Photo By Sgt. Spencer Rhodes | A runner with Joint Task Force Guantanamo’s Joint Detention Group approaches the...... read more read more
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GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba - Naval Station Guantanamo Bay’s
MWR hosts many races but only a few of them have a truly special significance for those involved. Having finally reached the point of normal breathing, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Kathleen Love reflected on the MWR’s evening race on Sept. 11.
“I think 9/11 is the reason that most of us are on Guantanamo Bay
and serving. A lot of us joined for that purpose and felt called after that day, and so this race has a lot of meaning for all of us as far as our families and those we serve for,” said Love after finishing Thursday night’s Sept. 11 remembrance 9.11K race.
The turnout for the race was significant, and runners ranged from 19 and under to 50-years-old and over. Parents and their children, husbands and wives, contractors and service members from the different walks of life found in the tiny GTMO community all came together for the commemorative run. While the personal significance of 9/11 is always different, for those in the military, the end result is often the same.
“It actually means a lot. I’ve been in the Army eight years now, and I can remember being in sixth grade when it happened, watching it on TV. All activity in the school just stopped, and we just
turned the TV on; no one went home, we were under a lock down,” said Spc. Cody Cox, a Soldier with Joint Task Force Guantanamo’s Joint Detention Group. “I enjoy the fact that I’m here in
GTMO because the mission, I feel like, it stands out for that reason, for 9/11.”
Starting and ending at Cooper Field, the race offered two routes for participants to choose from: a 5K run and a 9.11K run (roughly six miles). Runners with the red numbers ran the shorter race, and those with blue numbers ran the longer cross-country style 9.11 route.
The 9.11K route took runners parallel of Ferry Landing, winding back behind Camp Justice along the coast as sunset started to set in, the colored sky setting a poignant backdrop for the evening event.
Runners would start their turn around as they crossed the old airfield and were back on Sherman Avenue, running the last portion of the race to return to Cooper Field.
The first and second overall winners of the race were Army. Maj. Jason Small and Army Sgt. David Telsnik, who will be a part of the 525th MP battalion’s Army 10-Miler team bound for
Washington, D.C., this October.
It’s unusual to have an MWR race in the middle of the week, or in the evening, allowing runners to enjoy the cooler hours of the evening, instead of the increasingly hot hours of midday.
At the end of the night, with a smile and deep breath, Love said, “Actually I feel OK. You get your second wind towards the end of the race, and coming towards another group of service members
I had a great feeling about it and a great end to it.”
| Date Taken: | 09.19.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 09.19.2014 11:27 |
| Story ID: | 142704 |
| Location: | GUANTANAMO BAY, CU |
| Web Views: | 54 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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