Photo By Sgt. Travis Warren | Lincoln, Neb. - Sgt. Nick Ledet, Company A, Recruiting and Retention Battalion, Kansas...... read more read more
LINCOLN, Neb. – On a warm and windy weekend, members of the Kansas National Guard Marathon Team were among the 181 National Guard Airmen and Soldiers from 42 states and territories who ran the Lincoln Marathon May 2.
Runners were competing for a chance to earn one of 78 spots on the All-Guard Marathon Team; 50 allocated for top-scoring males, 20 for top-scoring females, three for top-scoring female masters, and three for top-scoring male masters.
The nine-person Kansas National Guard Marathon Team consisted of Spc. Sarah Freeland, 35th Infantry Division Band; Sgt. Nick Ledet, Company A, Recruiting and Retention Battalion; 2nd Lt. Yacub Muzee, 242nd Engineer Battalion; Cadet Jessica Pal, 1077th Ground Ambulance Company; and Spc. Geovanni Popoca, 1st Battalion, 235th Regiment of the Kansas Army National Guard and 1st Lt. Jeffery Austin, 284th Air Support Operations Squadron; Tech Sgt. Jason Dolan, 190th Air Refueling Wing; 2nd Lt. Gage Garcia, 184th Wing, and Staff Sgt. Lisa Tillman, 190th Air Refueling Wing from the Kansas Air National Guard.
Ledet volunteered for the role of state coordinator in the absence of 1st Lt. Nick Clair, the current state coordinator of the Kansas Marathon Team.
“It's been fun, it's been challenging, but with any new position you have to learn by doing it,” said Ledet. “I ran the marathon last year and observed as a runner. Seeing all these states and territories bringing tons of people encourages me to do the same as a state coordinator. To bring more runners to the National Guard Marathon trials, to compete as a team, and hopefully get a top-three finish.”
Ledet ran competitively in both high school and college. In 2016, he ran his first marathon in Kansas City.
“I didn’t do the greatest, but I was hooked,” said Ledet.
He was introduced to the marathon team by his first sergeant after his deployment in 2019 and ran his first National Guard Marathon the following year. Lincoln was his sixth marathon overall since he began in 2016 and his second with the Guard.
Newcomer to the team, Freeland sees running a little differently than most.
“I sign up for a marathon or half-marathon every six months,” said Freeland. “Running is kind of an outlet for me, so I wouldn’t say it's a lot of training. It's my “me time,” so I have been pretty dedicated to it for the past five or six years.”
Freeland heard about the marathon team from an email her husband, who is also in the National Guard, received. He was surprised at how quickly she found herself a member of the team.
“For me, I get to represent my unit, the Kansas Guard, and get to do what I love. It's all my passions wrapped up in one,” said Freeland.
Registration for the marathon opened Friday, as Guard members arrived at the hotel. The next day they attended a recruiting and retention briefing which discussed tips on how to highlight the benefits of National Guard membership through everyday conversation. The workshop informed runners on how to generate new leads, not only for the National Guard but also for their respective marathon teams.
Later that evening, the different states and territories participated in the annual roll call ceremony. Each state and territory uniquely introduced its team by telling fun facts about their respective states, rehearsed skits, trivia with giveaways and jokes. After roll call, each runner retired to their room to prepare for the upcoming race.
The race began Sunday on the University of Nebraska campus. The course led runners through downtown Lincoln, out to Holmes Lake, and back to the university ending at the track and field facility. Of the nine Kansas Guard Marathon Team members, three qualified for the All-Guard Marathon Team: Garcia, with a time of 2 hours 51 minutes and 58 seconds; Popoca, with a time of 2 hours 55 minutes and 58 seconds; and Pal, with a time of 3 hours 53 minutes and 23 seconds.
| Date Taken: | 05.06.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 05.06.2021 09:09 |
| Story ID: | 395783 |
| Location: | LINCOLN, NE, US |
| Web Views: | 55 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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