Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Zane Craig | At the sound of "Go", the runners are off. The 14th Movement Control Battalion...... read more read more
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JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq - The 14th Movement Control Battalion hosted the “Shot through the Heart” 14K Valentine’s Day run Feb. 14 at Holt Stadium, Joint Base Balad, Iraq.
More than three hundred service members and civilians braved the pre-dawn chill to participate in the event, which began at 5:14 a.m., in honor of the holiday and the host unit.
“The main inspiration for us to host this event is the fact that Valentine’s Day is the 14th and we are the 14th Trans.,” said Capt. Elizabeth Sutey, coordinator of the event and a highway traffic division chief, 14th MCB, 224th Sustainment Brigade, 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), and a Fairfax, Va., native.
The run took place two days into the unit’s Relief In Place, where they are training their replacements and looking ahead to their transfer of authority ceremony in ten days.
“It’s a nice way for us to finish our deployment, with a fun event for the whole JBB community sponsored by us,” said Sutey.
Sutey and her team of five non-commissioned officers began planning for the Shot Through the Heart 14K in November, ordering T-shirts, coming up with a theme and initializing coordination among all the entities required to bring the event to life. More than 25 volunteers at three water points, were handing out T-shirts and keeping the runners on track and ensured a safe and enjoyable run for all participants.
“A big thank you to all the volunteers who were all out here at 4:15 a.m. this morning getting set up,” said Sutey.
The group of service members and civilians who participated was enthusiastic as they gathered at the start line waiting for the national anthem, the invocation and the cue to begin the race.
“I’m ecstatic about the turnout. I did not expect it, it’s early, it’s a longer run than a 5K or even 10K, and it’s pretty cold out for Iraq,” said Sutey.
“But I can’t wait to see them cross the finish line,” she added with a smile.
A medal was awarded to the top three male and female finishers, while everyone who finished received a T-shirt.
“It feels good to finish first, my goal was to finish in under 50 minutes and I did,” said Staff Sgt. Bill Lewis, Joint Defense Operations Center Platoon Sgt., 1st Battalion 174th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, United States Forces-Iraq, and a Cincinnati native.
Lewis said that Valentine’s Day isn’t one that he likes to celebrate anyway, so he couldn’t imagine a better way to celebrate than to win a 14K for his unit.
While not exactly most people’s ideal way of starting Valentine’s Day, running with members of our military family is a unique and invigorating way to feel the love on this holiday.
| Date Taken: | 02.14.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 02.20.2011 14:35 |
| Story ID: | 65781 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE BALAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 45 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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