Courtesy Photo | Runners turn the corner on a paved part of the AUSA Ten-Miler race course on Camp...... read more read more
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CAMP BUERHING, Kuwait - Sand, rocks, broken pavement, heat. Runners conquered these and more at the Sixth Annual Association of the United States Army Ten-Miler race on Camp Buerhing, Kuwait, Oct. 3.
The desert version of the race offered deployed personnel who could not make it to the Ten-Miler in Washington, D.C., the opportunity to run – a timeless Army activity that is part of soldiers’ lives even when they are deployed. Volunteers from the military; Morale, Welfare and Recreation; the USO and AUSA all worked together to set up the event and provide runners water, fruit, T-shirts and awards.
Runners of all ability levels came to Buerhing from more than four camps in Kuwait. The race was a particularity fast one, as two runners, Capt. Elias Gonzalez and Capt. Robin Herndon, set camp records for male and female runners. Gonzalez, a member of the 53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, crossed the finish line in less than an hour at 59 minutes, 2 seconds. Herndon, who represented the Air Force, came in at 1:07.22.
While the speedsters stole the show, other runners set records of their own. Petty Officer 2nd Class Chris Esperti, a Navy Customs agent, said he trained his way up to the event, and the 10-mile distance was the final test.
“I’ve been running for about six, seven months. I got up to about eight miles a day, so this is my longest run for a race,” he said. When asked his time, Esperti knew it to the second. “1 hour 15 minutes and 32 seconds. I missed third place in my age group by a minute.”
Other runners took on the race without having completed an organized training plan. Staff Sgt. Alejandro Aguilar, from Madera, Calif., is a National Guard soldier with the 1836th Transportation Company. He said he has run in Esprit de Corps and Battalion runs, but the 10-Miler was his time to see what he was made of.
“I just heard about it, and I wanted to do it to see if I could still do it. I’m 39 years old, but I still have it in me,” he said after the race. Aguilar crossed the finish line in 1:24.00. “It was painful,” he said with a smile. He declared that he passed his personal test by finishing the race. “I’m not hurt, until tomorrow, anyway,” he said.
Aguilar, who is a Boarder Patrol agent in his civilian career, said the desert course offered unexpected surprises. “There [were] a couple spots where it was kind of rocky and bumpy…. That was kind of unexpected. I know there were some tank trails back there where it was really bad so you had to find a good spot to trot along in,” said Aguilar, who has been deployed for six months.
The terrain was not too harsh to slow Aguilar down, however. “All in all, I think it was one of the better courses I’ve ran. There was only one major hill, I thought. To most people it probably wouldn’t be a hill, but to me it was. I think it was around the fifth mile where it popped up,” he said.
Aguilar laughed as he recounted his thoughts during the last mile of the race. “Honestly, I didn’t even know where the last mile was. I just looked at the water tower ‘cuz you knew when you saw that water tower that was basically where it was going to finish off.”
Other runners came to the 10-Miler with a long resume of running experience and practice. Col. Jorge Klajnbart, deputy surgeon for Third Army, traveled from Camp Arifjan for the race. He placed second in the 50 plus age group with a time of 1:18.52.
An orthopedic surgeon, Klajnbart said he has been running for about 10 years. He said as he ran the last mile of the race, he thought “I can’t wait ‘till it’s over. I can’t wait to get sprinkled by the fire truck. But I felt good. I did. I ran it in under 80 minutes so that was my goal. I accomplished my goal.”
Klajnbart said the course - with its sand, rocks and dips - was all in the name of the desert run. “It was perfect. I loved it.” Although it is an Army event, the race had a good mix of runners, Klajnbart added. “It’s good to see Army, Air Force, everybody running together.”
Command Sgt. Maj. John D. Fourhman, Third Army command sergeant major, ran the race in 1:16.04. He presented awards to the top-placing runners after the race. The desert 10-Miler is an example of how Third Army encourages soldiers to stay active in support of the mission and the physical aspect of Comprehensive soldier Fitness.
“Events like this are fun, but the underlying thing that goes into this is personal fitness,” said Fourhman, who plans on running the 10-Miler in Washington, Oct. 24.
The event had a joint-service and civilian turn out of about 500, Fourhman said, adding that in the spirit of the Army race, “everyone left feeling Army strong.”
| Date Taken: | 10.03.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 10.03.2010 11:53 |
| Story ID: | 57428 |
| Location: | CAMP BUEHRING, KW |
| Web Views: | 304 |
| Downloads: | 9 |
This work, Partial Pavement? No Problem: Deployed Runners Tackle Army Ten-Miler in Kuwait, by Natalie Cole, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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