Soldiers run half-marathon in Iraq in observance of Memorial Day

Photo By Lt. Col. Timothy Hyde | Capt. Scott Bostic, of Atlanta, Ga., the medical operations officer for 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, briefs some of the runners on the route for the half-marathon conducted May 30 on Contingency Operating Station Hammer to celebrate Memorial Day. The event was coordinated as a "shadow run" in conjunction with the Great Midwest Marathon and Endurance Festival being held in Elkhart Lake, Wis., during Memorial Day weekend.  

BAGHDAD, IRAQ

05.30.2010

Story by Maj. Timothy Hyde 

2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division Public Affairs

BAGHDAD – With temperatures reaching over 100 degrees before 9 a.m., May 30, Soldiers at Contingency Operating Station Hammer, east of Baghdad, kicked off their Memorial Day observance with a half-marathon run.

Capt. Scott Bostic, of Atlanta, Ga., the medical operations officer for 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, coordinated and planned the event as a "shadow run" with the Great Midwest Marathon and Endurance Festival held in Elkhart Lake, Wis., this weekend.

"[I wanted] to find a meaningful event for us to do during Memorial Day weekend and partner with an organization that was also doing a Memorial Day event back in the States," said Bostic.

In deciding on an event to shadow in the U.S., Bostic came across the Elkhart Lake event, in its inaugural year, and discovered the race coordinator, Jeff Grady, was not only an avid runner himself but also has ties to the military. Grady's nephew, 1st Lt. Sean Grady, just completed a tour in Afghanistan in February.

Bostic sent an email to Grady asking to shadow the endurance festival run.

"I'm a millennium man and I tell you, I teared up when I read that," Grady said. "I mean, these men and women are fighting for our country."

The overall winner of the Iraq event was 1st Lt. Tanya M. Gaab, of Watertown, N.Y., a military intelligence officer for 2nd BCT.

"It's nice to always do something to mark a holiday that means a lot to everybody, not just to people in the military, but everybody that has benefited from the great sacrifices that people have made," Gaab said.

The spirit of the run, like the events happening in Elkhart Lake, was to bring people together for camaraderie and to gain a sense of true accomplishment when crossing the finish line. With the event taking place during Memorial Day weekend, it took on an additional meaning for some.

Capt. Evan Godderz, of Green, Iowa, a transportation officer with 210th Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd BCT, said the Memorial Day event was a perfect tribute to the loss of a friend, Capt. Leif Nott, who was killed during the initial phases of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

"As I was saluting him for the last time at his funeral, I promised to always do something to remember him on Memorial Day and remember him each day of the year," Godderz said.

The half-marathon was the unit's first event in observance of Memorial Day on COS Hammer. There will also be a 5-kilometer morning run on Memorial Day and some sporting events sponsored by various units throughout the day.

• Date Taken: 05.30.2010
• Date Posted: 05.30.2010 12:06
• Story ID: 50544
• Location: BAGHDAD, IQ