Photo By Spc. Kahlil Dash | From the left, U.S. Army 1st Lt. John Ramirez, 1st Lt. Patrick Kidd, and Chaplain...... read more read more
Nearly 200 runners hit the roads of Erbil Air Base before daylight for the Army Ten-Miler “Shadow Run,” Friday, Oct. 4, 2019.
The run was one of 17 official shadow runs held around the globe this month in conjunction with the annual main event in Washington, D.C., and the only one held in Iraq this year.
According to Army Reserve Chief Warrant Officer 3 Melissa Barnes, the Erbil race director, 194 runners from seven Coalition partner nations and four U.S. military branches competed on a crisp 64-degree morning in northern Iraq.
“The weather was perfect,” Barnes said. “The route turned out better than expected, and the volunteers really brought it all together, even staying out to motivate us thru to the end.”
U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Angel Orria was the overall winner in a time of 1 hour, 2 minutes, finishing just ahead of air base assistant fire chief Damian Gonzales. Army Spc. Carlos Navarro was third in 1 hour, 8 minutes.
U.S. Army 1st Sgt. Melanie Coronado was the first female finisher in 1 hour, 19 minutes, edging out fellow Army competitors Cpl. Julia Andrukat-Price (1 hour, 20 minutes) and Capt. Kristina Willis (1 hour, 21 minutes).
Barnes, herself, knocked 10 minutes off her previous personal best, an achievement she largely credited to the enthusiasm she saw in her fellow runners along the course.
“It was awesome to see so many motivated runners,” she said. “Everyone looked like they were having fun from the beginning to the end. It was inspiring to see their commitment and energy.”
Among those spirited runners were U.S. Army 1st Lt. Alison Carr and Capt. Thomas Carr, who covered the distance side by side, taking advantage of the rare opportunity for the married couple to compete while deployed together to a combat zone.
“It was pretty cool. This was the first Army Ten-Miler for both of us,” Alison Carr said. She added that she and her husband don’t normally race together, but they are now planning to tackle some greater distances as a team. “Starting this out in theater together was something we won't forget,” she said.
With the Army Ten-Miler celebrating its 35th running on Oct. 13, the importance of shadow runs such as this one was noted by Maj. Gen. Omar Jones, commanding general of the Military District of Washington.
"The 35th annual Army Ten-Miler is an opportunity for the Army to highlight our greatest strength – our people,” Jones said. “The discipline to maintain the level of fitness required to complete the Shadow Run in a deployed environment demonstrates our readiness to win, in any environment."
| Date Taken: | 10.04.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 10.09.2019 10:01 |
| Story ID: | 346795 |
| Location: | ERBIL AIR BASE, IQ |
| Web Views: | 246 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
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