FORT BENNING, Ga., (Aug. 13, 2014) -- The third round came and went for those attempting to qualify for the Fort Benning Army Ten-Miler team Aug. 9 at Santiago Fitness Center on Sand Hill.
Top finisher and Infantry Basic Officer Leadership Course student Kendall Ward said this was his first qualifier and has a goal to get to the Army Ten-Miler in Washington, D.C., to see his father and former officer representative from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York.
Ward, who has run since seventh grade, said he was used to running 90 to 100-mile weeks before arriving here nearly six weeks ago.
"I only have been able to run 40-mile weeks since being here at Benning, but I would like to get back up to consistently hitting 70's again," he said.
Though top female finisher, Ashley Urick, finished as top female at the first qualifier and ran again in the second qualifier, she said she attended again to better her time.
"It's nice to see periodic progress on the same course and it's nice to meet the other people who are coming out for the team," she said.
Having recently PCSed from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, Urick said it took time to adjust to the humidity here, but once acclimated, her training and times improved.
"It's definitely hard racing here," she said. "It's a little flatter and (there) is an additional mental challenge to overcome. (Being) out there for 10 miles with no one around you, it's easy to let yourself get distracted and allow your pace to slow, so you really have to stay mentally tough in order to continue pushing yourself."
Lori Smith, director of fitness facilities, said the times ran here are typically several minutes better in D.C.
Urick said she loves running and trains by running 70-mile weeks and by lifting weights.
Smith said the runners who have shown up thus far exhibit a competitive team and is impressed by several of them being sub-60-minute runners.
"If you can get a female to run the caliber that (Urick) is running, you can have a really strong mixed team," she said.
The last qualifier will be at 6:30 a.m. Aug. 22 at Santiago Fitness Center on Sand Hill.
TOP FINISHERS:
Kendall Ward: 54:41
Michael Kurvach: 55:55
Ashley Urick: 62:28
Adam Patten: 66:36
Harrison Smith: 71:33
Rysper Sirma: 73:08
Sarah Kramer: 90:05
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