Photo By Spc. Joshua Hutcheson | TIKRIT, Iraq (April 29, 2006) - Capt. Christopher Hallows, attached to the 101st...... read more read more
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Sgt. Ryan Matson
101st Combat Aviation Brigade
TIKRIT, Iraq - In January, Capt. Janet Tye, 47th Combat Support Hospital, and 1st Lt. Latasha Floyd were talking at a Morale, Welfare and Recreation meeting when they came up with an idea.
"We were talking about how we wanted a big event to train for other than the Army Physical Fitness Test, while we're out here in the deployed environment," Tye said. "We had heard of other marathons being done out here for Soldiers who usually run them in the states, like the Honolulu Marathon and the Boston Marathon. We thought, why don't we have one at Speicher?"
Tye's vision became a reality at 5:45 a.m. April 29 when 355 runners lined up outside the main gym on Contingency Operating Base Speicher to run in the first-ever Rock N Roll Marathon and Half Marathon. A total of 308 runners completed the half marathon while 47 gutted out the full marathon.
The run route, which should have been 13.1 and 26.2 miles, respectively, was a bit longer due to a miscalculated measurement. The half marathoners actually ran a distance of 15.1 miles and the full marathon runners ran around 28.2 miles.
When all was said and done, the top male finisher for the full marathon was Capt. Chris Hallows, who finished with a scorching time of 3:07:27.
Seven females ran the full marathon. The top finisher was Capt. Renee Vigilante, 501st Special Troops Battalion, who finished with a time of 3:32:01 - good for fourth-place overall.
Captain Scott Harrington, Company C, 1st Battalion, 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, took home first place in the half marathon event, with a time of 1:34:06. Harrington was a member of Fort Campbell's Army 10-Miler team in October.
"Training up was a little harder, just consistency wise, but overall it was the same as anywhere else," Harrington said. "I had to hop in my chopper and fly a mission right afterward, so that was a little different. I was pretty pleased with my finish."
The top female finisher in the half-marathon was 2nd Lt. Amy Swiatecki-McCabe, 501st Special Troops Battalion, who ran the course in 1:53:47; good enough for 12th place overall. The event was her first ever half-marathon race.
"The weather held out for an awesome day for running," Swiatecki-McCabe said. "It's always nice to win, but I was just happy to have been able to experience and participate in the whole thing. I was pleased with the finish as it set a target time for future races. It gives me a goal for the next time I run and something to work towards."
Soldiers came from bases throughout Iraq to participate in the race. Soldiers manned eight water points throughout the course, which started and finished outside an old Iraqi soccer stadium. Each water point had its own special theme, ranging from beach parties to an 80s car wash theme. Volunteers passed out Gatorade, water, oranges, cookies, and power bars and gel. Civilians from the COB were also on hand to volunteer to support the event, helping pass out numbers to entrants, hand out water, and prizes at the end.
The most unique thing about this race, Tye explained, is that while many people can say they've run a marathon, how many can say they've done it in Iraq?
"That's one of the nice things about this," Tye said. "There are a number of people out here who have never run a marathon before, maybe never run a half marathon before, and that's one of the unique things about doing it is actually doing it in Iraq rather than stateside. It was definitely special for the Soldiers out here."
| Date Taken: | 05.11.2006 |
| Date Posted: | 05.11.2006 15:57 |
| Story ID: | 6350 |
| Location: | TIKRIT, IQ |
| Web Views: | 194 |
| Downloads: | 67 |
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