consideration, including force protection and traffic. Fortunately, with the support of nearly 100 volunteers, the marathon was pulled off without a hitch.

"This is my first time planning something like this," said Sergeant Brown, who is deployed from the 633rd Force Support Squadron at Langley AFB, Va. "I feel this event was a huge success due to the assistance from all the individuals who volunteered their time and efforts to help support this event, especially all the 451st EFSF members."