13.1 Miles to Freedom

The 2010 Air Force Marathon was an amazing event that went well beyond my expectations. There were over 9,000 participants for all events (10k, 5k, half marathon and full marathon) and could not have been put together better. The 5k was held Friday night at the Nutter Center in Fairborn, with all other events taking place early Saturday morning.

Along with 4,302 other runners, I completed the half marathon. This was my first half marathon, I did a full marathon in 2009 but never a stand alone half, and am completely hooked. I ran the race in one hour and 55 minutes, which was just under my goal time of two hours. I have already signed up for my next half marathon in October, and am looking at another for November. There is a great one in Dayton on October 10, click here for more information.

The actual half marathon course was a tough, but beautiful one. A few long hills made the middle and later miles of the race tough, and agonizing for me, with some of the course winding through highway and some of it through parks. One of the coolest parts about the race was there were stations throughout the course that were themed and with different music playing. One station was themed 80’s, with another station filled with people dressed as nerds.

The men’s winner of the full marathon was Brian Dumm of Colorado Springs, Co., with a time of 2:27:49, also taking home the active duty member title. The women’s winner was Rebecca Murray of Franklin, Tn., with a time of 3:01:07. The men’s winner of the half marathon was Ben Payne of Ft. Walton Beach, Fla., with a time of 1:08:27, winning by only 32 seconds. The women’s winner was Christina Johnston of Xenia, Ohio, with a time of 1:18:20, also winning by a close margin of 35 seconds.

The 13.1 mile race seems to be a perfect distance for me, with a full being attainable but very tough and time consuming. The half marathon is the most manageable, in terms of training time for me. I really enjoyed my half marathon experience, and I will be eagerly awaiting next year’s race in the Gem City.