Fort Drum Soldiers qualify for Army Ten-Miler

By Pvt. Blair Neelands 1st Brigade Combat Team JournalistMay 28, 2009

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More than 20 Soldiers, airmen and civilians from the post community ran a 10K race May 20, some with hopes of qualifying for the Fort Drum Army Ten-Miler team that will compete later this year in Washington, D.C.

Runners started at Magrath Sports Complex and made a 6.2-mile loop to return to the starting point.

Sgt. Christopher Lawrence, a member of 10th Mountain Division Band, was the overall winner of the race, finishing with a time of 34:16.

Lawrence, who has been running the Army Ten-Miler since 2000, said he trains year round for the big race in October.

"Right now, I probably run about 60 miles a week, but soon I will be bumping that up to 80 to prepare myself for the Ten-Miler the first weekend of October," Lawrence said after catching his breath and replenishing his body with a bottle of water and a banana.

Runners who qualified to represent Fort Drum will be divided into teams based on run times.

"We will have a male team, a female team, a mixed team and a masters team," Lawrence said. "Each of those teams has six people. Overall, we will have 25 to 30 slots for the race."

Lawrence said he expects this year's female team to do very well and to defend their title from last year.

The men and women who will represent the 10th Mountain Division and Fort Drum will continue to train until they make the trip to the nation's capital for the big day, Oct. 4.