CAMP ATTERBURY JOINT MANEUVER TRAINING CENTER, Ind. — It may not be annual anymore, but Camp Atterbury hosted another community Rambo Run, a five-mile run for Soldiers and the community members at Johnson County Park.
"I ran in the Rambo Run for years," said retired Command Sgt. Maj. Jim Gordon, the Active Guard Reserve Program manager here. "I'm glad to see it's back."
Seventeen Soldiers and civilians and their family and friends turned out for the race Saturday morning which was hosted by Soldiers representing the group Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers, or B.O.S.S.
Gordon said "back in the day" the Rambo Run may have gathered crowds of up to 1,000 people but not all of them, of course, were runners.
"It was for families to have a good time," he said. It was one of the biggest family events we had."
Gordon said the event brought families together in fun and units together in competition.
"I look forward to them continuing the tradition."
Olympic candidate Jeff Powers of Franklin, Ind., was excited to join in the fun and said it was a great honor to run with the Soldiers.
"It's a great feeling to be out here with the Soldiers," said Powers. "These are people that we don't really get to interact with too much, but we see them in the background defending our country."
Sgt. 1st. Class Norm Black, a mobilized Soldier at Camp Atterbury from the 3rd Battalion, 338th Training Support Battalion, set the pace for the race, finishing the first lap in 15:56, only 34 seconds ahead of Ricardo Rios, a Columbus, Ind., native representing the Courtyard Marriott Hotel.
The other runners were not far behind them, including 1st. Sgt. Daniel Jensen with the Installation Support Unit here.
As the minutes raced by the runners rounded the last turn of the lap. Black led the pack, nabbing first place with a time of 32:34.
Rios finished second with a time of 34:15 followed by Powers who was pacing Darren Minnemann, a warrant officer in human resources with the 219th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade. Their time was 35:37, giving them the tie for third place.
After Black crossed the finish line he continued to run a third lap, his victory lap, to help motivate the other runners who had not finished.
"Just run," he advised. "The Soldier's Creed says it best to never quit," Black said as he caught his breath.
After the race, the B.O.S.S. representatives passed out awards to the winners and handed out prizes and T-shirts to the rest of the runners.