By Spc. Curt CashourCoalition Forces Land Component Command Public Affairs OfficeMore than 1,000 service members and civilians participated in the Patton's Own version of the 10 Kilometer Peachtree Road Race July 4 at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait.The race was held in conjunction with the original Peachtree event. Held annually in Atlanta, the stateside race run by the Atlanta Track Club typically draws about 55,000 participants and is considered the world's most popular 10K road race.Minutes before the run's 5 a.m. start time, contestants mingled near the start point stretching, chatting and posing for photographs against a backdrop of patriotic tunes such as James Brown's "Living in America." Mark Woelzlein was actually slated to run in the Atlanta version of the race. He had to cancel his plans, however, when he received orders to deploy to Camp Doha with his unit, the 335th Theater Signal Command, an Army Reserve unit based at Camp Doha. He found out about the Patton's Own run about a week ago during his in-processing brief. Woelzlein, 43, was one of 13 335th Soldiers who left Doha at 3 a.m. to make the trip, he said.So why would someone want to brave the desert heat and rise in the wee hours of the morning for a run? "Just for the excitement, the challenge," said 40-year-old 335th Soldier Mark Benton. Bryan Abregano and Steven Ronquillo, both of the 487th Field Artillery, a National Guard unit from Oahu, Hawaii, got up at 3 a.m. to drive from Kuwaiti Naval Base to attend the run. Though they weren't competing, the pair made the trip so they could cheer on their squad leader Joe Kanwale.The event was the brainchild of Brig. Gen. William Johnson, director of movement and distribution management for Coalition Forces Land Component Command. Johnson, an Atlanta native who has participated in each of the last 26 Peachtree races, got the idea for the Patton's Own race last year while deployed to Kuwait.Johnson wasn't about to let his deployment prevent him from participating in the run, so he mapped out a 10K course at Camp Arifjan, completed his run, and sent the results to race proprietors back in Atlanta. Back then, he was the lone participant in Kuwait. This year, however, he worked with Atlanta Track Club staff to broaden overseas participation, he said.With a starter pistol in one hand and a cell phone in the other, Johnson kicked things off while talking to race proprietors who were standing at the start point in Atlanta.Robert Schnell, a 32-year-old with the 158th Corps Support Battalion, a National Guard unit from Arizona, finished first overall with a time of 34 minutes 5 seconds. Second place honors went to Michael Paul, a 27-year-old 335th member who came in with a time of 37 minutes 2 seconds. In addition to the more than 1,000 runners who participated in the Patton's Own run, approximately 1,000 service members ran in satellite races held July 3 at Camp Victory, Iraq and Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan. The track club waived the usual $20 fee for overseas participants and provided complimentary Peachtree T-shirts for race participants, Johnson said.
| Date Taken: | 07.07.2005 |
| Date Posted: | 07.07.2005 12:45 |
| Story ID: | 2278 |
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| Web Views: | 92 |
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