Photo By Maj. Robert Taylor | Justin Jensen, left, and Chance Garner, right, run up a hill wearing a military...... read more read more
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Approximately 250 participants from the Twin Falls area participated in the 116th Brigade Engineer Battalion’s Magic Valley Battle Buddy Run Saturday at Dierkes Lake Park.
The third annual event, which runners ran in pairs known as “battle buddies,” was dedicated to Idaho Army National Guard Master Sgt. Christopher Webb, who died in June.
Webb, along with Maj. Shawn Edwards, the unit’s operations and training officer, planned and executed the first two races together.
“This event gives us a good chance to interact with the community and to give the public a taste of what we do when we’re training,” Edwards said. “Master Sgt. Webb was my battle buddy here in Twin Falls. He loved working with the community and it’s an honor and privilege to dedicate this year’s Battle Buddy Run to him.”
The 5k fun-run featured 10 military-style obstacles such as low crawling under wire, sprinting up a hill wearing a protective gas mask, throwing hand grenades, shooting targets with paintball guns and getting yelled at by drill sergeants while being ordered to do push ups and low crawl. Runners also had the option to zip line across the lake.
Participants voted the drill sergeant station as their favorite after each of the last two runs. Webb, who was a drill sergeant himself, was in charge of the station during that time.
Several of Webb’s friends and family members participated in the run, most of them wearing shirts with Webb’s name and picture on them.
“It means a lot,” said Kade West, Webb’s best friend. “It’s a wonderful honor for him.”
West, who lives in Hagerman and works in Twin Falls, ran with a group of 15 friends and family members, including his two children.
Twin Falls resident Nestor Lopez runs Spartan obstacle races with a local running team, Spartan Spuds. Several team members took advantage of the Battle Buddy Run’s obstacles to get additional practice locally.
“It’s a great way to support our community and get some practice in,” Lopez said.
Webb served in the Idaho Army National Guard for 18 years before his death and was instrumental in the creation of the Sgt. Dan Brown – Idaho Fallen Soldier Memorial, which honors Idaho Soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. The memorial is located in Gayle Forsyth Park in Jerome.
The 116th Brigade Engineer Battalion is part of the Idaho Army National Guard’s 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team. The unit is located in Twin Falls, Mountain Home, Gooding, Jerome and northern Idaho.
Soldiers from Company E, 145th Brigade Support Battalion, located in Jerome, and the 1-148th Field Artillery Regiment, based in Eastern Idaho, also supported the event.
| Date Taken: | 10.07.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 10.08.2017 09:57 |
| Story ID: | 250980 |
| Location: | TWIN FALLS, IDAHO, US |
| Web Views: | 565 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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