OMAHA, Neb. – After years of absence, the Michigan National Guard is taking a bigger interest in the annual National Guard marathon.
Every year the National Guard holds a marathon in Lincoln, Nebraska; this year due to COVID-19 the event was postponed and moved to Omaha, Nebraska. The change did not stop the State of Michigan from sending four Soldiers to the event.
“I think the marathon was wonderful, I’ve run a lot of races, but they have all been for myself just to finish and enjoy the event. This time I represented the state, so doing well and getting a good time became quite a bit more important,” said Michigan National Guard Chief Warrant Officer 2 Drew Griffin, a pilot with Charlie Company of the 1-147th Aviation Regiment.
This is the first year Griffin participated in the National Guard marathon, and he is already a devotee of the event.
“I’m excited for the next one – the community is very tight and the first one is a little overwhelming, so now that I’ve done one I think I’ll feel more comfortable,” said Griffin.
Traditionally, the National Guard marathon is held the first weekend in May, but like many things this year that marathon was cancelled. The National Guard looked at the neighboring city of Omaha, who did not cancel their annual marathon that was held in late September.
“A traditional marathon training plan is 16 weeks,” said Capt. Paul Fitzpatrick, the marathon coordinator for the State of Michigan. “The event was not confirmed until about four weeks beforehand. It is difficult for many runners to perform their best on that kind of schedule. The team did great and everyone finished, even a personal record for CW2 Griffin. I tried to keep the runners as up to date so they could plan accordingly.”
Fitzpatrick is the reason there is a team. He has been working hard to get the word out about the program that has been largely absent the last decade. He said there were originally seven Soldiers interested in running in the event, but with it being in limbo for so long, three were not able to attend. This was to be expected, because it takes a lot of mental resilience to train and run for 26.2 miles, but some are always looking on the bright side.
“One of the cool parts about running in marathons is just seeing the area from that point of view running through a place versus driving,” said Griffin. “For me that is what makes traveling for a race kind of fun, just experiencing new things.”
This was a new experience for Griffin, because while he has run in other marathons he said running in the National Guard marathon was different altogether.
“It’s a different dynamic when you’re running and the person in front of you is from another Guard state, it kind of increases the competitive spirit, different from marathons that I’ve done for myself,” said Griffin.
While the competitive spirit increased, Griffin feels that he has expanded his peer group within the military. The expansion is just another reason why he likes being in the Michigan National Guard.
“This type of program not only retains service members in the Michigan Army National Guard, but also gives Soldiers a physical fitness goal to strive towards. Training and running a marathon makes better service members,” said Fitzpatrick.
Four members in 2020 is just beginning of what the Michigan National Guard expects to do, it is looking forward to having a large team. This year one member had a time which allowed her to be an alternative for the National Guard Team, and both she and Griffin are hoping to be full members next year.
“I’ve already heard from other service members who are training for the event next year,” said Fitzpatrick. “This year, we had date changes, COVID, and it was a new program to the state. It will only get easier to grow interest from here.”
(Story by U.S. Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Tegan Kucera)
Date Taken: | 09.20.2020 |
Date Posted: | 10.27.2020 16:51 |
Story ID: | 381860 |
Location: | OMAHA, NEBRASKA, US |
Web Views: | 117 |
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