Winrose Karunde made history during Baumholder's annual 5 kilometer 9-11 Commemorative Run Sept. 11 by becoming the first woman ever to finish overall first during any of Baumholder's annual fun runs.
Karunde, a member of the 5-7 Air Defense Artillery, raced across the finish line in an impressive 19 minutes and 3 seconds, besting the second place finisher by 2 minutes and 17 seconds.
"We hold eleven fun runs each year and this is the first time that a woman has finished first overall in any of our runs for as long as we've been holding fun runs," said Anthony Ramsey, sports specialist. "There was one time when a cross country youth came in first but this is definitely the first time a woman has claimed that honor," said Ramsey.
For Karunde, participating in the 5 kilometer run was more or less a warmup for a more ambitious competition. She is a member of Baumholder's Ten-Miler team, was instrumental in helping the team bring the European Army Ten-Miler trophy back to Baumholder recently and will be one of the runners representing USARUER during the Army Ten-Miler in Washington DC in October.
"The monthly races are really good because I get to meet with other fast runners from different units and some of my teammates and gauge myself on how well I've been preparing for the Army Ten-Miler. The community races also give me something to look forward to," said Karunde.
To be competitive as a Ten-Miler team member involves dedicating much time to conditioning and building stamina. Ten-Miler team members often train more than twice a day to maintain their competitive edge. Maintaining their motivation is also a challenge but Karunde explains that she finds her strength in past accomplishments and in knowing what lies ahead.
"The fact that I already made the USAREUR team keeps me motivated and also knowing when I go to compete in DC next month, there will be a lot of other people there who have been training the whole year for the race. I want to be ready," said Karunde.
Behind every dedicated runner like Karunde is an equally dedicated support group. "My unit has been very supportive of me being a part of the Army Ten-miler team and for that I'm really grateful. I can't thank them enough. Also, my Baumholder team is a huge part of me.
"I especially thank Capt. Sarah Paulsworth who was our team leader and coordinated everything and Sgt. Jacob Korir who invited me to join the Baumholder team. He has also been so supportive," said Karunde.
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