407th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs

Story by Francesca Popp

By Tech. Sgt. Francesca Popp
407th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs

ALI BASE, Iraq – While many marathon participants in Dayton, Ohio, may have been winding down the night before the race, runners at Ali Base began pacing themselves with the sound of a car horn.

More than 70 Airmen, Soldiers, Sailors and civilians – American and Romanian -- took off into the darkness in hopes of finishing first, but that honor went to Bruce Kraft, a 39-year-old Air Force technical sergeant from Watertown, S.D.

Kraft crossed the finish line with a time of 3:30:58. He said this was his third Air Force Marathon and that it was an "awesome surprise" to place first overall here.

"There were four [runners] ahead of me from about mile three and I guess they dropped out at the half. When I caught that lead guy at about 21 miles, I couldn't believe it," said Kraft, who hit the wall around 19 miles.

More than 17 minutes went by when Stephanie Crawford, an Army first lieutenant assigned to the 530th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, was the first female overall to finish with a time of 3:58:18. Crawford, 30, is originally from Sierra Vista, Ariz., and is deployed from Fort Lee, Va.

"The course was good, but by the end there was so few people ... I was just looking at the ground," she said about completing her first marathon. "This was mental ... just thinking about the race gave me a lot of anxiety last might and the day before. Completing a marathon was a goal of mine when I first deployed here in August 2007."

Melvin L. Wade, an Army sergeant assigned to Detachment 1, 962nd Ordnance Company, was the first male to finish the half marathon. Wade finished the 13.1 miles in 1:28:00. He is a reservist out of Plattsburg, N.Y., who hails from Willsboro, N.Y.

The first female to finish the half marathon was Shannon Gaffney, an Air Force captain (doctor) deployed from McGuire Air Force Base, N.J. Gaffney, an Albany, N.Y., native, finished the course in 1:44:19.

There was a clear sky, a slight desert breeze blew and the temperature hovered around 77 degrees at about 4:30 a.m. as the race began. To complete the 26.2-mile race, runners here were required to circle the 13.1-mile marathon route twice. The course, which was over gravel and sand at some locations, took runners past living areas, around the flightline and back to the starting point behind the 407th Air Expeditionary Group headquarters. The Air Force Marathon Iraq included a full and half marathon, 10-mile race option and a team relay.

When Kraft crossed the finish line, it was 85 degrees and the sun's hot rays were beating down on the pavement.

"The heat and keeping hydrated [made this course tough]," said Kraft, who is assigned to the 407th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron here, but is deployed from Ellsworth AFB, S.D. "But, it's easier compared to the Air Force Marathon in Dayton because that course has hills."

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