Courtesy Photo | CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq -- Los Angeles native Sgt. 1st Class Delia McKalpain, 35th Signal...... read more read more
Spc. Derek Del Rosario
Task Force Baghdad PAO
CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq -- As about 20,000 runners ran through the streets of Washington, D.C., Oct. 2 in the annual Army 10-Miler race, more than 450 Soldiers and civilians ran a similar course in Iraq.
The siren of a fire truck signified the start of the Camp Liberty 10-Miler, where participants raced on a course which snaked through Camps Liberty and Victory in Baghdad.
The runners curved around lakes, over bridges and past Saddam Hussein's former palace before circling back to the finish at the base of Strawberry Hill where it all started.
Prizes were awarded to the top three male and female finishers, as well as the best-five person team with the best average time. Each team had to have at least one female runner, and nine teams participated.
The top three male finishers were 2nd Lt. Jamie Carmichael, 546th Area Support Medical Company, with a time of 53 minutes, 42 seconds; Staff Sgt. David Bice, 18th Military Police Brigade Team, at 54 minutes, 4 seconds; and civilian Damien Gonzales at 56 minutes, 30 seconds.
The top three female finishers were: Sgt. 1st Class Delia McKalpain, 35th Signal Brigade, with a time of 66 minutes, 5 seconds; Sgt. Trista Neinast, Central Criminal Court of Iraq, at 69 minutes, 20 seconds; and Kellie Robinson, Australian Army Headquarters, at 69 minutes, 35 seconds.
The winner of the team competition was the 18th Military Police Brigade, made up of Chaplain (Col.) Donald Holdridge, Master Sgt. Don Vasher, Staff Sgt. David Bice, Sgt. John Gossett and Sgt. Nicole Eckert with an average time of 62 minutes, 11 seconds.
The 10-Miler drew almost 400 more participants than the previous Camp Liberty run, a five-kilometer race at the beginning of August thanks to the planning and preparation by Sgt. 1st Class Belinda Rhanes, noncommissioned officer in charge of 3rd Inf. Div. Morale, Welfare and Recreation.
"We had two initial planning rehearsals that included AAFES, MWR representatives, traffic control and medics from both camps," Rhanes said. "This was a much larger event that included both South Victory and Liberty."
The top overall finisher, Carmichael ran track and field in college and currently logs up to 60 miles a week. He said he was pleased with his top finish and felt that the 10-Miler had something to offer every participant.
"I feel I put forth a solid, hard effort, and I'm definitely happy with my run," he said. "I think races like the 10-Miler are a good morale booster. I think just by finishing the race, people felt like they accomplished something."
McKalpain came out to enjoy a morning run with her comrades, but ended up finishing at the top of the female contestants.
"I just wanted to run and represent my unit," McKalpain said. "I participated for the enjoyment and because I like running. Being out here though, you can see a lot of these people are really motivated and competitive."
Gossett finished with a time of 62 minutes, 22 seconds and helped secure the win for the 18th MP Brigade in the team competition. He trained by running up to six miles a day and 12 miles on weekends a month prior to the race.
"I came out to have fun, try to set my own personal best record and do my best to help the team win," he said. "It was a good course to run on " nice and flat with the exception of the bridges and you could see someone at every turn. It feels good to say we ran the Army 10-Miler in Iraq, even if we couldn't run it in Washington, D.C."
| Date Taken: | 10.12.2005 |
| Date Posted: | 10.12.2005 13:00 |
| Story ID: | 3300 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 262 |
| Downloads: | 76 |
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