Marines bring marathon to Camp Leatherneck

Photo By Gunnery Sgt. Kimberly Leone | Maj. Lauren Edwards (left), future operations and engineer officer, Combat Logistics Regiment 2, Marine Expeditionary Brigade-Afghanistan, and 1st Lt. Erin Demchko, maintenance management officer, Marine Wing Support Squadron 371, Marine Aircraft Group 40, Marine Expeditionary Brigade-Afghanistan, trained side-by-side during their deployment to Camp Leatherneck, Helmand province, Afghanistan. Edwards said training with Demchko, her teammate on the All-Marine Running Team, got her in the best shape ever.  

CAMP LEATHERNECK, AFGHANISTAN

09.27.2009

Story by Gunnery Sgt. Kimberly Leone 

2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade

CAMP LEATHERNECK, Helmand province, Afghanistan — Lauren Edwards and Erin Demchko love running.

Edwards, a major currently assigned to Combat Logistics Regiment 2, Marine Expeditionary Brigade-Afghanistan, took up running as a 10-year-old girl growing up in Smiths Grove, Ky. More than 24 years later, she finds herself battling the rock-strewn roads and pervasive "moon dust" of Camp Leatherneck in order to get her running fix.

"I love running because it is the one time of the day that is really my own," said Edwards. "It is the time of day when I can go out, solve problems, relieve stress, or just enjoy what's around me."

Around here, MRAPs and colorful jingle trucks stir up clouds of fine sand that mix with smoke from burn pits and fumes from aircraft. Throw in the suffocating heat of the Afghanistan summer; the pocked, gravel roadways of the camp, its location approximately 3,000 feet above sea level, and it's "an absolute challenge" to run here, according to Edwards. But Edwards hasn't just run for the fun of it while deployed, she's also training for a marathon.

And Demchko, a first lieutenant assigned to Marine Wing Support Squadron 371, Marine Aircraft Group 40, has loped through the puffs of moon dust right next to Edwards. The duo, both members of the All-Marine Running Team and both intent on participating in the 2009 Marine Corps Marathon, started training for the October race as soon as Edwards arrived at Camp Leatherneck in May.

"Last spring I found out that I wouldn't make it back to join the team for the Marine Corps Marathon in D.C.," Edwards said. "But when I heard 'Evil', my nickname for lieutenant Demchko, was also deploying, I told coach [All-Marine Running Team Coach Joe Puleo] that I wanted to stay in shape as best I could and once I found out the environment over here, I would train."

Evil, so nicknamed for making a Marine throw up on a run, arrived at Camp Leatherneck ahead of Edwards and wrote to her that the training environment "was decent." Edwards told Puleo the two would train together in preparation for the October race even though Edwards would not be in the States to participate.

"In the back of my mind, I then considered organizing the marathon here," she said. "But not knowing the op tempo or how it would be received, I simply threw my racing uniform in the bottom of my seabag and buried the thought."

Shortly after Demchko and Edwards began dedicating the early mornings of their deployment to racking up miles on their running shoes, Edwards revisited the idea of bringing a satellite Marine Corps Marathon to Camp Leatherneck.

"Once I discovered how big the whole of Bastion, Leatherneck, and the airfield combined really were, I thought about the marathon again," she said. "I was skeptical as to how it would be received due to our very high op tempo at the time, but the [commanding general] was extremely enthusiastic about the idea. Not only did he give me the green light, but he also encouraged me to make the event as big as possible."

Working with personnel from the Brigade Headquarters Group, 5th Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, Edwards identified and received approval for a 26.2 mile route that wraps around Camp Leatherneck, Camp Bastion, and the flight line. Edwards and a team of helpers from CLR-2 have rounded up volunteers and identified supporters in the states who will provide door prizes for some lucky participants.

"We've got support from Brooks, Wiley X, Runner's World, USAA, GENER8, and Gu Energy," said Edwards, who continues to work with the organizers of the official Marine Corps Marathon to ensure the Camp Leatherneck satellite race is recognized and participants' scores are recorded.

"The Marine Corps marathon is the most important race on the calendar for the All-Marine Running Team," said Demchko. "We run it every year and when we cannot make it because of deployments we try to run it any way we can."

Demchko returned to the States in late September and will participate in the Marine Corps Marathon Oct. 25 in Washington, D.C. About 11 hours prior to the start of the Washington, D.C. event, Edwards and more than 230 runners will head out in a puff of moon dust — participants in the first ever Marine Corps Marathon Afghanistan.

• Date Taken: 09.27.2009
• Date Posted: 10.13.2009 16:16
• Story ID: 40054
• Location: CAMP LEATHERNECK, AF