Army Medical Unit Completes Race in Baghdad

Photo By Staff Sgt. Alex Manne | U.S. Army Soldiers Spc. Brycen Bowers, left, and Spc. Aaron Hodge, right, assigned to Charlie Company, 2nd Brigade, 502nd Infanty Regiment, 101st Airborne Divison, run with their body armor while participating in the Army 10-Miler held near Baghdad, Iraq on Oct. 9, 2016. 132 American, French, Belgian, Polish, Italian and Spanish service members and civilian contractors completed the shadow run at the Baghdad location. The Army 10-Miler is held every October in Arlington, Va. and Washington, D.C. with shadow runs sponsored at various locations worldwide for deployed service members. This year, over 35,000 runners participated in the race at seventeen global locations, including the main race held in Washington, D.C. (U.S. Army Photo by Staff Sgt. Alex R. Manne)  

BAGHDAD, IRAQ

10.09.2016

Story by 1st Lt. Erick Thronson 

28th Combat Support Hospital

Upon arriving to Iraq in mid-summer, members of the 28th Combat Support Hospital expressed an interest in coordinating a shadow run of the Army 10-Miler, after realizing the unit had several long-distance runners in its ranks. U.S. Army Maj. Daniel Brillhart, an emergency medicine physician with the 28th Combat Support Hospital, was one of those who wanted to participate. “I’ve run the Army 10-Miler in Washington, D.C. before and I thought it would be a great opportunity for us to do something fun and active while we’re out here.”
Almost every soldier from the 70-person contingent of the 28th Combat Support Hospital was involved in the weekend’s activities. Those who did not run filled support functions, registering runners, helping to set up and tear down equipment, staffing water points, providing medical coverage, and tracking finish-times.
“We had a great race…I wanted to thank everyone for coming out to take part in the event. I also want to thank all the volunteers that gave up their time to help make this event happen. We could not have done it without you,” stated event-coordinator Sgt. 1st Class Joel Haarstad after the race.
The Army 10-Miler is an annual event held every October in Washington, D.C., with shadow runs held in various locations around the globe for deployed service members. The race, first started in 1985 as a fitness initiative at The Pentagon, has grown in popularity since then and is now the second largest 10-mile race in the United States with numbers of registrants growing every year. This year, over 35,000 runners participated in the Washington, D.C. race alone, with shadow runs held in 16 locations worldwide.

• Date Taken: 10.09.2016
• Date Posted: 10.15.2016 02:29
• Story ID: 212095
• Location: BAGHDAD, IQ