Photo By Staff Sgt. Rita Jimenez | U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Jacob A. Doctor, 122nd Fighter Wing Logistics Readiness...... read more read more
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FORT WAYNE AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Ind. - Two goal-driven athletes from the 122nd Fighter Wing united in competition to bring the Air National Guard a win during the Air and Space Challenge.
U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Jacob A. Doctor, 122nd Fighter Wing Logistics Readiness Squadron noncommissioned officer of central storage, and Master Sgt. James P. Maxwell, 122nd FW Maintenance Squadron airframe powerplant general element lead, ran the Air and Space Challenge at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio on September 17, 2022.
The Air and Space Challenge, a competition within the Air Force Marathon, pit runners from 12 major commands against each other. Teams with the fastest total times, combining scores from both the full marathon and half marathon, were named the champion. Doctor and Maxwell both ran the half marathon with 10 Air National Guard runners. Doctor finished ninth and Maxwell finished 52nd out of the 1,182 male runners that finished.
Doctor’s goal was to try to run his personal best. He did so by passing the finish line with a run time of 1:17.21.
“I finished the half marathon with a personal best time with three seconds, which is exceptional,” said Doctor. “I finished ninth overall, first in my age group and fourth military.”
Doctor said running this event was a great confidence booster that prepared him for his next race, the Fort 4 Fitness race in Fort Wayne.
"Being able to go in and get that result really propelled me because two weeks later I was able to shave another minute off of that time here at Fort 4 Fitness," said Doctor. "I don’t think I could have done that if I hadn’t put myself in that situation."
He also said that he enjoyed the camaraderie of his military running team.
"It was great to be a part of a community of military runners," said Doctor. "It’s something I never had before, but it’s great to be a part of now.
Being on a team is important to Doctor, so he plans to continue serving with his Blacksnake team and looks forward to pursuing more leadership roles in his 18th year of service with the Indiana Air National Guard.
Maxwell, on the other hand, originally went into the race as an alternate. He found his opportunity to compete when an individual injured himself. He was asked to run the half marathon instead of the full marathon that he had been training for.
“I was training for the full,” said Maxwell. “As soon as I realized that I was alternate for the half, I switched gears and trained for the half. It’s a whole different perspective on how you condition your body.”
Maxwell said that the difference between training for a full marathon and a half marathon is a matter seconds.
“I’m looking at my speeds and my times, said Maxwell. “I only average probably around nine and a half miles per hour for the half and for the full it’s a little bit slower than that, eight miles per hour. So, I am trying to conserve energy. With the half I can go a little bit faster with that distance.”
Maxwell, son of former Blacksnake and F-16 Fighting Falcon Pilot, Col. Brian “Grinch” Akins, finished the half marathon in one hour and thirty one minutes and placed sixth for his age group.
He, with the encouragement of his family, plans to continue to run a 10k and a 5k throughout winter season. Before that, he plans to participate in the four mile Galloping Gobbler run in Fort Wayne on Thanksgiving day.
It’s cold and miserable, but we all share in that experience,” said Maxwell.
| Date Taken: | 10.16.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 10.21.2022 08:37 |
| Story ID: | 431420 |
| Location: | FORT WAYNE, IN, US |
| Web Views: | 55 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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Dayton
marathon
half marathon
Indiana
running
Ohio
Fort Wayne
Air and Space Challenge
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