Photo By Spc. Jason Dangel | Maj. Kurt Kinney, battalion surgeon, 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 2nd...... read more read more
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By Sgt. Jason Dangel
Combat Aviation Brigade, 4th Infantry Division
CAMP TAJI, Iraq – Despite a field of competitors heavily dominated by 25th Infantry Division Soldiers representing their home state of Hawaii, a small contingent of the "Lone Star" state Soldiers made their presence felt, respectively claiming a first and second place finish during the annual Honolulu Marathon Iraq satellite race held at Camp Taji on Dec. 14.
With Iraqi winter temperatures hovering around the mid-40s, Maj. Frederick Dufault, operations officer, 4th Combat Aviation Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad, from San Antonio, claimed a second place finish right behind Maj. Kurt Kinney, battalion surgeon assigned to the 2nd Brigade Stryker Team, 25th Inf. Div.
Both men were virtually neck and neck coming down the final leg of the 26.2 mile course, but Kinney, who originally hails from Utica, N.Y., managed to pull ahead for the victory, posting a time of 3:04:02. Dufault finished at 3:05:41.
It would only be 24 minutes later when an "Iron Eagle" brigade victory came to fruition as the silhouette of the first female finisher eclipsed the horizon.
With a large crowd of spectators cheering her on, Spc. Navidad Calderon, an administrative specialist assigned to Company A, 404th Avn. Support Battalion, crossed the finish line at an impressive 3:29:40, nabbing top honors for the women.
Calderon crushed the entire women's field by more than 12 minutes and placed eighth overall out of the 150 runners who finished the race.
"It's all about the training," Calderon said directly after coming away with the victory. "You can only push your body so far, but if you put your mind to something you can do it."
Calderon said she had been training for the event for months, devoting at least four hours every other day. During the several months of preparation leading up to the event, her training regiment consisted of eight to 10-mile runs and various other types of endurance building exercises.
For many of the spectators who attended the race, she looked like a seasoned vet, but on the other hand they would have never assumed that this was her first marathon...ever.
"This feels awesome," she said of the victory. "I can't compare this with anything else. My goal was to finish the race and coming in first place is definitely a plus."
Capt. Steven Meints, an attorney with the brigade's judge advocate office and native of Orlando, Fla., explained Soldiers of the "Iron Eagle" brigade take physical fitness seriously, which is an important part of being a Soldier.
"Both of our top competitors did an outstanding job, and their performance out here today really shows what kind of Soldiers we have in our formation," he said after finishing the race with a time of 3:49:26.
Meints placed 33rd overall while Capt. Lucas McMillan, Meints's colleague and training partner, took the 28th position with a time of 3:48:59.
Out of 168 registered competitors, 150 successfully finished the race. Each of the finishers received an authentic 2008 Honolulu Marathon T-Shirt and traditional Hawaiian lei.
Even though the race was not an official U.S. Track and Field sanctioned event, all the results will be posted on the Honolulu Marathon Association's official website at www.honolulumarathon.org.
| Date Taken: | 12.19.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 12.19.2008 19:47 |
| Story ID: | 27917 |
| Location: | TAJI, IQ |
| Web Views: | 647 |
| Downloads: | 536 |
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