From 1.5 miles to 61 marathons

  • Published
  • By Lisa Terry McKeown
  • 43rd Airlift Wing Public Affairs
Once a year, all active-duty Airmen head outside to the track to tackle the 1.5-mile run as part of the annual physical fitness test. It is an event not everyone looks forward to. For some, running is something to do only when tested or being chased, but for an Airman here, pounding the pavement has become a way of life.

Chief Master Sgt. David Hamel, 23rd Maintenance Squadron a 28-year veteran assigned to the 23rd Maintenance Squadron, used to fear running the 1.5 miler for the fitness test.

“I used to try and just get through it,” he said.

Sixty-one marathons later, fear is no longer part of his fitness test vocabulary.

It all began in 1988. Chief Hamel was stationed in Okinawa, Japan, and was dealing with everything from high cholesterol and a divorce to the closing down of a unit. He started running with a local running group as a way to try and change his lifestyle.

“It was a way to end something old and start something new,” Chief Hamel said.

At first, the runs were four- to six-mile cross-country all-terrain runs. Over time, he ran with groups in Japan, the Philippines, Guam, South Korea and Taiwan.

“I had run on and off before,” he said. “Then I got to the point where as I kept running, it helped me keep more of a balance with everything that was going on.”

Chief Hamel ran his first marathon December 1990 in Naha, Japan. He ran the 26.2-mile race in 4 hours, 9 minutes.

“It was hot over there, but what an exhilarating feeling when I crossed that finish line,” he said. “It really is a pure sport -- just your own two feet. There are no wheels and no one else to do it for you. It’s just your own power and your own mind. If you choose to stop, then you stop. No one is going to pull you across the line.”

Since 1990, the 46-year-old chief has run 61 marathons in 35 states. He averages four to five races a year and has run only one of the numerous races more than once. His goal is to run at least one marathon in every state and to complete 100 marathons.

His most recent race was at the Twisted Ankle Trail Run in Summerville, Ga.

“It was the first time that the race had been run, so they were having us name the hills and valleys when we were done,” he said. “It was one of the hardest races I’ve ran.”

Chief Hamel said training for the marathons is his “quiet time.” He works in two hilly four-milers during the week and a 10- to 13-mile run on the weekends. But he said the key to his success in training is the 2.5 hours he spends playing in-line hockey Friday nights.

“I hate speed work, but you need it along with long distance in order to find the right balance,” he said.

The in-line hockey gives him the sprint work he needs to complete his cross-training.

Running has not only become a huge piece of his life, but it has also changed the way he looks at the days as they come and go.

“Running is about life,” he said. “It’s putting one foot in front of the other, standing on your own two feet and taking things in stride. You run your own race at your own pace -- not somebody else’s race. You learn that there are some things that you can control and others that you can’t. You finish what you start, and you never run from something, but to something.”

Out of a marathon’s 26.2 miles, Chief Hamel said it is the first six that are the toughest.

“You go out easy and start out slow,” he said. “You’re taking in all the elements. Once you find your groove after those first few miles, it determines the rest of the race.”

When he nears the point in the race where he needs a boost to keep putting one foot in front of the other, Chief Hamel turns on his headset radio.

“I carry it with me through the race, but I do not turn it on until I reach that point,” he said. He turns the radio off during the last two miles. “That’s the real glory part of the race. When you know that the end is in sight, even if you have to crawl, you are there. You get to enjoy the cheers from the crowd and each time it’s a different experience when you cross the line. It’s the only way to go.”

His running crosses over into his career in ways other than his annual fitness test. The chief does not play up his running, but when he runs with his troops, he lets his running speak for itself.

“With today’s fit-to-fight force, it’s important for the troops to see that even an ‘old’ chief can hold his own” he said.

It is more than just his ability to run with his troops and smoke the fitness test that shows through in his work. It is the example Chief Hamel sets through the life lessons that running has helped him learn.

“I’ve learned that you finish what you start,” he said. “If you do that, you will not only be successful in running, but in your military career and in life.”