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    108th ADA soldiers run the ridge

    108th ADA soldiers run the ridge

    Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Regina Machine | Twelve soldiers from Maintenance Battery, 3rd Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery...... read more read more

    FORT BRAGG, NC, UNITED STATES

    09.06.2013

    Courtesy Story

    108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade

    FORT BRAGG, N.C. - Twelve soldiers from Maintenance Battery, 3rd Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade participated in the Blue Ridge Relay Sept. 6-7.

    The 208-mile Blue Ridge Relay is one of the longest running relay races within the United States. It takes place in the Blue Ridge and Black Mountains of Virginia and North Carolina.

    The relay consists of 12-person teams that rotate as they cover the 208-mile distance of the race. Each relay team member runs three legs of varying lengths and difficulty. The runners rotate in a set order once the race begins and will follow this rotation until the final runner finishes in Asheville, N.C.

    This year's Blue Ridge team was lead by 1st Lt. Jason Peterson, the battery's executive officer.

    "We had created a team for the Army 10-miler and the soldiers wanted to keep running like that and since PT is really important to me, I was willing to continue," said Peterson, an Atlanta native. "We had the eight-mile Spartan race two weeks ago as a warm up."

    Like Peterson, Spc. Jackson Langat feels that physical training is extremely important and wanted to help everyone stay active and healthy after the Army 10-miler.

    "I joined the group because of the benefits I knew I was going to get on a personal level," said Langat, a native of Kenya and a four-time certified NCAA All American athlete. "We have all helped each other to get where we need to be."

    For Spc. Kasondra Tiller it was the thought of being on a team that caused her to sign up for the relay.

    "I played a lot of sports in high school and college, and I just wanted to be on a real team again," said Tiller, the only female on the team and an Oneida, N.Y., native. "The guys really watched out for me and they were really helpful. They motivated me to run at their pace, which has helped me drastically in my two-mile PT test."

    Staff Sgt. Luis Vazquez was the oldest runner on the team and has been running in the Army for more than 16 years. Vazquez expressed his pride for the team and their accomplishment.

    "I've never framed my wedding pictures or anything like that, but I’m framing this," said Vazquez, a native of Puerto Rico. "I have my number, and a map of the routes I ran framed. This is by far my biggest accomplishment in my Army career."

    In addition to these small mementos, the runners came away with a renewed outlook on their health and physical fitness.

    "We run with no excuses. We push each other and ourselves. We all realized we can push ourselves and our bodies way more than we ever imagined," said Vazquez.

    Given the opportunity, all of the soldiers on the team said they would run the relay again.

    “The race was such a test of both physical and mental endurance. I am so proud of all the work they have put in. The day after the race they were already talking about what race we would do next,” said Peterson.

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 09.06.2013
    Date Posted: 09.11.2013 14:53
    Story ID: 113455
    Location: FORT BRAGG, NC, US
    Hometown: ATLANTA, GA, US
    Hometown: ONEIDA, NY, US

    Web Views: 192
    Downloads: 0

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