Manas welcomes spring with first-ever Bloomsday Run

Photo By Maj. Rickardo Bodden | Pyotr Chesnokov, an 85-year-old World War II veteran and resident of nearby Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, runs the first-ever Manas Air Base Bloomsday Run, May 4. Organized by several Airmen deployed from Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash., the 12-kilometer race was held the same day as the famous Spokane Lilac Bloomsday Run that has drawn out thousands of runners annually since 1977. For Washington state natives, Fairchild Airmen and all who crossed the finish line here, the run was an opportunity to feel closer to loved ones and neighbors back home and herald in spring 2009. Mr. Chesnokov has been running for the past 35 years since a doctor suggested he run to cure the partial paralysis of his left arm and leg as a result of wounds he suffered from Nazi machinegun fire during the 1943 battle of Kursk in the former Soviet Union.  

MANAS AIR BASE, KYRGYZSTAN

05.09.2009

Story by Maj. Rickardo Bodden 

376th Air Expeditionary Wing

MANAS AIR BASE, Kyrgyzstan -- To help put Kyrgyzstan's winter behind them and feel a little closer to home, Airmen deployed to Manas Air Base from the Spokane, Wash., area put on the base's first official 12-kilometer Bloomsday Run and drew out a diverse group of runners to kick things off.

Three dozen runners crossed the starting line 13 time zones before some 50,000 other runners did the same in the 33rd annual Lilac Bloomsday Run in Spokane. Under a hot morning sun, the Manas Bloomsday journey took participants down the perimeter road around the Manas International Airport runway shared by the base.

Organized by 1st Lt. Shane Moran and Capt. Katherine Christ, both KC-135R Stratotanker pilots deployed from Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash., the run's participants included U.S., French and Spanish Air Force personnel, Kyrgyz base employees, and even a local 85-year-old World War II veteran.

"This is a pretty popular event back in Spokane where the whole city comes out for some fresh air, exercise and festivities to shake off the winter blues," said Moran. "Fairchild has been deploying Airmen here nonstop since Manas stood up in December 2001. By putting on a Bloomsday Run, I think it helped many of us feel a little closer to home despite being so far away."

The Spokane Lilac Bloomsday Run has become an annual tradition the first Sunday in May since 1977. According to the event's official website, it was started by Don Kardong, an avid local runner, during the running boom that swept the United States in the late 1970s. It has since grown to average more than 50,000 runners and brings out scores of festivities and shows along the route.

Although Fairchild Airmen have held unofficial Bloomday runs in the past at Manas, this year they went a step further and reached out to the Bloomsday Run organizers back in Spokane. Captain Christ and Lieutenant Moran coordinated via e-mail with original run founder and race director, Don Kardong, to make it a success.

"Having just arrived at Fairchild last July, I haven't run the Spokane race yet and I didn't know a lot about its history," said the lieutenant. "I was surprised afterward to find out I was coordinating with the original founder of the Bloomsday Run. Don was very helpful in getting us the poster design and t-shirts for those who registered and the top three male and female finishers."

And while the Manas Bloomsday Run route was a bit less festive than the carnival-like atmosphere in Spokane, the race lived up to its name by offering runners a beautiful view of wildflowers in bloom along the way and the snow-capped Ala Too Mountains in the distance.

"We had a pretty decent turnout, including several who have run the Spokane Bloomsday Run," said Moran. "It was a little warm, but everyone who started finished."

The Manas Bloomsday Run veterans and first-timers also had the unique honor of completing the 12K race with a veteran of another kind; a World War II hero wounded 66 years ago during the epic 1943 battle of Kursk in the former Soviet Union.

Despite being nearly four times as old as the youngest participant, 85-year-old Pyotr Chesnokov completed the Bloomsday Run wearing a smile on his weathered face.

For the former Soviet infantryman, the Bloomsday Run was just another feather in the cap of an accomplished veteran runner who got a late start in running.

Wounded twice and placed in a mass grave, he was discovered by a team checking to make sure no wounded were buried. Chesnokov took up running at age 50 when a doctor suggested it might cure the partial paralysis he had in his left leg and arm as a result of being shot twice by Nazi machine gunners.

"I didn't want to walk with a cane the rest of my life so started running," said Chesnokov. "I could only run a few steps when I started, but I have since run in races in Russia and Central Asia, including the annual Moscow Victory Day run. I still run six days a week. When I heard about the Ganci Base run, I asked if I could join them and they said yes."

"It's not every day that someone gets to say they ran a 12K race with a decorated World War II veteran," said Capt. Jonathan Hannon, the 376th Air Expeditionary Wing protocol officer deployed from his job as the Washington State Air National Guard military personnel management officer. "It's also kind of interesting that I deployed 7,000 miles from my home in Washington to race in the Bloomsday Run."

For some Spokane-based Airmen who ran the race, the event helped make home seem that much closer.

"The run was awesome," said Lt. Col. Patrick Rhatigan, the 22nd Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron commander and a past Spokane Bloomsday Run veteran. "Everyone came out and had a great time, gave it their best and for those of us deployed from Fairchild, it made us feel a little closer to our Spokane neighbors and families back home."

• Date Taken: 05.09.2009
• Date Posted: 05.09.2009 13:51
• Story ID: 33428
• Location: MANAS AIR BASE, KG