Photo By Staff Sgt. Ian M. Terry | Gerard Welling (left) completes the Army Ten-Miler shadow run on Kandahar Airfield,...... read more read more
KANDAHAR AIR FIELD, Afghanistan – Despite being separated from the official event in Washington by more than 7,000 miles and eight time zones, service members and civilians stationed on Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan, participated in the Army Ten-Miler foot race, Oct. 23.
The official Army Ten-Miler, held Oct. 24, is now in its 26th consecutive year, and is the largest 10-mile running event in the U.S. This year, 30,000 runners participated.
In KAF's shadow run, 383 runners competed, with 100 percent finishing the race.
The fastest woman on the KAF course was U.S. Army Capt. Bonnie S. Kovatch, officer in charge of human resources for 2nd Battalion, 17th Cavalry Regiment, 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, with a time of 1 hour, 14 minutes, 48 seconds.
The fastest man on the KAF course was U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Chris R. Edgerton, a security forces advisor with the 738th Air Expeditionary Advisory Group, with a time of 1:02:30.
Second and third place in the women's category went to U.S. Marine Corps 1st Lt. Angela D. Kandibo, a material control officer with Marine Fighter Attack F-18 Squadron, with a time of 1:15:43, and Bernadette Rogash, a medic at KAF's emergency care clinic from Australia, with a time of 1:16:13.
Second and third place in the men's category went to Bjorn Reynders, with a time of 1:03:02, and Karel Vandenbussche with a time of 1:03:14. Both Reynders and Vandenbussche are from Belgium.
When asked how it felt to win the top spot of the day, Edgerton answered simply, "Better, now." This was Edgerton’s first Army Ten-Miler.
Kovatch said she has run the Army Ten-Miler a handful of times, and she expressed surprise at her performance on KAF.
“It is not a personal best,” said Kovatch, “but for where I am in my training, I’m satisfied.”
For Reynders, Vandenbussche and Rogash, when asked how they felt, answered "Good," "Great," and "Brilliant," respectively. Such brevity is conspicuously common among runners just across the finish line of a long race.
Kandibo has run several races on KAF, but said this is her first Army Ten-Miler. Once she caught her breath, she expressed her feeling with great enthusiasm. "I feel great," she said. "I feel refreshed. Let's do it again!"
It was unclear whether Kandibo wished to repeat the race immediately or after a period of recuperation.
The KAF run was hosted by two U.S. Army units currently deployed on Kandahar Air Field: The 643rd Regional Support Group, an Army Reserve unit based in Columbus, Ohio, and the 591st Medical Logistics Detachment out of Fort Sam Houston, Texas.
The man behind organizing KAF's Ten-Miler was U.S. Army Capt. Benjamin Uhl, an optometrist on KAF, from the Iowa Army Reserve in Sioux City. Uhl is now attached to the 591st MEDLOG.
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Judith L. Treadway from the 643rd RSG, and her team, headed by Staff Sgt. John M. Owens, were largely responsible for the heavy lifting in getting the race from conception to execution.
Runners in the race ranged in age from 19 to 67 years old. John Farrar, 67, crossed the finish line at 2:21:13, and he expressed great appreciation to Gerard Welling who stayed by his side every step of the way.
The inaugural Army Ten-Miler, held in 1985, had 1,600 registered runners with 1,379 completing the event. The inaugural overall best time of 50:05 belongs to Kevin McGarry.
Last year, the event's silver anniversary, saw an overall best time of 46:59 by Alene Reta. Reta's time is the new record, shutting out Maj. Dan Browne's record from 2004 of 47:32. Samia Akbar broke the long-standing female record of 56:20, held by Susan Molloy since 1995. Akbar’s new record time is 55:25.
No records were broken in 2010.
| Date Taken: | 10.23.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 10.25.2010 08:11 |
| Story ID: | 58735 |
| Location: | KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, AF |
| Web Views: | 384 |
| Downloads: | 9 |
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