Photo By Pvt. Kourtney Grimes | Army Staff Sgt. Casey Gore, stationed here with Public Health Command, Region South,...... read more read more
Subscribe
GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba - Naval Station Guantanamo Bay’s Northeast Gate is the longstanding portal that separates Cuba from the residents of GTMO. Contrary to the belief of anyone who hears the name Guantanamo Bay, the travel between the military base and Cuba is not as frequent and leisurely as most assume, but this was not always the case. For some time trips from GTMO to Cuba were open to GTMO residents on weekends, but this was thwarted when Cuban authorities kept a group of Sailors and Marines in Cuba under false pretenses. This instance injured the relations between Cuban authorities, furthermore, closing the gate only to be opened for Cuban workers and official business.
To commemorate GTMO’s iconic gate, MWR held a 12-mile run of which the halfway point was the Northeast Gate. Despite its possibly discouraging length, the participants of the run were present in number and effort.
“We had 51 runners so the turnout was great,” said Jim Holbert, MWR sports coordinator. “It was a unique opportunity to go up to the Northeast Gate. That’s why we had such a high number for a 12-mile run. It was close to a half-marathon.”
Among the runners were many faces familiar to those of Joint Task Force Guantanamo including Army Brig. Gen. Marion Garcia, JTF’s deputy commander, and Army Lt. Col. Roger Glenn, commander of the 391st Military Police Battalion.
“I was pleased with my performance,” said Glenn. “I haven’t done a lot of distance lately.”
But the story that follows his recent lack of lengthy runs is one that speaks highly of the dedication of the leadership here.
“I had back surgery in November for a ruptured disk, L5S1,” Glenn explained. “The doc at that time told me I wouldn’t run again, that I would have to walk and do stuff like that. So I did a good bit of research on trying to recover, and I stated running again in March. I was real slow. I wanted to go faster but I couldn’t. It was ugly, it was real ugly. I just had to work my way back into it. I haven’t run this far since November, and I had only done about six miles down here … That’s why I was pleased with just being able to finish 12 miles.”
Despite what could have ended his running career, Glenn was able to recover and continues to make progress. After the race he spoke of why he put in so much effort to recuperate.
“The reason that I run is to stay fit and try to live longer, so in my opinion anybody who is out running is winning.”
In the spirit of competition, the race had winners in age groups. The top three males’ times went to Army Staff Sgt. Casey Gore, Army Maj. Jason Small and Army Sgt. David Pelsnik. The females that made the top three were Navy Petty Officer 1st. Class Cherry Quick, Air Force Capt. Devon Messecar and Army Brig. Gen. Marion Garcia.
| Date Taken: | 08.30.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 09.08.2014 16:28 |
| Story ID: | 141468 |
| Location: | GUANTANAMO BAY , CU |
| Web Views: | 111 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Northeast Gate 12-Mile Run, by PV2 Kourtney Grimes, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT