Nellis runners make marathon milestones Published Sept. 26, 2007 By 2nd Lt. Jennifer Richard Nellis Public Affairs NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. -- Perfect running weather, motivating aircraft flybys and team support contributed to competitors' success at this year's U.S. Air Force Marathon where five runners from Creech and Nellis Air Force Bases participated in various races held at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Sept. 15. Cols. Marcus Beyerle and Kurtis Lohide, Capts. Martin Conrad and Melody Jones, and Senior Airman Sara Arroyo competed as part of the Air Combat Command team in either marathon or half-marathon races. Nearly half of the ACC team came from the Nellis community, which contributed more runners than any other base. Colonel Lohide and Airman Arroyo were the only two Nellis runners to battle the weekend's signature event--the full 26.2-mile marathon. Colonel Lohide finished with a time of 3 hours, 59 minutes, 9 seconds, and Airman Arroyo crossed the line with a time of 4:31:08. The marathon proved to be a positive experience for the Nellis runners. "It was a nice run," said Colonel Lohide. "It was well-organized and I thought it really represented the Air Force well." The teamwork element of the race was a morale booster for Airman Arroyo. "It was great running as part of a team," Airman Arroyo said. "I think there is more motivation to do well when you have a team to represent." Another race offered to competitors at this year's event was the 13.1-mile half-marathon. The highlight performance of Nellis' half-marathon competitors came from Captain Conrad, who finished fifth out of all 1,121 males and first on the ACC team. Captain Conrad's sub-six-minute pace contributed to his team-leading 1:15:59 finish. The competition in the race pushed Captain Conrad to achieve a personal-record time. "I was in a group with the third and fourth place [runners] around the halfway mark and was constantly making sure I was ahead of the sixth place finisher," said Captain Conrad. "I was very excited and happy that I was able to improve my time and take fifth place overall." Colonel Beyerle and Captain Jones rounded off Nellis' performance with times of 1:46:57 and 2:19:32, respectively. As part of the ACC team, the Nellis runners competed in the Major Command Challenge versus other MAJCOMs. The teams got points for the number of participants and for members who placed first in their specific categories based on gender and age. The results of the MAJCOM Challenge have not yet been released. Although competing in the races was their main focus, the Nellis runners enjoyed many other aspects of their trip. Prior to the races, a sports and fitness exposition was held where athletes could sample and purchase merchandise, participate in running clinics, listen to speakers, and more. On Friday night, a gourmet pasta dinner was held in the National Museum of the United States Air Force for race participants. For more information on this year's Air Force marathon or to find out more about Air Force marathons past and future, go to the website www.usafmarathon.com.
