Deployed service members participate in Long Beach Half Marathon race held in Iraq

Photo By 1st Lt. Nathan Lavy | First Lt. Gladys Balderas, distribution reports officer with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 224th Sustainment Brigade, 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), and a San Diego, Calif., native, stands with 1st. Lt. Manuel Arino, personal security detachment officer-in-charge with HHC, 224th Sust. Bde., and a Temecula, Calif., native, after the Long Beach Half Marathon Run/Walk/Bike event Oct. 17 at Contingency Operating Base Adder, Iraq. Balderas finished third in the 30-34 female age group.  

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE ADDER, IRAQ

10.17.2010

Courtesy Story

224th Sustainment Brigade

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE ADDER, Iraq - Nearly 450 soldiers, airmen and civilian contractors participated in the Long Beach Half Marathon event Oct. 17 at Contingency Operating Base Adder, Iraq.

The event was hosted by the soldiers from Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 224th Sustainment Brigade, 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), from Long Beach, Calif. The event was held the same day as the full and half marathons that took place in Long Beach, Calif.

“The event overall was awesome,” said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Magda Mayo, support operations effects officer with HHC, 224th Sust. Bde., and a Pasadena, Calif., native, who helped coordinate the event. “I never imagined that so many would participate for the half marathon. No matter whether you biked, walked or ran, it took incredible stamina and drive to finish the 13.1 miles.”

Participants could choose to complete the event by running, walking or biking.

U.S. Army 2nd Lt. Jon Anderson, a platoon leader of B Battery, 3rd Battalion, 29th Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Advise and Assist Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, and a Cinnaminson, N.J., native, was the fastest male who completed the marathon in one hour, 12 minutes, 46 seconds.

Cpl. Kalynn Waltrip, a medic with B Company, 67th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd AAB, 1st Inf. Div., and a Phelan, Calif., native, was the fastest female who completed the run in 1:26:02.

Capt. Michael Ruffin, commander of Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 2nd Squadron, 108th Cavalry Regiment, 224th Sust. Bde. and a Baton Rouge, La., native, was the third place Soldier, finishing in 1:21:18.

“I run about 45-50 miles a week; I’m training for a Houston marathon in January,” said Ruffin. “I’m a lead-by-example commander, and I want my guys to excel in physical fitness. I want to inspire and motivate them to do better. I think it was a great event; I’ve seen it in a runner magazine. The weather was beautiful and I thought it was well done.”

U.S. Army 1st Lt. Gladys Balderas, distribution reports officer with HHC, 224th Sust. Bde. and a San Diego native, finished third in the 30-34 female age group. She explains her training leading up to the race.

“I have been running with a few other soldiers on the weekends leading up to the half marathon,” said Balderas. “For example, on Sundays, it would be six miles, then next Sunday would be eight, and the final Sunday before the race was 10 miles. We would meet up at 5:15, stretch, and then take off. I would always do the 5K’s every Wednesday, and on Fridays run on my own at the gym.”

Every participant was motivated to compete for a different reason; Balderas’ had personal and family motivations.

“I quit smoking over 2 months ago to prepare for the APFT [Army Physical Fitness Test] and the marathon,” added Balderas. “Additionally, I wanted to be able to show my son what putting forth maximum effort can achieve if you want it bad enough.”

Spc. Alana Alamon-Scott, a paralegal specialist with HHC, 224th Sust. Bde., and a Victorville, Calif., native, completed the event on her bicycle. Due to technical problems, it took her longer to complete the race than she expected.

“About seven miles after starting the marathon, I looked down at the tires of the bike and realized they were flat,” explained Alamon-Scott. “So I had to walk to the second water point where Sgt. Maj. [John] Eden picked me up and drove me back to get a bicycle pump. I was really exhausted. However, I did not want to let my friends down. So I grabbed the bike pump and my assault pack. At the second water point I pumped up the tires of the bike and continued on. By this time, all the runners and walkers were on the road. So as I was passing them, I was thinking ‘Maybe I can catch up to my friends.’ This thought turned out to be just that as I looked down at the tires, realizing that they were flat again.”

After this, Alamon-Scott said that she had to put air in her tires several more times until she completed the race.

“After I crossed the finish line, I had such a sense of accomplishment,” she said. “I can say I rode a bike in a 13-mile [half] marathon. I can say I was a participant in the Long Beach Marathon.”
Through sponsorship, race participants received T-shirts, medals, goodie bags, bibs, and raffle prizes.

• Date Taken: 10.17.2010
• Date Posted: 10.31.2010 08:13
• Story ID: 59161
• Location: CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE ADDER, IQ