Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Mary Junell | More than 200 race participants take off at the starting line during the Minuteman...... read more read more
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RALEIGH, N.C. – The North Carolina National Guard hosted more than 200 racers for a series of race events at the North Carolina Joint Force Headquarters on May 18, in Raleigh, N.C.
The Minuteman Muster included an eight-kilometer run, a four-hour adventure race that included biking, land navigation and a rope course, and a duathalon consisting of an 8-kilometer run and 24-kilometer bike race, giving participants an option for how they would race that day.
The races were held near the Joint Force Headquarters Building as well as William B. Umstead State Park and the Carl Alwin Schenck Memorial Forest.
The Minuteman Muster also acted as large-scale community outreach initiative for citizens of Wake County and surrounding counties, designed to demonstrate the collaborative, multi-agency domestic response mission of the North Carolina National Guard and its many emergency-response partner agencies.
Several displays were set up to show the community some of the equipment the National Guard and emergency-response teams use, including Humvees and a State Police helicopter.
This is not the first year the races have been held, but it is the first year they were opened to the members of the community. Army Lt. Col. Brad Orr, who has been in charge of the Minuteman Muster for 24 years, said he always wanted to see the race become an event that the local community participated in.
“We wanted to have a large-scale community outreach and hold an open house so we could interact with the community and tell our story,” said Orr, who serves with Joint Force Headquarters. “I think for a first time event it went well.”
“I’ve been running the Minuteman Muster since I was a private first class and I’ve always wanted to see this thing take advantage of our relationship with the community,” Orr said.
Army ROTC Cadet Sebacian Hall, a student attending N.C. State University and a member of the N.C. National Guard, said the level of fitness demonstrated at the race shows how important physical fitness is in the military.
“It’s incredible,” said Hall, who ran in the eight-kilometer race. “Some of the older Guard guys were smoking everybody in the race.”
Orr said that this event shows citizens that the N.C. National Guard is always ready to face what challenges come their way.
“The community gets to see our equipment and they see the caliber of our soldiers that are not only showing them the equipment, but participating alongside them in a competitive event,” Orr said. “We are demonstrating our personal fitness and readiness by competing in a race with them and sometimes even beating them. I think it’s a first-hand witness of our soldiers’ level of readiness.”
The Minuteman Muster also helped raise $2,500 for the N.C. National Guard Association Education Foundation, an organization that provides scholarships to students for study at accredited learning institutions.
Overall winners for the eight-kilometer race in the were Bryan Langan, of Wilmington, N.C. with a time of 28:57:00 in the men’s division and Andrea Smythe, of Raleigh, N.C. with a time of 34:27:00 in the women’s division.
Top racers for the duathalon was Richard Kirby, of Southern Pines, N.C. for the male division with a time of 1:23:43, and Marcey Rader, of Raleigh, N.C. for the women’s division with a time of 1:41:13.
The winner of the adventure race was based on points gained for time, reaching each destination on the map and completing tasks like carrying a sandbag. The overall winner completed the course in a little over three hours and scored 500 points.
| Date Taken: | 05.18.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 07.10.2013 10:48 |
| Story ID: | 109967 |
| Location: | RALEIGH, NC, US |
| Hometown: | RALEIGH, NC, US |
| Hometown: | SOUTHERN PINES, NC, US |
| Hometown: | WILMINGTON, NC, US |
| Web Views: | 66 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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