7 Moody members defeat 26.2-mile marathon

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Rodney Elliott
  • 38th Rescue Squadron
MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. --  Tech. Sgt. Rodney Elliott and Stephen Sparks, co-captains of the Moody's Air Force Marathon Team, began recruiting runners back in May for the 13th Annual Air Force Marathon.

In past years, Moody sent around fifteen people to the event each year in September. 

This year, however, with a busy schedule of operational readiness exercises and a Phase I operational readiness inspection looming just two days after the marathon, they were having a hard time drumming up interest.

Eventually, they were able to find a total of seven dedicated runners willing to make the sacrifices necessary to represent Moody at this prestigious event.

The Air Force Marathon takes place annually at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, on either the second or third Saturday in September, the day that falls closest to the Air Force's Birthday.

The full 26.2-mile course traverses many historical sites around the base, including the Wright Brothers Memorial Monument and the National Museum of the United States Air Force.

Participation in the Air Force's namesake road-race has grown steadily since its inception back in 1997. The total number of participants this year exceeded 10,000 for the first time ever.

Moody accomplished something special this year as well.

While the majority of past teams from Moody have been participants in the relay event, all seven team members made the trip to Ohio with the goal of completing the full 26.2-mile marathon. Five of the seven had never previously completed a full marathon before.

All the early mornings and hard hours of training definitely paid off because all members from Moody were able to reach their goals of finishing this grueling race.

Running 26.2 miles may seem like an insurmountable obstacle to many, but the experience of these seven Airmen proves that it can be done.

Training for and completing a marathon is an excellent lesson in goal setting. The long-term goal when one starts may at first seem impossible, but by setting and achieving daily, weekly and monthly goals, the impossible begins to gradually look more and more possible. Then one day you wake up and say, "I can really do this!" It is truly a great feeling.

The seven representatives from Moody and their finish times are as follows:
-Tech. Sgt. Rodney Elliott, 38th Rescue Squadron- 3:25:06
-Staff Sgt. Adam Jacobs, 23rd Equipment Maintenance Squadron- 4:49:13
-Senior Airman Preston Woodard, 23rd Equipment Maintenance Squadron- 4:47:47
-Airman 1st Class Tanner Bryan, 23rd Logistics Readiness Squadron-3:33:53
-Airman 1st Class Erik Maziarz, 23rd Logistics Readiness Squadron-3:58:00
-Airman 1st Class Anton Shevchenko, 23rd Logistics Readiness Squadron- 4:10:11
-Stephen Sparks, 23rd Contracting Squadron-3:34:03