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Shaw Airmen run in half-marathon race

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. John Gordinier
  • 20th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. --  Shaw's 5th Annual Half-Marathon race occurred Sept. 12, hosted by the fitness center to promote fitness and "fit-to-fight" standards.

"There is a lot of interest in running to keep fit today and the fitness center wants to keep the fit-to-fight and fit-for-life program at the fore front," said Charlie Glover, 20th Force Support Squadron fitness center manager. "We host many runs during the year from 5K, 10K and half marathons. In the future, we are working on hosting biathlons, which is a biking-running combo."

Preparing for a 13.1-mile half marathon starts approximately three months prior to the event kick-off with all the advertising, asking for volunteers, and runner registration, he said. Each contestant receives a T-shirt. The first through third place male, female and four-person teams receive awards.

The male winners are: first place, Lt. Col. Ken Ekman, 79th Fighter Squadron commander, with a time of 1:33:09; second place, Lt. Col. Brad BarnHart, 9th Air Force, with a time of 1:38:05; third place, Capt. Aaron Sick, 77th Fighter Squadron director of operations, with a time of 1:38:36.

The female winners are: first place, Anna-Lee Higgins with a time 1:51:03; second place, Tammi Soles, with a time of 2:19:09; third place, Rebecca Lattan, with a time of 2:28:07, all civilians.

The four-person team winners are: first place, Capt. Benjamin Pierce, 2nd Lt. Matthew Weilbacher, Senior Airman Dana Timmons and Master Sgt. David Grubbs, with an overall time of 1:46:05; second place, Lt. Col. William Pryor, Maj. Frank Tersigni, Senior Master Sgt. James Slisik, Staff Sgt. Marvin White, with an overall time of 1:48:48; third place, Maj. Simon Scoggins, 1st Lt. Randi Miles, Master Sgt. Davis Watkins, Senior Airman Sean Campbell, with an overall time of 1:49:54.

First place male runner, Colonel Ekman, said the race was "awesome," because it was flat and fast-paced and the weather was beautiful.

"It feels great to win and it was a real milestone for me," he said. "This race is a real testament to fitness; it's all about the training. I am about to deploy with my squadron soon and being fit is crucial to deploying. These races are great training for Airmen."