All around town: US Soldiers take part in Marathon in Lithuania

Photo By Staff Sgt. James Avery | Lithuanian Land Forces Commander, Maj. Gen. Almantas Leika, ran the 13-mile half-marathon portion of the 12th annual Vilnius Marathon held on the streets of Old Vilnius Center, Sept. 13, 2015. Along with the LLF’s Mechanized Infantry Brigade "Iron Wolf" and the U.S. Army’s Dog Company, 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade, the two militaries ran 45.2 miles combined over the full 26-mile marathon half-marathon and 10 kilometer races. The Soldiers of Dog Company are in Europe as part of Atlantic Resolve, a demonstration of continued U.S. commitment to the collective security of NATO and to enduring peace and stability in the region. U.S. Army Europe is leading Atlantic Resolve enhanced land force multinational training and security cooperation activities taking place across Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, and Bulgaria to ensure multinational interoperability, strengthen relationships among allied militaries, contribute to regional stability and demonstrate U.S. commitment to NATO. (U.S. Army Photo by Sgt. James Avery, 16th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment)  

VILNIUS, LITHUANIA

09.13.2015

Story by Sgt. James Avery 

7th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

VILNIUS, Lithuania – The 12th annual Vilnius Marathon was run today that wound it’s way through 13 miles of downtown and Old Vilnius center where U.S. Army and Lithuanian Land Forces Soldiers took part.

Amid the ancient buildings and picturesque tourist areas of the city center of Vilnius, a massive throng of people gathered to be a part of the Vilnius Marathon, which also branched down into a half-marathon (13 miles) and a 10-kilometer run.

Among the participants were U.S. Soldiers from Dog Company, 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade, whom had just completed a week long training exercise in Rukla called Engineer Thunder, and LLF Soldiers from Mechanized Infantry Brigade "Iron Wolf" (MIB IW), including Maj. Gen. Almantas Leika, the LLF Commander.

Taking part in the full marathon, 1st Lt. Ty Boyle, a platoon leader with the 173rd Airborne Brigade, an avid runner who takes personal pride in his platoon and his personal health seriously, saw no reason not to run, even though just 24 hours before he was parachuting from a UH-60M Blackhawk helicopter with his platoon.

“I’ve done a few marathons before this one,” said Boyle, a 27-year-old native of International Falls, Minn. “It’s a personal goal of mine to be able to compete in a marathon after a week’s hard training followed by a jump yesterday.”

Focus, however, was not merely on the military’s participation. Civilians from various parts of the country, and the world, ran together. One such person was Paulius Berenis, a customer service representative with Delta Airlines who was born and raised in Vilnius, but who has been living in Chicago, Ill. for more than 10 years.

“I’m happy to see the American military here, showing support for Lithuania,” said Berenis. “I’m glad to have them here, and pleased to see them taking part in our culture.”

1st place winner of the marathon was Teklu Getu from Ethiopia, with a time of 2:26:40. The Vilnius marathon course record of 2:21:15 was set by Richard Rotich from Kenya in 2007. The woman’s record of 2:43:13 was set by Vaida Žūsinaitė of Lithuania during the 2014 Vilnius marathon.

• Date Taken: 09.13.2015
• Date Posted: 09.13.2015 16:29
• Story ID: 175885
• Location: VILNIUS, LT
• Hometown: VILNIUS, LT
• Hometown: CHICAGO, IL, US
• Hometown: INTERNATIONAL FALLS, MN, US