Sergeant runs marathon for his father

  • Published
  • By Capt. Carlos Diaz
  • 386th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) --  There are many reasons to run a marathon, but for a C-130 Hercules flight engineer at this forward-deployed location, honoring his ailing dad was more than enough reason to slip on his running shoes.

Tech. Sgt. Peter Rearick’s father recently suffered a heart attack recently and is scheduled to have heart surgery in August.

“My dad’s been a really big marathoner his whole life,” said Sergeant Rearick of the 738th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron. “He was still running marathons all the way into his 60s, and about two months ago he had a heart attack, and of course I’m over here I can’t do anything about it.”

Sergeant Rearick decided to run a marathon before his father goes into surgery.

“I had already been (running) more miles while deployed, just because I’m here and what else are you going to do,” Sergeant Rearick said. He trained by running laps around the base perimeter.

“At one point, I ran three laps around here and I got a little bit dehydrated,” he said. “That’s when I knew that I was going to need some help, and all of the sudden people started volunteering to help.”

The word that Sergeant Rearick wanted to run a marathon spread throughout his squadron.

“(Sergeant Rearick) runs and swims all the time, and he told me about his dad and what had happened,” said Capt. Breanna Wilkinson, a C-130 pilot with the 738th EAS.

When the captain heard Sergeant Rearick was planning on running the marathon by himself July 19, she decided to sign people up from the squadron to run with him.

“I’m truly excited and amazed by the hard work he put forward,” she said. “Everybody in the squadron is really excited and proud of him.”

Not even 95 degrees temperatures at night could stop Sergeant Rearick’s crewmates from running beside him.

“We’re deployed here in the same crew,” said 1st Lt. Adam Staubach, a C-130 navigator with the 738th EAS. “(Sergeant Rearick) was amazing (during the run). It took almost eight different people tagging in and out to run with him for the entire time.

After four hours and five minutes of running, Sergeant Rearick crossed the finish line July 19 in honor of his father. Tired and out of breath, the flight engineer had some words for his dad and the possibility of running another marathon.

“The doctor said that if the operation goes well he’ll be able to do marathons again, and I’d definitely consider running with him,” Sergeant Rearick said. “If my dad would’ve been here, I’d tell him to be strong and get better.”