WASHINGTON D.C. (Oct. 7, 2007) -- Three of U.S. Army Europe's Ten-Miler team members
were among the first 100 in their gender division to complete the largest Ten-Miler in the U.S.
USAREUR's 12-member team was among 26,000 registered participants at the 23rd U.S. Army
Ten-Miler in Washington D.C., Oct. 7.
USAREUR's male team leader Jonathan Dreher, 26 and former West Point track and cross
country team member, was first over the finish line for USAREUR and 43rd overall, with a time
of 56 minutes and 21 seconds.
Benjamin Martinelli, 28 and USAREUR band member, came in 71st with a time of 58:40, and
Stephanie Feagin, 26, was the 39th woman over the finish line with a time of 68:07.
The entire team completed the race, despite unseasonably hot weather.
"When the sun came up everybody got a little hot and started slowing down a little bit," said
Dreher, with the 302nd Military Intelligence Battalion in Heidelberg, Germany, adding that the
last half of the race was harder than the first. Despite that, Dreher finished faster than he did
in the USAREUR-team qualifying race.
Dreher's fellow team leader Feagin, assigned to the U.S. Army Health Clinic in Livorno, Italy,
ran three minutes slower than she did in Germany, but she felt far from defeated.
"I got to finish with some of my teammates, and that's what it's all about," said Feagin, who
placed 13th in the women's division of the U.S. Army Ten-Miler in 2004.
The race kicked off at 7:50 a.m., following opening ceremonies at the Pentagon.
Command Sgt. Maj. Iuniasolua Savusa, USAREUR command sergeant major, who attended
the event along with the rest of the USAREUR command group, said the Army Ten-Miler is
symbolic of the physical demands the service places on Soldiers.
"It's the job of every Soldier to stay as physically fit as they possibly can. Especially as we're
fighting the Global War on Terror," he said, adding that not only is the event a physical
challenge, "it's also one you look forward to because when you run here, you're also
supporting the Soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan."
Every year, shadow runs of the Ten-Miler are held in places like Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait and
Kosovo, in conjunction with the main event, the lead sponsors of which are the Association of
the United States Army and KBR.
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