Tough training yields ASC team high placement in Army Ten-Miler
October 28, 2010
Story Highlights
- RIA's ASC team finished 84th out of 652 teams and fourth out of 47 teams in the All Comers category.
ROCK ISLAND, Ill.--A team of eight runners from the Rock Island Arsenal's Army Sustainment Command participated in the 26th running of the Army Ten-Miler on Oct. 24 in Arlington, Va.
Master Sgt. Louis Aguilar lead this year's all active-duty team as the coach and as a third-time runner in this annual event.
RIA's ASC team finished 84th out of 652 teams and fourth out of 47 teams in the All Comers category. This year's team improved by 201 total positions from last year's team.
Besides Aguilar, ASC's team consisted of Maj. Stephen Marchant, Staff Sgt. Amar Arias, Master Sgt. Anders Anthony, Capt. Scott Leifker, Sgt. Maj. Eric Vidal, Staff Sgt. Donald Engling and Sgt. 1st Class Warren Benson. The top four finishers' combined times established the total team time of 4 hours, 36 minutes, 18 seconds.
Marchant posted the ASC team's best individual time of 1:06:54. He has qualified to participate in next April's Boston Marathon, based on his time of 3:14:38 in the recent Quad Cities Marathon.
Maj. Gen. Yves J. Fontaine, ASC commanding general, ASC Command Sgt. Maj. Stephen D. Blake and several other ASC personnel also completed the fairly flat 10-mile course while attending this year's AUSA annual meeting and exposition in Washington, D.C. The weather at race time was a comfortable 56 degrees under clear skies with little wind.
Aguilar said he was very pleased with this year's performance. "We all met our goals and ran smart races. We had three first-time runners and our performance was a 10!"
Aguilar said his coaching philosophy is to "give it your all and just keep running. Do whatever your best is for that day."
An extensive team training schedule of six days a week provided the edge to perform at such a high level. Speaking for himself, Aguilar said; "It was a great feeling knowing that all the hard work paid off. When you actually complete a race and finish, I met my goal. Our training plan was successful. Everything we did was right on."
Asked about his experiences when competing in one of the Army's premier events, Aguilar said, "You try to enjoy the sights in the nation's capital, but it's the people you see along the race course. There is also a lot of camaraderie, especially among those people that are out there running with the Wounded Warriors. It is a great experience."
Overall, the U.S. Army World Class Athlete program placed first with a team time of 47:10. The All-Army WCAP team won the international trophy after defeating the three-time reigning champion Brazilian Army team.
In the men's individual race, Alene Reta, 28, of Ethiopia ran away with the contest with a winning time of 47:10. As defending champion, he had won the 2009 race with an event-record time of 46:19.
On the women's side, Aziza Abate, 25, of Albuquerque, N.M., posted a first-place finish time of 55:54. This was 1 minute and 26 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher.
This year's Ten-Miler travel expenses and registration fees were again provided by RIA's MWR program. A total of 21,636 runners finished this year's event. Every runner received a medal for participating.
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For queries, contact the Army Sustainment Command Public Affairs Office at rock-amsas-pa@conus.army.mil or by phone at 309-782-5421.
For current ASC news, go to www.aschq.army.mil.