Courtesy Photo | Oregon National Guard Marathon team members pause for a group photo with their...... read more read more
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LINCOLN, Neb. - Stepping to the starting line of a marathon, every runner endures a unique storyline, wary of the trials and tribulations that have led up to that moment. Like a constantly updating weather forecast, a runner reflects on all the details to make predictions — a nagging muscle ache, questioning their choice of race day shoes, what they ate the night before, and overanalyzing their recent training plan are common and contribute to the apprehension before the gun goes off.
On May 4, nearly 200 runners representing the National Guard’s 54 states and territories came together for the 48th annual Lincoln Marathon, vying for a spot on the All Guard Marathon team. Among the participants, three runners represented the Oregon National Guard, eager to take on the challenge of the 26.2-mile race and add a new chapter to their journey.
“In 2023, that was my first marathon— it was definitely a bit of a scary experience, but I've been increasing my running mileage and preparing more and felt better trained this year,” said Capt. Amy Mireles, who commands Echo Company, 141st Brigade Support Battalion. “I was able to cut about 20 minutes off my time since that race two years ago, which is super exciting.”
In the 2023 National Guard Marathon, Mireles completed the course in a time of 4:02:28, finishing in 20th place among female guard members and capturing a spot on the All-Guard Marathon Team. This year, she improved her performance, finishing in 17th place in the women’s division with a time of 3:43:58, which translates to an average pace of 8:32 per mile—43 seconds per mile faster than her previous time. By placing in the top 20, she once again qualified for the All Guard Marathon team.
“This year, the race was really competitive as a lot of the female finishers were around the three-hour thirty to forty (finishing time) area,” she said. “I was unsure when I finished if I had placed in the top 20 because it's hard to gauge how many had completed the race. I had to wait for the awards ceremony to find out… It's always nice to be surprised if you do make it!”
Runners who earn a spot on the All Guard Marathon Team are eligible to participate in numerous races throughout the United States and even abroad over the next two years. The National Guard Military Competitions Program is designed to champion physical fitness, self-discipline, and a robust sense of camaraderie among Guardsmen, providing a valuable role in retention and recruiting efforts.
Over the past two years, Mireles has completed full and half marathons in Philadelphia, Arizona, Ohio, and again back in Nebraska for the 2024 Marathon with the National Team. She credits a balanced training plan for her success, but also making a change in the type of shoes she wears.
“Changing shoes has made a huge difference, because for several races I was getting blisters and calluses,” Mireles said, noting that those injuries were creating consistency gaps in her training. “I have been able to increase my mileage and dedicate more time to morning and evening workouts. This contributed to the big improvement in my marathon time.”
Now, as a seasoned veteran of the team, Mireles has taken over the role of State Coordinator for the Oregon National Guard Marathon team. She succeeded Lt. Col. Billie Cartwright, who completed her tenure after finishing the Lincoln Half-Marathon in May 2023, and retired from the Oregon National Guard a few months later, in October.
As the State Coordinator, she added two new members to the team for the 2025 event by recruiting 1st Lt. Miguel Mendoza-Lopez and Staff Sgt. Jacquelyn Prevish. Despite the rising temperatures in the afternoon, the three of them successfully completed the full marathon on the Lincoln course.
“When Captain Mireles put out the announcement about the National Guard Marathon team, the original requirement was having a time under four hours,” Mendoza said, having recently completed the Portland Marathon with a 3:43:00 time. “But they had updated a new qualifying time of 3:35, and I thought, well, maybe next year.”
With a late registration for the Lincoln Marathon, Mendoza had already committed himself to run the Eugene Marathon just one week before. Now, with a new training plan, he shifted his approach to complete both races.
“My biggest goal was to not get injured,” he said, recalling his ability to balance the heavy mileage. “I ran Eugene at an easier pace, around 3:45 or so, that way I could run and finish the National Guard race a week later.”
To add one more challenge to the mix, Mendoza said that a couple of days after the race in Lincoln, he had to take the Army Combat Fitness Test.
“I ran a personal best at Lincoln, with an official time of 3:38:20,” he said, somewhat surprised after running two full marathons in seven days. “I missed making the All Guard Team by about three minutes and thirty seconds, but that heat is no joke. After 10 a.m., it got really toasty, and my pace was all over the place.”
The Lincoln Marathon was his 5th full Marathon, as he is still relatively new at running long-distance races. It took a recent injury in an automobile accident to change his approach to fitness.
“All it took for me to run more than 4 miles was a car accident,” he said, pausing to laugh at the irony. “I had tried a variety of activities, and running was the only thing that didn’t hurt while recovering. Without much serious training, I signed up to run a marathon.”
With each race, he has decreased his time, going from 4:58:00 in his inaugural run to 4:10:00, 3:43:00, and now his personal best in the National Guard event. This sense of steady progression is all in stride for a Soldier who first served a four-year active duty stint before receiving his commission through the ROTC program at the University of Oregon in 2021. He balances his running routine, working full-time as the S1/S2 for the 821st Battalion and as the Officer in Charge for the 1186th Military Police Company in Hood River.
“Running is a big part of my life now. I run about 25 miles a week to reach 100 miles in a month. My times have gotten better with a mix of interval runs or like VO2 max workouts, where I am just gasping for air and sprinting as hard as I can,” Mendoza said. “I plan on running the Chicago Marathon in October, so maybe I can run sub 3:30 or 3:15, but improving for each race is the goal.”
Already, members of his unit have expressed interest in running at the Lincoln Marathon next year, having drawn inspiration and encouragement from his success. He has also become involved with running clubs in Salem and Portland, building camaraderie with like-minded runners.
“It's phenomenal how organized the National Guard Marathon is, and the work by the Nebraska National Guard, as well as the people of Lincoln, is very supportive of the entire event. If you go into a local store, they want to know where you're from and which state you represent,” Mendoza said, reiterating his experience in Nebraska. “I’d say that it took an injury to ‘fall in love with running,’ and being part of several running clubs just extends my participation with the sport.”
Appreciation takes many forms, but a common theme emerged among all three Oregon runners: a shared sense of gratitude simply for the opportunity to compete. For Staff Sgt. Jacquelyn Prevish's participation in the 2025 National Guard Marathon might be better described as unimaginable. A severe injury she sustained during the 2023 Oregon Best Warrior Competition left her unable to walk, let alone run, for several months.
Suffering a stress fracture in her femur, the long road to recovery took nearly a full year, as she had to push herself through physical therapy, all the while overcoming hitches with health care coverage.
“I knew there was something wrong toward the end of the second day of Best Warrior when I couldn't get my right leg to move over the last station on the obstacle course,” she said, describing both the immobility and pain that were increasing with each event. “The next morning, somewhere around mile nine on the ruck march, I was reduced to intermittent walking and running.”
With only two events left to complete the contest, the medical staff decided to pull her from the competition. Although it took several months after the event to diagnose the injury, Prevish said, “It probably saved me from further damage.”
"I kept thinking it was just fatigue or a deep muscle pull in my hip, and I was determined to continue the final events, telling them, ‘I can finish, I can finish.’ However, if the medics hadn't intervened, I would have lost the ability to use my leg and walk again because of necrosis, which could have resulted in the death of my leg,” she said.
Over the next two months, she couldn’t be seen by health providers since she was dropped from TRICARE, instead using Urgent Care for short-term relief of the pain and persistent symptoms. Eventually, back on insurance, she was able to get an MRI and began physical therapy.
“At first, I was only able to get around using crutches for the first four months until I could bear more weight on my legs,” she said, describing the tedious recovery process. “I had to retrain my body, first with being able to walk just a quarter mile at a time. There was so much atrophy, and it took until July of 2023 before I could start walking again.”
By November of that year, she could run for one minute, then walk for four minutes. With the pace of recovery increasing, she optimistically set a daunting goal of running a half-marathon in the near future.
“There was a race in March of 2024 that I set my sights on while deployed in Kuwait,” she said. “With that first one accomplished, I signed up for another half-marathon, increased my training harder, and picked up my speed.”
During weekly workouts with military coworkers on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday runs, Prevish first heard about running the National Guard Marathon through her unit, Charlie Company, 741st Brigade Engineer Battalion, where she serves as a 12 Bravo, or Combat Engineer. Her application to Capt. Mireles detailed her desire to test herself and the months of recovery by running her first Marathon at Lincoln this year and being part of the Oregon team.
“Yes, this was my 1st Marathon. It was such an awesome opportunity to run within the National Guard,” Prevish said, recalling the excitement of the event. “It was such an amazing opportunity to compete, and so many incredible athletes were there, all these ultra-athletes who were part of this race, and it felt incredible to be part of this event.”
Her race day plan was to run around 8:40-8:50 minutes per mile for the 25.2 miles, but with the Midwest heat and humidity beginning to build, she experienced hydration issues in the later stages of the race. With her running vest hydration system, she had two small fuel bottles and a water supply, fully prepared for the conditions.
“I was on pace and felt strong through the first 18 miles, but had gone through two of my water bottles with added fuel powder,” she said. “When I went to use my Platypus (water backpack), it had a chlorine taste, so I decided not to use it, which cost about 400 calories in my fuel plan.”
Her pace dropped, but undeterred, she adjusted her running tempo to finish with a time of 4:09:21. With this accomplishment, she hopes to keep running longer distance events.
“In the future, I would like to test myself and run an Ultra Marathon [races longer than 26.2 miles], or triathlon, but for now, one step at a time.”
Sergeant Prevish also acknowledged how her teammates helped inspire her before the race, as they attended a workshop and meeting teams from around the country.
“What’s funny is that Capt. Mireles had a more relaxed approach, like ‘I'm going to run how I feel and have my MP3 player,’ while Lieutenant Mendoza had his Garmin watch that would buzz to keep his pace and splits, more surgical in his technique,” Prevish said, reflecting on their approach to running a marathon. “And Captain Mireles went ‘above and beyond’ for our team, too; she made special jackets and shirts for us, which really made the entire event feel more meaningful.”
Team bonding events that are part of the National Guard Marathon All-Endurance program aim to enhance physical fitness and build esprit de corps among service members. These events extend beyond just recruiting efforts and raising awareness about Citizen-Soldier fitness. They motivate participants to push past their perceived limits, demonstrating excellence through perseverance and resiliency while promoting a holistic approach to health and wellness.
“Before someone runs their first marathon, most of them say, ‘I just want to make it across the finish line.’ Often, more experienced runners have different goals,” Mireles said, describing the held ambitions shared by runners. “I love that an event like a marathon unites so many people in such a positive manner. I think that’s why runners have a special bond with each other.”
| Date Taken: | 05.05.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 09.25.2025 21:55 |
| Story ID: | 549372 |
| Location: | LINCOLN, NEBRASKA, US |
| Web Views: | 101 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Three Oregon Guardsmen test their endurance at the National Guard Marathon, by John Hughel, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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