24-Hour Run for Charity at Kandahar Airfield

Photo By Maj. Andrew Adcock | (Left) U.S. Army Maj. William M. Harlow assists 1st Lt. Hermon T. Cotton at the Kandahar Airfield boardwalk with his race bib prior to the start of the 24-Hour Run for Charity at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, April 16. Both are members of Joint Sustainment Command’s "Team Hambone" and will be running the two-day event to benefit the Sunnybrook Children’s Home in Ridgeland, Miss. JSC-A is a Mississippi Army National Guard unit headquartered in Laurel, Miss., and have been deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom since early October.  

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, AFGHANISTAN

04.16.2011

Story by Capt. Andrew Adcock 

Joint Sustainment Command - Afghanistan

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – Ten members of Joint Sustainment Command – Afghanistan participated in the 24-hour Ultra Run and Relay for Charity at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, on April 16.

The team, also known as Team Hambone, chose Sunnybrook Children's Home in Ridgeland, Miss., as their beneficiary. Sunnybrook Children’s Home is a nonprofit, Christian child-care organization and was chartered as a non-profit Christian child-care organization by the state of Mississippi on Dec. 10, 1963. Founders Alonzo Welch, Clark Stringer, H. J. Massie, J. C. Reed and Robert M. Moon began this benevolent service to children in rented quarters in Jackson. The home provides residential care for male and female children from ages six to eighteen, who meet the criteria for basic care. Children considered appropriate for basic care are those who are capable of functioning in a family environment as part of the community. Christian house parents provide for the basic physical, emotional and spiritual needs of each child with twenty-four hour supervised care seven days a week

The team began at 6:00 a.m. the day of the race by participating in the Pat Tillman Memorial run, earning 5k credit for each participant towards the team’s 24-hour relay total. The 24-hour Ultra Run and relay officially began at 12:00 p.m. later the same day. The race officially ended at 12:00 p.m. the following day with teams running the 2.5k closed-loop course throughout the night. At the conclusion, Team Hambone had completed a total of 344k (215 miles), won first place in the all-male team division and raised over $2,300 for Sunnybrook Children’s Home. The event included 35 teams, 30 individuals from 5 different countries and a total of 350 runners. The event raised money for over 21 different charities.

Members of Team Hambone included U.S. Army 1st Lt. Nicholus Cook from Batesville, Miss., 1st Lt. Hermon Cotton from Byram, Miss., Master Sgt. Stanley Coats from Petal, Miss., Sgt. 1st Class Jason Dykes from Laurel, Miss., Chief Warrant Officer 2 William Bowman from Purvis, Miss., Maj. Clint Barnes from Ripley, Tenn., Maj. Michael Harlow from Grenada, Miss., Sgt. 1st Class (retired) Mark Crotwell from Morton, Miss., Master Sgt. Bobby Patrick from Hattiesburg, Miss., and Maj. Dexter Thornton from Collinsville, Miss.

• Date Taken: 04.16.2011
• Date Posted: 04.28.2011 05:10
• Story ID: 69460
• Location: KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, AF