Arctic running

Annual training for my Army Reserve unit was at Eielson AFB and Ft. Wainwright up near Fairbanks, AK this year. Even though my wife was born in Alaska (and even went to school at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks) I had not yet made it up and was excited for the chance to see a new place.

Unfortunately this is just a running blog post and not a fishing blog post as we went in April. It’s a slightly sad time of year where there’s not enough snow to go skiing or snowmobiling (or snow-machining as they say in Alaska) but too much snow to hike or fish (and the salmon aren’t yet running).

Eielson running

In spite of being an Army unit, we were staying on the air force base. The inn on base had a rather nice welcome packet that suggested a 1-mile, 5k and 10k routes.

This was a pretty good place to start although I found the 10k route to be closer to 5.2 than 6.2 miles. All routes were on roads with good shoulders or sidewalk and reasonable traffic.

For longer runs I found that running out past the power plant on base brought you to a nice open road that goes past the fuel farms, to the covered range where you come to a Y (64.655706°, -147.002964°). If you go right you get to the ski hill (Iceman Falls), a sheet range and a nice set of cross country trails (64.649480°, -146.979207°). These trails were a bit muddy for the time of year when I was there so I did not run any of them.

The base also had a nice indoor and outdoor track as well as an obstacle course / trail.

Beach Bum 5k

We were there over one weekend which happened to have the University of Fairbanks hosting a race. In traditional fashion I wanted to get there an hour early to get parking and have ample time to warm up. I need not have worried as there was about 50 people at the race.

Starting area of the race

The course made most of its 170 ft of elevation gain in the first mile. Once it leveled out on the north side of campus we got some great view of Denali before heading back through the center of campus to the start. It was a perfect low-key race to break up the annual training.

Charles and I at the finish

Hoodoo Brewery Run

The other running highlight of my time in the area was the weekly 5k fun runs from Hoodoo Brewing. The run was organized by Running ClubNorth. About 75 – 100 runners did an out-and-back course from the Brewery. Both times we went down to the Chena River but one week we went east the other week we went west.

While it was a fun run there was an advantage to getting back earlier as the beer line quickly got long.

Post Run Brews

Hopefully I get to go back and explore Alaska in the summer when there are more trails and salmon. Until next time.

States that I've raced in

Army 10-Miler

My opportunity

I was at my annual training in June this year and I saw a flyer to try out for the Ft. Hunter-Liggett Army 10-Miler team. I called the point-of-contact who told me to show up at 6 am in a few days. Ft. Hunter-Liggett did a rolling try-out. Over the course of two months if Ivan, the MWR guy running the show, had time you could run or submit a time. At the end of July he would pick the fastest times an notify folks.

I ran the course with LT Wade Phillips. The Ft. Hunter-Liggett time trial course had a slight uphill on the way out which made for a nice negative split on the way back. I ran a 63:07 and felt pretty good about my chances.

Army 10-Milers Past

This would not be my first trip to DC to run the Army 10-Miler. In Iraq I was fortunate to have met up with some other runners in my brigade who were in contact with the major in the division who was running the Ft. Campbell tryouts. Every Sunday they would transport runners from our brigade to the other side of Camp Victory to run around Saddam’s palaces and lakes. I made the team and shortly after we got back we all drove from Ft. Campbell to DC.

Camp Stryker Running Crew. 2 BCT / 101st Airborne Division\

I had a good enough time that the next year when I went to Ft. Leonard-Wood for the Engineer Captain’s Career Course I called up the MWR and get in contact with LTC Jackie Chan (yes, that was really her name) and trained with that team. We placed third in the Active Army mixed team category.

2007 Ft. Leonard-Wood Army 10-Miler Team

Every deployed post that I was at in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait put on some version of the race. It was free and always fun challenge over the usual 5k runs.

2014 Army 10-Miler in Camp Arifjan Kuwait

Transportation and Lodging

Army teams typically stay in the Crystal Gateway Marriott. It is stunningly convenient to get to the start. You could take the metro in the basement of the hotel but I got the impression that some years the Metro had not supported the race by opening early and that the years that it was open it was rather crowded. It is easier just to walk north along S Eads St. – it’s pleasant and a nice way to stretch out the legs prior to the race.

Getting to the start of a race with 25,000 doesn't get much easier

The other advantage of the Crystal Marriot or similarly located hotel, is that you are right next to the MountVernon Trail. This trails goes for miles and is free of road crossings. If you go north you are even blessed with nice views of the mall and its monuments.

Traveling into Reagan National Airport is the most convenient way to do the Army 10-Miler. There is an easy Metro that takes you one stop down to Crystal City (or into the city and other Metro lines). Dulles has public transit options but they involve a bus and transfers. There is enough to do in DC that there is no good reason to get a car.

Metro with the airport, hotel and race start. Doesn't get much more convenient

Expo

If you are active duty packet pick-up opens at 8:30. For the general public it opens at 10. While it might be tempting to sleep in, the line into the Armory explodes if you wait. At 9:30 we walked right into the building and had our packet and shirt in less than 10 minutes. When we left the line wrapped around the block and almost reached the metro stop.

Packet pick-up line around 11 am

The expo itself was nice enough and I found a good deal on some running shorts that I felt I was running low on (my wife throws away pairs long before my cutoff of being unable to tell which holes are for the legs).

Ft. Hunter-Liggett team at the Expo

 Race Day

We got to the race about an hour before the start. There were ample toilets (at least at more than a half-hour to the start). There was a nice section of the course that was closed to traffic but not part of the first mile that made for a good warm-up area.

I started near the middle of my wave. As with the New York City Marathon I should probably have muscled my way closer to the front. But the first split was still a little below my goal pace of six-minute miles (3:45 kilometers). I kept up a good shown until the halfway point when the rain, wind and temperatures began to get the best of me. I was somewhat relieved to learn later that it was not just me. After around 10 am the Army made the call to shorten the course andcall the event a fun run.

Pace at each kilometer

However, I did seem to weather the weather reasonably well. I passed a lot of folks in the second half of the race and even put in a strong split on kilometer 15. I crossed the finish in 1:01:47.

I waited around for LT Phillips (who I had run the time trial with many weeks ago). Our ringer, CPT Foster (who ran for a few of the All Army teams) had finished long before both of us. We found Ivan (aka coach) and my family who had come out. 

CPT Foster, Wade and I did a rather nice cool-down on the Mount Vernon Trail which was easily accessible from the northeast corner of the parking lot. We crossed a bridge and found ourselves on nice secluded section of the trail - a nice chance of pace from the crowded racing and warm-up.

We were fortunate to bring home the Army Reserve Mixed Team trophy (top four times with at least one male and female time)

Coach with our sweet trophy

Being a Tourist

I have been grateful each time for the opportunity to stay the afternoon after the race. There is so much to see around DC within an easy metro ride. The capital tour was a little challenging with two small kids but the mall was perfect.

Kid approved Washington DC tourism

I was grateful to the Army Reserves for the chance to run in DC again. My only regret was not getting to see more of my friends from the Kuwait Running Mafia. I’ll pick them up next time. 

Kuwait Running Mafia

Even if one is blessed with a good job (as I was) during a deployment, having weekly milestones give you something to look forward to that is closer than the return home. During my first deployment I was fortunate to find a group that did long runs at 0430 every Sunday and finished with drinks at the Green Bean. I met some great people and even got to run on the 101^st 10-Miler Team as a result of meeting these folks.

Camp Stryker Striders after a Sunday Run

With memories of these good times, I determined at the start of this deployment that I would find or start a running club. So I was very pleased when I discovered a flyer for the Kuwait Running Mafia in the USO of Camp Arifjan in my first week.

At some point a few months into the deployment, though no real maneuvering or planning, I found myself as one of the leaders of the club. These are some of the lessons and history for those that come after or want to start their own deployed running club.

History

The Kuwait Running Mafia, or KRM, was founded in October 2012 by four members of the 38^th Sustainment Brigade from the Indiana National Guard:

W01 Moriah Addington (Running Queen)

1SG Jeramie Baty (Coach)

CW4 Chris Jennings (Godfather)

Cw2 Darren Minnemann (Instigator)

According Facebook, some of the original members
[Credit: Kuwait Running Mafia facebook page]

From the founding memo: “The KMR is about fun. It is about setting and achieving goals and helping others to do the same. It's about inspiring and being inspired through others and running. It is just a small community of runners deployed to Kuwait that want to get together and share their love for running or just want someone to run with to push themselves a little harder.”

Original membership requirements included

1. running 100 miles;
2. doing a marathon of volunteer work (26 hours); and,
3. running a race or training run of at least 13.1 miles.

The requirements had been dropped or forgotten by the time that I started running with the KRM although I would say that most of our core members have more than met them. We do not do as many volunteer races as the original crew did because the MWR (Morale, Welfare and Recreation) office does a great job of putting on 3 -4 races every month (although we still snuck a few in).

Vigil and Sam handing out fruit at the Bataan Death March

Continuity

The good news about deployments is that they come to an end. Depending on your service this can be from six months to a year. This presents a challenge though for a loose knit running club that seeks to have membership across many different units.

I decided that the key was to be continuously on the lookout for other leaders. You cannot do this club with just one person. Military jobs are unpredictable both daily (in making it to the runs) and overall (Surprise, you’re going to Iraq!) . I suspect I used a similar checklist to my predecessor:

1. Shows up regularly at the runs: You need someone who can be counted on to bring shirts, water, etc.
2. Come to you with ideas for things the club can do: Fair warning, if you came to me with a good idea, you were in danger of being recruited to the Dons of the KRM.

Volunteer to organize a pasta dinner = KRM Don

Another challenge was continuity of emails. When I arrived the KRM distro list was just “replying all” to the last weekly email. With more than one person in charge this was a challenge with people who wanted to be added or dropped. It also made it hard to keep records of folks that we talked to back in the states for shadow runs and ordering team t-shirts. So I created a gmail account, put in that week’s distro list and gave out the password to the fellow dons.

A common folder was a bit of a challenge too. The previous one was in the sustainment brigades’ server – which I could read but not edit. So I made a folder on the common drive that I hope everyone can get edit access to. Something like dropbox would have been ideal, but it cannot be accessed on military networks.

A final piece was the Facebook page. For reason known only to them, the founding members did not let us become administrators of their original page. So Charles made another Facebook page. It’s a bit confusing, but it's clear which one is the more active page.

Spreading the Good Word

At first I stuck with what worked for me: posters at the gym, USO, Post Exchange, MWR community center and USO. We also found advertising of the Camp Arifjan Craigslist (a Facebook page) to be effective.

Drawing them in at the Resiliency Expo

But what really worked was in-person events. The first boost came when we teamed up with the 13^th Sustainment Brigade to host a shadow run of the Army Marathon. Then fortune smiled again when we were able to get a booth at the Resiliency Expo. This was a day-long event where various organizations put up booths talking about how their organizations played a part in reducing or dealing with stress - and as many KRM members have said: Running, because hitting people is frowned upon.

Weekly Run Numbers

Fun Over Speed

I was fortunate to become part of a running club instead of founding it. Coming from Boulder and before, running clubs to me were mostly speedworks and long runs. Had I tried that, the "Arifjan Track Club" would have had 2-6 regular members and been a low-grade affair. Fortunately, the folks before me realized that a mellow 3 – 6 miles was a much better way to bring people in. I started up a Tuesday speedwork (and stole the name Track Trashing Tuesday from the Rocky Mountain Runners) but it never got more than a half-dozen folks and was often just two or three of us.

Two key parts of the fun was the weekly emails. Again, the KRM was fortunate to have folks other than myself who were more skilled in writing witty and fun emails with good humor and (for a while) cat facts.

Chris "Cat Man" Cruise. KRM Don. Saver of catz.

The pizza after the runs was one of the best additions that happened while I was at the KRM. One of leaders, Chief Bolan, started getting pizza and having it at the finish of our runs. In my favorite KRM quote, one of members noted “this whole time I had though my body wanted water at the ends of runs, it turns out it really wanted pizza.” Then one day Chris was taking a while to get the pizza and so we went down  to help him by standing over him and watching until he got the pizza. Thus was born the tradition of taking over the pavilion and sitting down like civilized starving runners.

It's not just an excuse for pizza. . . but that's part of it

Fun Experiments

Even a running club does not live on simple runs alone. We started branch out with a movie night (Run Fat Boy Run), a talk from the post dietician and a cookout. If someone had an idea we usually, well, ran with it.

End of some more good feasting

Two fun experiments that would be worth repeating at some point was the first Camp Arifjan Chem Light Hash and the Near-Beer Near-Mile. Both are fun running traditions that we adapted for the realities of Kuwait.

I wanted to show folks the fun of a good hash run but I was leary of using the traditional hashing trail marker of flour. Even though most of us have all sorts of great shots thanks to the military, I was worried that some folks just would not take a bit of Anthrax humor.  Our runs, even in the summer, are in the dark so we decided to try chem lights. I laid a weaving trail through the less inhabited parts of Camp Arifjan and folks followed as best they could. We learned that you need a LOT of chem lights – probably 15 -20 a mile. And that local workers like to pick up your hard laid trail. But since there was no real beer involved I was not punished too much for laying the trail.

Before I left I decided to do a near-beer mile. While we could not follow the rules precisely, I figured we would still suffer the carbonation and volume. It turned out even mentioning near-beer can double the attendance of a track workout – a useful thing to keep in mind I guess. It was an experiment worth repeating.

JD starts as lap as others nurse their O'Douls

Final Thanks

If you’ve read this far, you’re probably involved in the KRM and know I would be remiss in not thanking a few key folks.

Charles Noble – for keeping the club together after the founders left and even bringing in a stray engineer  running club.

Jack Bolan – for taking over from Charles and starting the pizza tradition.

Chris “cat man” Cruise – for starting the witty and amusing emails and keeping things fun.

Sam – For taking over the emails and setting us up at the resiliency expo. And taking the torch for the club.

Tom – for taking the KRM gear and part of the leadership mantle.

Good luck, run strong, and

The Army Marathon - Camp Arifjan Shadow Race

Kuwait Running Mafia
Photo courtesy of the 13th Theater Sustainment Brigade

I collect states that I’ve run marathons in. . . and fronts in the Global War on Terror (or GWOT,for those in the know). In Iraq I ran a shadow race of the Honolulu Marathon, in Afghanistan the Marine Corps Marathon. About two months into this deployment I had sent one or two emails to race directors, but I did not pursue the matter that hard. I worried that I had started planning a bit late. It was late November when I started to consider the idea and I wanted to get any race advertised, planned and run before late March. For a while I thought I might just have to do my own personal marathon or a self-supported one with a few friends.

Finishing the Honolulu Marathon in Victory Base Complex, Baghdad, Iraq.

Then MAJ Joe Odorizzi contacted the Kuwait Running Mafia (KRM). We met at a coffee shop on our base on Christmas Day. He had a contact back at Ft. Hood who really wanted to do a shadow marathon with soldiers overseas. The Army Marathon was on 1 March – a little over two months away. I was a little nervous about such a short time to plan and advertise, but I also realized that the opportunity that I’d secretly been hoping for had just fallen into my lap.

Christmas Day Run just before meeting up with MAJ Odorizzi

Fortunately, it was not just my secret hope. A couple of fellow soldiers within the Kuwait Running Mafia had expressed interest in running a marathon and eventually a core committee of about six of us emerged. We met weekly and hashed out the necessary details of advertising, road closures, supplies and volunteers.

Our Facebook Banner for the Marathon

From the KRM records we predicted that we could get around 200 participants. Through a bit of good luck, the MWR (Morale Welfare and Recreation) folks on the camp were putting on a half-marathon for MLK weekend. We got our sponsor back at Ft Hood to get the registration site up in time and printed off some fliers which we handed out at the end of the race. After this we put up a few posters around camp and in work areas. With a week to go before the race we hit 200 participants – 130 in the half-marathon and 70 in the full marathon.

Two days before the race we did our volunteer training. We found an officer and senior NCO who were willing to come on as senior volunteer coordinators. The Red Cross also put out a call for volunteers. Many service members sign up outside of their normal duties to man water stations, hand out gifts on Christmas and do other good deeds.

Some of our awesome volunteers.
Photos courtesy of the 13th Theater Sustainment Brigade

The day before the race we gathered at the MWR warehouse to sign out the tables, cones, a clock, sound system, coolers and other items that we would need for the race. I lead a convoy of volunteers to pre-position tables, water and ice around the course. Other volunteers and organizers positioned equipment at the finish area and went to set up the pre-race dinner and packet pick-up. Finally one other organizer and I drove around the course setting out the mile markers and turn signs. At 1900 I rolled into dinner and packet pick-up.

Two runners get their shirts and bibs for the next day
Photo courtesy of the 13th Theater Sustainment Brigade

The nice thing about a small race is that you do not have to go through the buses and huddling around at the start. Unfortunately, much of this was negated by organizing the race. The volunteers and organizers were in a flurry getting out to their water stations when I showed up. I helped set up the start and finish line. We finished with enough time to ourselves to the start and do the pageantry of speeches and the Star-Spangled Banner.

Our flag bearer for the Star Spangled Banner considers what he's about to do

Kuwait Running Mafia shot pre-marathon
Photos courtesy of the 13th Theater Sustainment Brigade

At 0500 we began. The course was three loops around the camp. This allowed us to get away with six aid stations that were no more than 1.2 miles apart (generally closer). The one national caliber athlete who could leave me in the dust had just gone home so I had the lead from the start. I was racing my own PR which I felt confident I had a shot at getting.

Moments before the start
Photo courtesy of the 13th Theater Sustainment Brigade

For this race I set my GPS watch to do kilometer splits which I was aiming to hit in 3:45. I have come to like kilometers over here. They give me better feedback and it’s just nice to tick of milestones (or kilometerstones I guess) faster. The 42.2 kilometer marathon also breaks fairly nicely into (roughly) 10k chunks.

Chief Bolan hitting his stride for the KRM
Photo courtesy of the 13th Theater Sustainment Brigade

The first few clicks I ran a few seconds slow – something that I have noticed consistently about myself racing on dirt roads in the dark. Once the sun came up though I got a mental boost and got back on pace. I realized that a benefit of a loop course was that I got to see friends as I doubled back on sections of the course.

Vergil showing who he's with
Photos courtesy of the 13th Theater Sustainment Brigade

My wheels did not fall off in the last few miles, but my legs did lose their ability to surge on command. I finished in 2:41:31 – almost 4 minutes faster than my previous PR of 2:45:16. I stayed to watch all of the finishers. One of the other organizers and I broke away at one point to get some more fruit from the DFAC for the last few finishers. We had managed a decent spread, but runners at the end of a race eat like locusts.

Sam finishes her first marathon
Photo courtesy of the 13th Theater Sustainment Brigade

The last finisher was Sgt. Gabriel Castelo in 6:05:50. It was his first marathon and seeing him stick with the race through to the finish was one of the things that makes running so amazing and inspiring.

Sgt. Castelo closes out the Army Marathon at Camp Arifjan

The KRM members who were left helped to clean up. By noon we had the equipment turned in and we staggered to the DFAC to replenish ourselves and go over the fond memories of the day. I am not sure that I will organize and run a race again, but in this particular time and place it was immensely rewarding and I am most grateful to our sponsors back in Texas, MAJ Odorizzi (for bringing us together and helping to organize) and the KRM members and volunteers (who made the race possible). This will be one of the high points of the deployment.

Finishing strong

Fellow mafia don Chris Cruse

Running down 2014

December capped off a great running year. The highlight of the month was the Across the Years Race but a close second was tying a 13-year-old 5k PR.

Motley crew who did the Across the Years 24-Hour Run. Photo credit: Aravaipa Running

First 24-Hour Race

My first 24-hour race was a shadow run of the Across the Years endurance runs in Phoenix, Arizona. The real deal features a 6-day, 72-hour, 48-hour and 24 hour run. Our race organizer mercifully did a 24-hour run. The race was largely an internal affair of the unit, but the officer organizing the run graciously let me crash the party. The race would start on our camp at 5 pm on New Year’s Eve and finish at 5 pm on New Year’s Day.

Gear is ready.

I decided that my main goals were the half-marathon in late January and a potential marathon in early March. I have been running near my college shape and I feel that I have a chance at breaking some old PRs in the marathon, half-marathon and 5k. I did not want to go all out in this race and risk having a recovery that prevented proper training for these events. My main train-up had been doing 9 to 10 mile runs the day before or after long runs (14-20 miles).

My initial goal was to run at least 34 miles since I will soon be 34. I decided to break it up into roughly even chunks. I modified this initially when I learned that the course was 0.9 miles and that we would sign in every 5 laps (4.5 miles).I decided instead to run 18 miles on the 31^st and 18 on the 1^st to make the sign-in sheet clean. As an alternate goal I told myself that if I felt good I would come back before the end and put in a few more laps.

Now where does this thing go again? I'll get the hang of it after 20 laps I guess. Photo credit: 49th Transportation BN

While I initially feared the 0.9-mile would be boring, it immediately became clear why this was a good idea for these types of runs. Given that participants would soon be spread out over many miles,having everyone within a half mile of help made logistics and safety much easier. The course was also right next to one of the dining facilities which meant you could sign out from the course and address your calorie deficit. You could sign in and sign out of the course as you wanted. People who train for these races obviously do not sign out that much, but few of us were at that level so it was a nice feature.

Pre-race brief

After a quick race brief various runners and walkers (some with rucks) took off. The first 18 miles went easy as there was always someone to talk to. I spent most of my time with the race organizer who was going for 100 miles. At 20 laps (18 miles) I felt good but stuck to my plan. I ate a hearty dinner with the Kuwait Running Mafia (which happened to be ending their weekly run at the start / finish area) and went to bed.

Fireworks interrupted my night. Turns out Kuwaitis like shooting off fireworks as much as 'mericans

The legs were a bit sore the next day but the bike ride to the start loosened them up well. There were three other folks walking on the course and so I was largely alone. It was soon mid-day which even in the winter is warm in Kuwait. I took a break after 15 laps and ate lunch before continuing. Then I biked home and took a nap.

My legs felt surprisingly good after the nap so I went back and rounded out the run with another 6 laps to put me at 41.4 miles (roughly). The training plan seemed to have worked well and I stayed within my limits. I generally ran 30-60 seconds slower per mile than my normal training runs. While I could feel the effect the next day, two days later I ran what felt like a pretty normal 8.5 miles at my normal training pace.

Wolverines! Photo credit: Aravaipa Running

What worked for this race:

-Long run and medium distance runs on back-to-back days

-Drinking a sip every mile

-Eating full meals and getting good rest

I also cannot say enough good about Alex who organized this race and the organizations that gave him supplies and prizes. He got his unit and me to do something different, tough and fun. He made this a memorable New Year's celebration.

5k PR

'Twas the Night Before Christmas 5k (Photo Credit: Camp Arifjan MWR)

I managed to tie a 5k PR of 16:37 that I set back in November 2001 at the Brewer High Turkey Trot. I am not sure what is to credit for things, but whatever came together I am grateful that it did. Eventually time will catch me, but it’s nice to know I can still surge ahead for a little while longer before I have to start doing age bracket PRs.

I'll take it (Photo Credit: Camp Arifjan MWR)

Other numbers and musing

I ran 2,510 miles in 2014 and 16 races. Most of these races were while deployed in Kuwait. With the possible exception of having a child, 2014 beat 2013. I have high hopes for running in 2015.

	2013	2014
Miles Run	2,179	2,510
Races	9	16
Hours Running	284	389
Cases of pneumonia	1	0
Children born	1	0

Here's to starting off a New Year. Photo Credit: Camp Arifjan MWR