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More than 130 runners in Cowtown Half Marathon at Kabul International Airport

  • Published
  • By Capt. Rob Leese
  • 438th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs Officer
Kabul, Afghanistan --  The annual Fort Worth Cowtown race, one of the largest multi-event road races in the country, was also held at the Kabul International Airport, Afghanistan, as members of the NATO Air Training Command - Afghanistan and ISAF Joint Command completed a satellite half marathon race Feb 25.

The race drew more than 130 runners, representing 13 different countries, out during a cold and sunny morning.

The half marathon consisted of 13.1 miles between the IJC compound and the Afghan Air Force base where 34 volunteers provided water and encouragement to the participants.

"We had a great turn out from many different countries. It is amazing to see participants from thirteen countries participate in this race," said Maj. James Boddy, Chief of Safety for the 438th Air Expeditionary Wing.

They didn't run through downtown Fort Worth with the iconic Stockyard as the backdrop. Instead, they ran through the IJC compound and down the scenic Afghan Air Force Base flight line passing Mi-17 and Mi-35 helicopters and C-27 and An-32 fixed wing aircraft reminding them that they are here for a specific mission, to help rebuild the country of Afghanistan.

Taking first place with a time of 1:21:36 was the race coordinator, Major Boddy, from San Antonio, Texas, and assigned to NATC-A as the Safety advisor to the AAF.
Major Boddy explained, "It felt awesome to win...second and third place was on my tail. It means a lot to win the race and also coordinate it. I was hoping for a great run by everyone and the weather turned out to be great."

While Fort Worth's elevation is only 670 feet, Kabul is more than a mile above Fort Worth at over 5,900 feet above sea level making the run a bit more difficult.

Back in Fort Worth, Texas, the Cowtown races will be held Feb. 26 and 27. Established in 1979, the race pulled in over 21,003 runners last year during the Cowtown's six events setting a record for the most participants in the history of the event. This year, they can also add the numbers from the Kabul race conducted over 7,700 miles away.