Soldiers Participate in Early Morning Marathon

Photo By Spc. Cal Turner | Capt. Christopher Widell, Headquarter and Headquarters Troop, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, 1st Lt. Liv Isham, Company C, 215th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd BCT, Capt. Mike Anderson, HHT, 215th BSB, and 1st Lt. Kristen Anderson, Co. C, 215th BSB, run on rough roads on Forward Operating Base Warhorse, in Baqubah, Iraq, for the Austin Marathon, Feb. 18.  

BAQUBAH, IRAQ

02.21.2007

Story by Spc. Ryan Stroud 

3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division

By Spc. Ryan Stroud
3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs

BAQUBAH, Iraq (Feb. 18, 2007) - A mixture of Army, Air Force, Navy and civilian contractors ran in the 26.2 mile long Austin Marathon and Half Marathon at Forward Operating Base Warhorse in Baqubah, Iraq, Feb. 18.

Having the Austin Marathon in Iraq was the brainchild of Capt. Christopher Widell, Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 3rd "Grey Wolf" Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division. Widell and his wife started running together over a year ago, and entered the Austin Distance Challenge together before his deployment to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom 06-08.

"I started running just for fun over a year ago with my wife," said Widell. "She decided to do the Austin Distance Challenge, which is a series of six races that starts with a 6K and ends with the Austin Marathon."

Widell knew his wife would be running the Austin Marathon and so would he. He was going to live up to his end of the bargain.

"I think it's pretty cool," continued Widell. "[My wife and I] each have goals and it keeps us from constantly thinking about how bad we miss each other. We can ask each other about training and how it's going. It is a little bit of a bond between us (while I'm deployed)."

And that's when Widell decided to bring the Austin Marathon to the Soldiers of Grey Wolf. These Fort Hood, Texas, based Soldiers were given the opportunity to partake in an event which is highly regarded by many people of the central Texas region.

As the morning of the event came, Widell wasn't expecting many participants for the early morning race. He was surprised by the final turnout.

"I was really impressed with the turnout," Widell said. "When I first started talking about this in late December, early January, I was thinking maybe only 15 people would show up. But 48, that's amazing."

Supporters and volunteers for the race lined different areas around the FOB and served the runners water and food when they passed by. There was also a large group of supporters and Soldiers cheering for the runners as they crossed the finish line. Some Soldiers keeping up with their time, other just happy they finished the 13 and 26 mile course.

"I was very surprised," said Capt. Nicolas Sheldon, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 5th Iraqi Army Military Transition Team attached to the 3rd BCT, about finishing first in the half marathon. Sheldon said the secret to his success was running for an hour straight each time he ran for physical training.

"Typically, I'm on missions three days a week and planning for missions the other four," said the Utica, N.Y., native. "Every single planning day, I make sure I get an hour in of running. Running like that for a month will help get you ready."

Capt. Christopher Bennett, Company C, 215th Brigade Support Battalion, and Staff Sgt. Jose Chavarin, 113th Combat Stress Patrol attached to Grey Wolf, said they were just happy to finish the event.

"It is a good feeling to finish," said Chavarin. "This is an accomplishment that helps keep our minds out of the reality that we are going through right now."

"It's a good separation from the war zone," he said. "This is a nice change to the routine of being out here."

"There is a good connection there," said Bennett. "I'm about to go home on leave and doing this right before I go brings me a little bit closer to home."

Bennett and Chavarin trained together in preparation for the event, pushing each other to better themselves and to achieve their goal of finishing.

"We have been training together for a while, so for us to start and finish together is awesome," said Bennett.

And the sense of accomplishment was just what Widell was hoping for.

"I hope the Soldiers that ran take a sense of accomplishment with them," said Widell. "I know a lot of these guys have never ran a half or full marathon, so this is big for them."

"And with the Soldiers training and preparing for the race, I hope this took them away from the 'Groundhog Day' feeling that Iraq can be," he added.

Widell also hopes the Soldiers gain a sense of appreciation for the sport.

"Running is fun; it's a healthy sport," he said. "There is really nothing bad about running at all. And it has brought a lot of people together today to set goals and accomplish something big."

• Date Taken: 02.21.2007
• Date Posted: 02.21.2007 13:16
• Story ID: 9209
• Location: BAQUBAH, IQ