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Deployed service members participate in Air Force Marathon at TCM

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Matt Benedetti
  • 376th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
Transit Center at Manas, Kyrgyzstan --  Service members from the Transit Center at Manas, Kyrgyzstan, participated in the U.S. Air Force Marathon on Sept.15, 2012. The marathon occurs across locations around the world in conjunction with U.S. Air Force Marathon hosted annually at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.

More than 150 runners participated in one of three categories; 10K, half or full marathon.

David Plantes, the Transit Center fitness center manager, helped coordinate the event and was pleased with the number of participants and motivation level of everyone involved.

"It was a safe run and the event went very well. Everybody made it and many runners beat their personal times. We had two sets of motivated people; the runners and the volunteers, who manned the water stations. They all did a great job," said Plantes, a native of Longview, Texas.

Senior Airman Francis Sparks, 376th Air Expeditionary Wing cashier and customer service technician, made the decision to run the half marathon recently.

"I enjoyed it but it was tougher than I anticipated. I hit a wall around the 10-mile mark but pressed through it. The volunteers were very supportive and handed us plenty of water and Gatorade," said Sparks, a native of Buffalo, N.Y., who is deployed from McConnell Air Force Base, Kan.

"I have a real sense of accomplishment from today's event and feel I can cross running a half-marathon off my bucket list," he said.