Military personnel take on Boston Marathon Published April 23, 2008 By 2nd Lt. C. Michaela Judge 66th Air Base Wing Public Affairs HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. (AFPN) -- This year, 21,963 runners from around the world completed the Boston Marathon April 21. Twenty-eight of those runners were military members from the various branches of service, Air Force Academy cadets and civilians who boarded a bus here at 6:15 a.m. to take part in the nation's oldest marathon. Now in its 112th year, the Boston Marathon is held on the Massachusetts holiday, Patriot's Day, which commemorates the beginning of the Revolutionary War. While this would be the first marathon for some on the bus, others were adding to the list of numerous marathons that they've completed in the past. Chief Master Sgt. Troy Engholm, command chief at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., completed his sixth Boston Marathon, running it in 3:15:40. Though it wasn't his best time, he said overall he couldn't complain. "The weather was perfect, I ran well and I didn't hit any walls along the way," the chief said. Despite the 26.2 mile trek, the chief said he was walking comfortably and felt great after finishing the race. Col. Bill Cooley, with the 950th Electronic Systems Group here, said that during the final two to three miles of the race, it was tough to keep going. In the end, he ran a personal best with a time of 3:59:35, beating his previous time of 4:13. Though he was running his 10th marathon, this was his first Boston Marathon. Lt. Col. Dale VanDusen, 630th Electronic Systems Squadron commander here, finished the race in 4:37:45. The colonel said his most memorable moment of the race was the Wellesley College crowd. "[They were] the loudest, most intense [crowd] I've ever heard," Colonel VanDusen said. Though the race was a challenge at times, Colonel VanDusen was among many runners who had their reasons to keep going. "An intense desire to finish kept me going through the leg cramps," the colonel said. "The race is historic and likely once in a lifetime for me." Comment on this story (comments may be published on Air Force Link) View the comments/letters page