FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. -- (Oct. 9, 2015) After finalizing paperwork and confirming last-minute details, about a dozen Soldiers took a quick jog at Fort Campbell's Fryar Stadium, Wednesday, in preparation for the Army Ten-Miler this weekend in Washington.
The annual race attracts runners from military installations far and wide, as well as participants from other nations, with a mission to bolster esprit de corps and fitness, as well as to showcase the Army on a national scale.
This year, Fort Campbell is fielding two teams of eight runners each for the Sunday event. One all-male team will compete in the Commander's Cup (active-duty men) division after placing ninth in 2014. The active-duty mixed team will compete in a separate division, where they placed 14th last year. Only the top four finish times from each team are used to determine final division placement.
Fort Campbell team co-captain Spc. Eddah Toroitich, C Company, 526th Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, participated in the Army Ten-Miler in 2013. In her second appearance, she hopes to shave about 5 minutes off her previous finish time.
"I'm looking at running a 65 or below," she said. "As a team, our men … we have like seven people who might run below 55, and then the rest of them are looking at running below 60."
Toroitich is one of only a few females running with Fort Campbell's active-duty mixed team. She also is one of the more experienced runners of the group. She began running at a young age and continued to excel in the sport at West Texas A&M University.
"I ran for Division II in college," said the Soldier of three years. "So it's been something that I've been doing for a while."
For others, including one of the other team captains, Sgt. Just Link Jones, running is a newer passion. This year marks Jones' first Army Ten-Miler appearance in his six-year career.
"I was quite the couch potato before the Army," Jones said. "But then I actually realized that I need to be able to move and communicate faster than the other guys."
Jones admits he is not the fastest runner on Fort Campbell's active-duty men's team, but he hopes clock in with a time of an hour or less on Sunday. The Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team Soldier began training with the rest of the team in July.
"I looked at the route and they're going to be at least two or three bottlenecking points and with over 25,000 runners, it's going to be really hectic," Jones said. "So as long as we [finish] under the hour mark, I'll be happy." The race begins and ends at the Pentagon, giving participants a great view of the nation's capital throughout the run. To prepare for the course, the Fort Campbell teams worked to improve in several key areas. Mileage was a top concern for the team, which formed after the initial local qualifier in May.
"We would just run for hours. Just to get our endurance up," Jones said. "Then gradually we worked on cardio and then speed."
The team runs Monday through Saturday in the early morning, a training regime that began a few months ago.
"The first thing that we've been working on is just being a team and having the same mission, because this is going to be a team [effort]," Toroitich said. "So we're going to run and we're going to have to score as a team. It's not really an individual [score], so everyone has to push themselves to get all the total points for the team."
The 31st annual Army Ten-Miler is the third largest such race in the world, and the runner field caps at 35,000. No matter how the teams place, Toroitich expressed the excitement and thankfulness all the Fort Campbell runners feel for being afforded this opportunity by Morale, Welfare and Recreation and the individual units.
"We're proud to represent Fort Campbell," she said. "I would just like to thank the command … We've really prepared as a team, and I think we're really going to do [well]. We're trying to place as high as we can."
TEAM members
The following Soldiers will represent Fort Campbell at the 31st annual Army Ten-Miler in Washington, Sunday:
•1st Lt. Dustin Thomas, MEDDAC
•Col. Marty Muchow, 52nd EOD
•Pfc. Andrew Chebii, MEDDAC
•Spc. Elkana Kipsang, 3-320th FAR
•Spc. Gerald Morgan, 2-160th SOAR
•Sgt. Duncan Moogi, 426th BSB, 1st BCT
•Spc. Jesus Solis, 1-320th FAR
•Pfc. Abraham Kemboi, 526th BSB
•Sgt. John Jordan, D Co., 1-187th Inf. Regt.
•Sgt. Just Jones, HHC, 2-327th Inf. Regt.
•Maj. Richard Crocker, MEDDAC
•Capt. Luis De La Torre, HHB, 101st Abn. Div.
•Sgt. Brandon Dickinson, 5th SFG
•Spc. Eddah Toroitich, C Co., 526th BSB
•Cpt. Victoria Salibi, OSJA
•Spc. Mabwa Armstrong, HHC, 96th ASB, 101st Abn. Div. Sust. Bde.
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