Photo By Melissa Escobar | Heather Heppner, the top female finisher of the 5k run conducted, March 25, at...... read more read more
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By Army Pfc. Melissa M. Escobar
22nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
JALALABAD AIRFIELD, Afghanistan - Soldiers at Jalalabad Airfield celebrated St. Patrick's Day, belatedly, with a competitive 5-kilometer run held March 25.
Matthew Mapes crossed the finish line first, blazing past the finish in only 19 minutes and 52 seconds. Heather Heppner raced past the finish at 20 minutes 12 seconds, blowing past all female competitors and all but two of the male runners.
Among participants 37 years of age or older, Timothy Nolan captured top honors. Sean Branham finished second to Nolan. Monica Narhi and Leah Mock placed second and third among fleet females in the race. Gimaans Goeman and Jose Dominguez finished second and third respectively among runners 36 and younger.
Despite the quick pace set by the leaders, organizers envisioned the event as being morale building rather than competitive. Danny L. Sutton, the Moral, Welfare and Recreation coordinator, organized the St. Patrick's Day run in hopes of giving base personnel some entertainment and a break from the reality of being on a deployment.
"The key is to give the Soldiers some competition and an excuse to not go into work that morning," the Fayetteville, N.C., resident said with a laugh.
"It significantly boosts morale for the brigade at JAF," said John Cuntz, an accomplished, competitive runner and a key facilitator of track events during Operation Enduring Freedom VII. "It did a lot to focus the attention and the energy of the Soldiers on something positive after the extension and 14 months in-country."
Cuntz added that subsequent runs will play a similarly constructive role.
"It gives the combat team a positive goal every month to focus its energies on," the Westchester, Ohio, native said. "It helps relieve stress during our continuing counterinsurgency operations."
Other participants also welcomed the stress relief.
James Woodworth, who participated in around a half-dozen runs at the previous brigade hub of Forward Operating Base Salerno, ran his fastest 5k during the event.
"I gave all that I had in the spirit of competition," Woodworth said.
The Sanborn, N.Y., native described the event as "therapeutic fun, competitive and relaxing. It gave us a chance to get away from it all for an hour."
"I think it helps out a lot with morale," Mapes said, a fast but never a first-place finisher in more than a half-dozen previous runs during OEF VII. "Running and competing together helps build esprit de corps. In the lead pack there was an Air Force major, an 82nd Airborne paratrooper and a female; so you had a diverse group even within that element."
Top finishers included an attached engineer and Airman as well as representatives from Task Forces Spartan and Fury.
"It's something we look forward to, something to continue training for," the Normal, Ill., native added. Mapes, who trains with Heppner – with swift results – expects future events to attract even greater numbers of runners. "I think as they continue to have events, the participation level will continue to increase," he said.
Sutton plans to hold a running event at JAF during every major holiday. The next event, a 5k Easter run, is slated for the morning of April 8.
| Date Taken: | 03.30.2007 |
| Date Posted: | 03.30.2007 12:14 |
| Story ID: | 9689 |
| Location: | JALALABAD, AF |
| Web Views: | 363 |
| Downloads: | 275 |
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