Balad medic takes 'fit-to-fight' to extremes for charity

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Olufemi A. Owolabi
  • 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) --  Fitness training is vital for Airmen to be prepared to meet the physical challenges of being deployed.

An Airman here has taken physical fitness to a new level by using it to help others.

Senior Airman Brendan Brustad, with the 332nd Expeditionary Medical Group, is preparing for a 100-mile marathon and raising money, with the purpose of donating the proceeds to a charity organization that helps children diagnosed with cancer.

"A lot of people run for the fame, a medal or glory," said Airman Brustad, a medical technician deployed from Altus Air Force Base, Okla. "I run to better myself and any others around me. As [medical specialists], our goal here is the preservation of life; so is my purpose of running and donating all the proceeds to charity. It is about the preservation of good health and the lives of children."

The marathon -- the 2007 Arkansas Traveller 100 -- is scheduled for Oct. 6 to 7 at Ouachita National Forest, Ark., and Airman Brustad is training as much as possible every day in order to perform well in the run.

Some people don't even drive that far in a day, he said. Nevertheless, with adequate training, especially under 120-degree blistering heat in a deployed environment, the 22-year-old Airman said running 100 miles is going be easy for him.

"Give or take, I can run a 26.4-mile marathon easily under four hours," said Airman Brustad. "Given a 100-mile run, it will take me less than 24-hours or so. It might be challenging, but it is just a matter of pacing."

Despite 12-hour or more shifts and a dynamic schedule at the Air Force Theater Hospital here, Airman Brustad still found time to practice for at least two hours a day.

"This environment has really prepared me mentally for the race," he said. "My run ranges from 210 to 100 miles a week, depending on what my work schedule is. Anytime I have a goal to run a certain distance, and I don't have enough time to do it, then I run harder and faster in order to meet my goal."

Airman Brustad's commitment to running and his goals will not only benefit the charity organization, it also has inspired his coworkers to train and run better.

"Airman Brustad was an encouragement to me in regard to his running," said Master Sgt. Robert Vota, with the 332nd Expeditionary Medical Support Squadron. "I have run two marathons in the past and have not been avidly running up to this point in time. His exuberance to train for the ultra-marathon has spurred me on to start training here for races back in Arizona."

Airman Brustad is no stranger to marathons and victories. He ran in the Air Force Marathon and the Spirit of Survival Marathon, where he took first place in his age category. He also ran marathons in Oklahoma, Texas and Ohio. He said it is all a matter of will and drive. 

"The Air Force mission comes first, but what I am doing is also a mission," he said. "My action will help those children who will benefit from the charity donations, and it will also inspire other people along the way to learn to help others."

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