Photo By 1st Sgt. Mark Hanson | The Kansas City Sports Commission and Foundation sent over shirts and medallions for...... read more read more
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CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait—As early morning preparations for the Kansas City Marathon got underway, 34 Soldiers of the Kansas Army National Guard’s 35th Infantry Division gathered for a simultaneous 10K Shadow Run the evening of Oct. 10. The run allowed the Soldiers a sense of participation in the Kansas City Marathon and helped them feel at home while deployed together a world away.
As day turned to twilight, each of the 35th Inf. Div. Soldiers donned a Kansas City Marathon T-shirt and prepared for the run that would lend them a piece of home.
Coordinating the run was no small feat, and preparations began back in June according to Capt. Jennifer Denkler chief of plans and operations, programs and policies, 35th Inf. Div.
“Our Chief of Staff, Col. Timothy W. Bush, asked me to look into different races that were being organized back home that we could possibly partner with,” said Denkler. “So, I contacted Mr. Josh Zabel, one of the Kansas City Sports Commission managers to coordinate a corresponding Kansas City 10K Shadow Run.”
Many Soldiers took part in helping to plan and implement the success of the run, according to Denkler.
“2nd Lt. Hannah Higgins has done most of the final preparations, with help from Staff Sgt. Mitchel Jensen and Staff Sgt. Jamie Wolf,” said Denkler. “We also have many other volunteers that I greatly appreciate. We really couldn’t have done it without everyone involved.”
Among those volunteers, were several Soldiers from C. Co. Their commander, Capt. Todd Gessling, took great pride in his Soldiers’ involvement, and didn’t hesitate to recognize his troops.
“They’re doing a great job out here helping with the run,” said Gessling. “Charlie Co. likes to be present in everything that’s going on. I think it’s a little piece of home for everyone that wanted to run in the Kansas City Marathon. I know I’d like to run in the actual Kansas City Marathon next year—so this is just a little taste of it. In Charlie Co., we take our running seriously.”
Maj. Peter McCann, battalion operations officer, Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, 35th Inf. Div., also appreciated the tie between Kansas City and Camp Arifjan.
“We’re doing the Shadow Run here at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait to shadow the Kansas City Marathon going on back in Kansas City,” said McCann. “A lot of folks that have previously run the marathon or half marathon wanted to do the shadow run because it is kind of like being home, here in Kuwait. It’s not the same as running in Kansas City, but we’re at least commemorating the time, so that when we get back we can maybe go do the run again in the streets of KC.”
Threads of camaraderie and connectedness were woven throughout these runners’ stories as they headed to the starting line.
Soldiers of all ranks from private to general officer ran, and many expressed gratitude for the event and the thought that people back home were running with them.
“I wanted to participate because my son, Blake Denkler, just won his state cross country meet yesterday,” said Denkler. “He says he ran the race for me, to keep me strong during this deployment. So I wanted to run this race in honor of him and his strength being a military child.”
| Date Taken: | 10.10.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 11.01.2017 01:16 |
| Story ID: | 253568 |
| Location: | CAMP ARIFJAN, KW |
| Web Views: | 97 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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