AMCOM’s runners make good time despite D.C. heat

Photo By Kari Hawkins | The Aviation and Missile Command’s Capt. Austin Cheng, left, and Capt. Quinton Watkins hold the coins they received for running in the Army Ten-Miler in Washington D.C. Oct. 8.  

REDSTONE ARSENAL, AL, UNITED STATES

10.13.2017

Story by Kari Hawkins  

U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command

Only two miles into the race, Capt. Quinton Watkins knew this was a run like no other.

Running in the Army Ten-Miler as the fastest teams in the Government Agency Division and the All-Comers Division on Oct. 8, Watkins and fellow teammate Capt. Austin Cheng soon experienced the affects that higher than normal heat and humidity had on the 35,000 registered runners at the nation’s capital. The oppressive weather conditions caused the runners to sweat profusely and feel sluggish, with some falling out of the race much earlier than normal. Eighty-seven runners ended up in medical tents and 39 were taken to hospitals.

“I usually start out fast,” Watkins said.

“I ran six minute miles at the beginning. But I could see that speed was going to be hard to maintain in the heat and humidity. I had to slow down from the beginning. It was the first time I’ve raced where I didn’t keep the pace up. It was perfect conditions for people to pass out.”

The runners experienced a low temperature of 75 degrees, the warmest low temperature on record for D.C. in the month of October since 1872, the National Weather Service reported. The high for the day was 83 degrees. The average is 53 degrees for the low and 71 degrees for the high.

In addition, high, moist air created humidity levels similar to what the area experiences in July and August. With a dew point of 72, runners were not able to cool down, even during occasional light showers.

“The whole team at mile two or three was already struggling,” added Cheng. “That usually doesn’t happen until much later. We practiced running together a lot, but I don’t know if we could have prepared for the heat.”

This year’s Army Ten-Miler was Cheng’s first ever race. Though he practiced weekly with the team for two months and ran about 30 miles a week in preparation, he realized even before the race started that he might have taken on too big of a race for a first timer.

But, both Watkins and Cheng – representing both Team Redstone and the Aviation and Missile Command -- completed the race in good time. Watkins’ time of 1:09:01 helped the Team Redstone government agency team win its 11th straight championship. Cheng’s time of 1:17:50 helped the Team Redstone all-comers team win its ninth consecutive title.

Both ran slower than they had in practice. Watkins was about four minutes off his normal race time, but both are grateful they finished.

“As I was running, at about the seven or eight-mile mark, people were laying down on the side of the road and ambulances were being called. It was probably overwhelming for the Ten-Miler staff to have so many runners falling out,” Watkins said.

“We were in the fastest group of runners, and runners were falling down right in front of us.”

Practicing in the hot and humid conditions of an Alabama summer probably helped the entire team. So, too, did the sheer determination to continue the team’s legacy of winning.

“You train all this time for the race and you want to meet your goal. You don’t want to let your team down. Your teammates are counting on you,” Cheng said.

After the race, the teammates gathered at the Army Ten-Miler tent sponsored by the Redstone-Huntsville Chapter of the Association of the U.S. Army.

“We were all bummed about our times. We were sitting there in silence, shaking our heads. We were concerned about letting our coaches (long-time coaches Harry Hobbs and Skip Vaughn) down because they are always talking about keeping the legacy of winning going,” Cheng said.

So, when the Army’s Sgt. Maj. Daniel Dailey and vice chief of staff Gen. James McConville presented the two trophies to the team, there was a ton of high-fives and congratulatory hugs to go around.

Watkins recruited Cheng for the Army Ten-Miler after timing the JAG officer’s run during a monthly physical fitness test.

“I saw that he had an okay two-mile time. So, I asked him if he could run his two-mile pace for 10 miles,” Watkins said, jokingly.
Despite the challenges, Cheng is glad he took on the race.

“I enjoyed the whole process and the run itself. I completely enjoyed the whole thing and the opportunity,” he said. “It’s definitely an amazing opportunity to be part of a team and do an event with a good group of guys. It was an opportunity to go to D.C. and see the sites. All I had to do was run 10 miles.”

Besides the race, Watkins and Cheng enjoyed the team dinners, the Army Ten-Miler Expo and being in the nation’s capital.

“The race gave me a really different view of D.C,” Cheng said. “They shut down the highways and we were actually running on the highways.”

And, they both joked about the bonding experience the team members had on the 13-hour drive to and from Washington, D.C.

“The team is planning on getting together again and do some other runs as a team. It’s a good group of runners,” Cheng said.

• Date Taken: 10.13.2017
• Date Posted: 10.13.2017 14:20
• Story ID: 251638
• Location: REDSTONE ARSENAL, AL, US
• Hometown: REDSTONE ARSENAL, AL, US